Wertz, King seek Democratic nomination in race for Laughlin's state Senate seat

Two former leaders in the Erie County Democratic Party are trying to retake a state Senate seat that's critical to the party's efforts to strip the GOP of its narrow majority.

Former Erie County Democratic Party chairman Jim Wertz, and the former chair of the party's Black Caucus, Selena King, want to unseat two-term incumbent Republican Dan Laughlin in the 49th Senate District.

The race between Wertz and King is the only contested local primary on the ballot, for either party, aside from statewide contests. Laughlin has no primary challenger. The district makes up nearly all of Erie County, with the exception of the city of Corry, Elgin borough, and Concord and Wayne townships.

Who is Jim Wertz?

Wertz, who will turn 45 next month, was born and raised in Reading. He became the first in his family to graduate from college in 2002, when he received bachelor's degrees in communications and history at the former Edinboro University of Pennsylvania (now PennWest Edinboro).

In Erie, he worked as a production manager for a local TV station for three years before launching his own video production business in 2007. Two years earlier, Wertz began working for his alma mater as an instructor of broadcast journalism. He's served in several roles since, including associate dean. He's now a full-time professor.

More: Former Democratic Party chairman Wertz to run for PA Senate in hopes of unseating Laughlin

He was named chairman of the Erie County Democratic Party in June 2018. He resigned from the post in November to run for political office himself.

While Wertz and Laughlin had a cordial relationship that included corresponding on policy and political issues, the relationship soured, Wertz has said, when Laughlin signed an amicus brief as part of a lawsuit that attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Wertz, who was a contributor to the alternative newspaper the Erie Reader at the time, would later pen a scathing column that took aim at Laughlin and U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly. Laughlin is suing Wertz and the publication for defamation.

Who is Selena King?

King, 43, is a native of Sharon in Mercer County. Growing up, her father was a steelworker and her mother, now the superintendent of the Farrell Area School District, a pastor. King was one of six girls.

"My parents taught us to look out for those down on their luck, those who've needed a helping hand," King said in a video to launch her campaign in January. "So I've dedicated my life to improving the lives of others."

King received a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from Gannon University. After graduating, she worked for the faith-based agency L'Arche, which provides resources, including housing, for people with intellectual disabilities. She also served as an administrative assistant for then-Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper.

In 2013, she made her first political run, campaigning unsuccessfully for a seat on Erie City Council.

From 2018 through 2022, King worked in the Pennsylvania Auditor General's office, where she was responsible for auditing area fire departments. In 2023, she was tapped as the northwest regional representative for U.S. Sen. John Fetterman.

She's the secretary of the board of the nonpartisan Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus Foundation, which is the fundraising arm of all state legislators of color in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

She also serves as a social justice ambassador for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and is a member of the city of Erie’s Zoning Hearing Board and Blighted Property Review Committee.

"I'm running to restore the promise of Erie, to empower our residents, and to ensure our voices are heard," King wrote in an Erie Times-News op-ed about her vision for the district. "Our campaign is about giving back to the community, fighting for accountability, and forging a stronger Erie County."

More: Erie Democrat King, a staff member for U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, enters state Senate race

Abortion position

Twenty-one states have either banned abortion or restricted abortion after six to 18 weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade. Voters in other states, including Ohio, Kansas and Michigan, have rejected efforts to ban the procedure.

King was once opposed to abortion, according to a questionnaire published in The Erie Echo, the newsletter for the local chapter of People for Life, in May 2013. But when asked by the Erie Times-News in January to identify the issues that were most important to her in the race, King first named women's reproductive rights.

"We're in a post-Roe v. Wade era and as a female candidate that's very important to me," she said at the time. "Abortion rights are huge."

Wertz wants to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to safeguard those rights, which would require the House and Senate to pass legislation in two consecutive sessions to put the question on the ballot. That's unlikely to happen, Wertz said, "as long as we have a Republican majority in the state Senate."

Wertz would also address the state's current laws, which require patients to obtain lab testing and acknowledge having received counseling materials at least 24 hours prior to the procedure.

"That is wildly unfair and economically unjust for people who have to spend the additional money either to travel to the health care provider and then to stay over for several days in the community where that health care provider is," he said, noting that Erie is among scores of communities without an abortion provider.

Education issue

On her campaign website, King said she would "guarantee that every child, no matter where they live, has access to unparalleled educational opportunities." She would also focus on funding STEAM, arts and vocational programs and integrating social emotional learning into school curriculum to prepare students for life, not just the workforce.

"I'm a product of public education, so it's really important to me that we have fair funding in our public schools across the commonwealth," she said in January.

Wertz is also pushing for more funding for public schools. Wertz said 30 years ago state tax dollars funded 52% of public education. That's less than 32% today.

"That started when Republicans first took control of the legislature, and by the way, they've had basically control of the legislature since 1991," he said. "That's the reason why our public education systems are struggling. That's the reason why public schools are having problems recruiting and retaining good teachers. It's not a problem with the curriculum."

For those and other reasons, Wertz is also opposed to diverting money from public schools to pay for vouchers to send students to private schools. While Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, is a proponent of expanding the state's voucher program and has urged leaders from both parties to find common ground on the issue, Wertz believes the state should divest from vouchers entirely.

Wertz said vouchers mostly go to families who can already afford to send their children to private schools and that studies, including an examination by the Brookings Institute, do not show any statistically significant educational advantage to a private school education, he said.

What to know: Erie County voters' guide to the races in the April 2024 primary election

Other issues

King also wants to improve access to affordable health care, with a specific focus on Black maternal health, mental health and women's health. She would also support more funding for community support programs for people battling addiction, specifically opioid addiction.

She would champion green infrastructure projects, invest in renewable energy and protect workers' rights, including their right to organize a union and negotiate fair contracts, according to her website.

"I'm in this race to ensure Erie County's voice is heard loud and clear," King wrote in an Erie Times-News op-ed about her vision for the district. "Our city and county should be where everyone can live equitably, find good paying jobs, and have community pride. We want an Erie where everyone can succeed, where health care is accessible for all, and our neighborhoods are safe and possibilities become realities."

Wertz, a union member himself, would also work to protect the rights of labor unions and their members, he said.

"I've been hearing from Republicans that we need to make Pennsylvania more business friendly in order to recruit more industry and bring more workers into Pennsylvania," he said. "For all of that time, business friendly has been code for breaking unions and lower wages. It's clear now, especially post pandemic, that that is a bad business model if you're trying to invest in our communities and make sure that people want to stay here."

Wertz added that the state also needs to do better at supporting working families by improving access to childcare by finding ways to attract and retain the childcare workforce, while also making the cost of childcare more affordable for families.

"If somebody is working only to pay their childcare bill, which a lot of families are doing, then that doesn't give them a warm feeling about working in Pennsylvania," he said. "It doesn't give businesses the motivation they need to come here and set up shop if their workforce is going to be constantly battling these problems."

On the fentanyl and opioid epidemic, Wertz would not only push for improved access to intervention and rehabilitation programs, but also post-rehab work programs "to help them normalize their lives, help them gain a little structure in their lives so that they are not motivated to continue to seek and feed into their addictions."

King did not return several messages for comment for this story.

Matthew Rink can be reached at mrink@timesnews.com or on X at @ETNRink.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Wertz, King vie for Democratic nomination in race for state Senate