Election 2022: The race to represent the 126th House District

Oct. 6—The race to represent the 126th Legislative District in the House of Representatives features a contest between an incumbent Democrat and a Republican challenger.

Democratic Rep. Mark Rozzi will face Republican James Oswald on the ballot. The district includes parts of Reading and Exeter Township in addition to Mount Penn and St. Lawrence and Lower Alsace and Muhlenberg townships.

State representatives serve a two-year term and receive an annual salary of $95,432.

We asked the candidates to respond to four questions.

Democrat Mark Rozzi

Residence: Muhlenberg Township.

Age: 51.

Background: Rozzi was first elected to the post in 2012. He had previously owned and managed his family's window, door and awning business. He has a bachelor's degree in political science from Kutztown University with a concentration in pre-law and constitutional law.

Website: voterozzi.com

Why should voters elect you and not your opponent?

Voters should elect me because I don't exclusively represent one party in Harrisburg, I represent the people of the 126th District and their diverse needs. I will never allow a lobbyist to dictate or influence my vote. I take great pride in reviewing every piece of legislation that comes before me for a vote, and I vote based on what I believe best serves my constituents.

I am also open-minded. I am not an expert in every single subject we vote on, and I am eager to listen to the people in my district to find out how each policy could affect them, good or bad. An important thing I have learned is we all have personal stories that have impacted our lives, and people want to be heard. It is my job to listen to them and make my votes count.

I have brought home millions of dollars in grant money to help my district grow and flourish, along with grant money to protect the services of the emergency medical services, police and our firefighters. It has truly been an honor serving the people of the 126th District during my time in office.

Assuming your victory, choose a single issue you would prioritize in the coming term — name it and describe what you want to accomplish.

I would love to choose property tax elimination as the issue I would prioritize getting done. However, the Republican majority in both the House and Senate refuse to bring it up for a vote, therefore I no longer feel confident that this goal is attainable in the next term.

Another major issue that affects all of us and the education of our children is our teacher shortage in Pennsylvania. If we don't quickly find solutions, this crisis will only worsen when more teachers leave. Educators are doing far more today than what is sustainable long term, without the necessary resources and assistance. Today's educators need to be able to explore new ways to help their students learn and grow emotionally, socially and intellectually. Teachers are encouraged to adapt to their students' unique learning style, background, interest and abilities. We need to implement an educator accelerator to boost the employment pipeline in our commonwealth. We have the money to do it, and we could potentially lower school property taxes if we target specific parts of the commonwealth experiencing the greatest strains. My bill, H.B. 2389, the PA Teach Scholarship Program, does exactly that by addressing all these areas.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade now leaves the decision about how to regulate abortions up to individual states. Describe the abortion legislation that you would like to see enacted in Pennsylvania?

First, abortion is never an easy choice for a woman to make, but it is her choice and her choice alone. It's a discussion that should take place between a woman and her doctor — that's it. Not a discussion of what religious groups believe or what any legislator thinks is appropriate for the circumstances. I have not walked a mile in her shoes, so for me to say I understand what she may be going through is simply ridiculous.

I would keep the current legislation in Pennsylvania in place that supports a woman's legal right to have an abortion through the 23rd week of pregnancy, and after that only when the life or health of the woman is in danger. I believe government funding should only be made available for abortions when they are associated with life endangerment, rape or incest. I also support Planned Parenthood's mission to provide sexual, reproductive and complementary services; deliver comprehensive sexuality education; and advocate fiercely for the protection and advancement of health equity and access to care, all with the commitment to cultural humanity.

Pennsylvania, like the rest of the nation, is suffering through a period of severe inflation. What specific steps do you believe need to be taken to address this issue?

An important fact about inflation is that the state government (as compared to the federal government) has very few options to stop or control it. Policy ideas I have voted yes to support include increasing the housing supply and reducing the tax burden on consumers and businesses.

Specific steps taken in the latest budget that I voted for encompassed a $375 million investment addressing the affordable housing crisis. $125 million was dedicated to the Whole-Home Repair Program, to address habitability concerns and improve energy efficiency. $150 million was earmarked for Development Cost Relief, to offset higher development cost for affordable multifamily rental properties. $100 million was committed to Affordable Housing Construction Program, providing grants for the development of affordable housing units.

Regarding tax relief, I will continue to passionately advocate for the elimination of school property taxes for all homeowners and will vote yes for total elimination if it is brought up for a vote. I also voted for the reduction of the corporate net income tax from 9.99% to 8.99% this year and 4.99% by year 2031. This CNI rate reduction is sending a clear message that our commonwealth is open for business.

Republican James Oswald

Residence: Lower Alsace Township.

Age: 59.

Background: Oswald is the owner of Eagle Auto Radiator Service and a Lower Alsace Township supervisor, following his retirement from the U.S. Navy Seabees after 20 years of service. He also volunteers for various community organizations like the Mount Penn and Lower Alsace fire companies and Keystone Blood Bank.

Website: jamesoswaldforstaterep.com

Why should voters elect you and not your opponent?

I have been in public service all of my adult life, I served 20 years in the U.S. Navy Reserve Seabees. During that time my unit did a lot of community service projects where we helped communities or organizations save money by doing design and construction. I have served the last 30 years as both an EMT and firefighter serving the communities of Lower Alsace and Mount Penn as well as surrounding communities. I have been a Lower Alsace Township supervisor for the last 17 years in addition to sitting on the board of Central Berks Police Commission while also being the owner of a small business.

During this time, I have gained valuable insight as to how state government doesn't always have the best interest of communities or their residents in mind. My opponent had no background in municipal government when he was elected into office, therefore I believe I have a much better understanding of how to best serve the residents of the 126th District. Elected officials should not receive a state pension, you are a public servant not an employee. If elected I will work to put an end to this senseless waste of taxpayers' money.

Assuming your victory, choose a single issue you would prioritize in the coming term — name it and describe what you want to accomplish.

The elimination of school property taxes and supporting the fair and equitable distribution of educational funding. Along those same lines I would work to reduce the number of school districts in Pennsylvania — 500 school districts is far too many. If we could go to county school districts, it would save millions of dollars a year in contract negotiations, product purchasing and insurance costs just to name a few. There are 67 counties in the state of Pennsylvania, allowing for large cities to have their own districts, round it off to 100 school districts. The average superintendent salary in the state is $170,000 per year, that alone would be a savings of $68 million a year.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade now leaves the decision about how to regulate abortions up to individual states. Describe the abortion legislation that you would like to see enacted in Pennsylvania?

I typically try to avoid this question because very few people seem to agree on how to deal with this. Although I agree that a woman has rights pertaining to her body, I also believe that a baby has a right to live. My proposal would be to allow for abortions up to 16 weeks of pregnancy, by that point a woman should know she's pregnant and the baby could not survive outside the mother's womb.

Pennsylvania, like the rest of the nation, is suffering through a period of severe inflation. What specific steps do you believe need to be taken to address this issue?

First thing I would do is lift some of the restrictions that are strangling our energy producers in Pennsylvania. We have enough fossil fuels in the state to power us for at least the next 200 years. Although 'going green' may sound good on the surface, it does not currently make sense. California wants to ban gasoline-powered cars but doesn't even have enough electrical power to charge the few that they currently have, not to talk about how much pollution is created and land destruction in the mining of the materials used to create lithium batteries.

In the past eight years we have done more to ruin our economy than build it up in Pennsylvania. If we were able to do away with school property taxes, we could entice more companies to the state. I also believe that no farmland in the state should be to be sold to any foreign country. Agriculture is too important to the survival of our residents to let it be sold off, in fact I think a bill should be passed at the federal level stating the same thing. Once our farmland disappears we become subjects of those who own the land.