Indiana County, Pennsylvania

Return to Guide to the Candidates Listing

PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CANDIDATES 2006

The General Assembly, the legislative branch of state government, is composed of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. A majority vote of both houses is necessary to pass a law. Every law concerning taxation must originate in the House of Representatives. There are 203 members of the House and 50 members of the Senate.

Members of the House of Representatives are elected for a two-year term. Their annual salary is $72,187.27 .

Pennsylvania House of Representatives
DISTRICT 60
Indiana County Boroughs and Townships in District 60: Creekside, Ernest, Shelocta Boroughs. Armstrong, Brush Valley, Cherryhill, Rayne,
Washington Townships

(Vote for one)

Two Year Term

Salary: $72,187.27

Ron Covone
Democrat
Freeport

Year of birth: 1945
Education:
Conelley High School, some college courses

Qualifications for office:
S.Buffalo Township Supervisor
Chairman 6 yrs to date
Freeport Plumbing and Contracting
Owner--35 yrs.

Previous Affiliations: Pa. Builders Association, Indiana-Armstrong Branch: Sec'y, Vice-Pres. & Board Member; Armstrong Branch, Pres.--3 terms
Non-Profit Housing Corp. of Arm Co. Board Member; Armstrong Co. Farmland Preservation Board Member; Redevelopment Auth. of Arm. Co. Chairman.
Arm. Co. Assoc. of Twp. Supervisors 1st Vice-Pres.; Armstrong Area Council On Government Chairman

QUESTION 1: . Mercury is a highly toxic metal emitted by coal fired power plants and deposited within 50 miles of the plant from which it is emitted. Indiana County and Pennsylvania have several large power plants which emit some of the highest quantities of mercury in the country. How can the legislature work to protect our citizens from power plant pollutants, especially mercury and particulate matter?

1. I feel that the legislation that is in effect for the power plant emissions will go a long way in reducing the harmful emissions. As soon as the plants are able to get and install the scrubbers necessary for cleaner air we should less mercury and particulate matter.

QUESTION 2: The sale and use of illegal drugs and underage consumption of alcoholic beverages are a major concern for our county. What can the legislature do to help rural counties deal with this growing problem?

2. Legislators need to see that there is adequate funding available for the education of our youth on the hazards of using drugs and alcohol. The funds must also be there for the enforcement of our laws concerning the use of these substances. We need to get the information into the schools to the younger students as soon as we can.

QUESTION 3: There is some doubt that home owners will see their property taxes lowered to the extent originally anticipated with the passage of the slots gambling bill, and other concerns have arisen concerning this legislation. What changes, if any, would you suggest to improve the slots legislation?

3.The slots legislation alone is not the answer to alleviating the property taxes. I believe we need TOTAL ELIMINATION, not REDUCTION , in property taxes.

QUESTION 4: Pennsylvania leads the nation in the number of teacher strikes every year. Would you support legislation to outlaw teacher strikes and/or require binding arbitration in teacher strikes? Why, or why not?

4. YES! I would support outlawing teacher strikes and/or require binding arbitration. Do not feel that the strikes are a benefit to the educational system or to the students. It is also very disruptive to families.

Jeff Pyle
Republican Party
Ford City

Year of birth: 1964

Education:
FCHS 1982 grad;
West Virginia University 1986 grad (BA-Political Science,Pre-Law) and
Indiana University of PA 1991 summa cum laude grad (BS-Secondary Education, Social Studies)

Qualifications for office:
Elected Mayor of Ford City borough 2002-2004; current seated State Representative 2004-present; extensive grant writing and lobbying experience for local governments and civic organizations from 1997-present

ANSWER: In addressing the mercury issue versus the importance of the minerals/power generation industries and the employment they provide to Indiana County, the interesting point becomes reaching a solution that cleans our air while protecting our labor force. I think I’ve found a solution by introducing HB 2771-“the Scrubber bill.” With estimated costs to install the required scrubbers on, for example, just the Keystone Station plant, estimated at over $1 billion +, another factor reveals itself-where will the costs for those scrubbers be borne? I do not feel our consumers can handle much more in home energy costs and thus, HB 2771 which provides a tax credit to coal fired electric plants ($3/ton of coal burned) to help them recover the scrubber costs only if the latest generation of NOX, SOX and mercury reducing scrubbers are installed. In short, no scrubbers, no tax credit- logic would dictate they will not pass on the tax credit being used as an incentive to install the scrubbers we need to better our environmental quality.

In approaching from this angle, I feel the mission of cleaning our air is accomplished through economic motivation that does not require passing higher electric costs on to the consumers AND protects the jobs we so badly need to retain and grow.

ANSWER: I’ve worked hard on legislation to give our District Attorneys greater weaponry to fight the proliferation of drugs in our communities. My House Bill 1704 would establish a new first class felony-drug delivery resulting in death-that would hold drug deliverers accountable for their actions and hopefully act as a strong deterrent to those who would seek to profit from their poisons. HB 1704 passed the House quickly by a unanimous vote. It is now awaiting action from the Senate. I’d feel a lot better if the drug dealers in the area knew there would be, without any possible doubt and as sure as the Sun comes up in the East, grave and harshly punitive consequences from our District Attorneys and judicial systems. In short, I want the drug dealers to know Armstrong and Indiana Counties are very, very bad places to do business.

More concretely, I’ve been in discussion with the District Attorney of Indiana County to obtain State funding for the establishment of a new component in the War on Drugs that has proven to be a great success in other parts of the Commonwealth, drug courts. DA Bob Bell and Sheriff Bob Fyock have been great partners for the past two years and the working relationships we’ve forged have begun to produce results in turning back those who would prey on our kids. If I am re-elected, please know I will do everything in my professional capacity’s power to fulfill my personal mission of ridding us of illegal drugs and their horrific, family-devastating effects. On a local level, I have helped establish four community drug crime watches and have gone as far as offering myself as a conduit for people wishing to turn in drug dealers without having to expose themselves as the informant. To date, names I’ve been given by observant citizens (quickly turned over to the DA for action by the Armstrong and Indiana drug task forces) have resulted in arrests numbering approximately two dozen. My system is working to an extent, but not as well as I need. Like economic development, our drug and drug related violence problems do not present themselves as a “one-time” definitive solution but rather an ongoing process that never takes a day off. Thus, neither can we. I also support the recent initiatives to employ more local policemen through state-aided funding (10,000 Policemen-Perzel).

ANSWER: The original slots legislation is terribly flawed and allows for too many instances of corruption in so many different areas I doubt the original legislation will survive long without sweeping changes to it. That said, premise of your question begins with doubts about school property tax relief and the “projected” relief “projected” slots revenues will bring. Let the record reflect I am completely skeptical and doubting the slots revenue received will be even close to these “projections” and thus, the school property tax relief demanded by the citizens of the Sixtieth District will not be met. I think I have a better solution: raise the state sales tax one percent on only currently taxed items with no expansion to new items or services. Doing so will generate over a billion and a half dollars in revenue that could be passed on to the homeowners in the form of rebates they could use to pay their school property taxes.

Please let me be clear, I have always felt and continue to feel that paying for our public schools by taxing a person’s home is flawed and should be completely eliminated utilizing different methods. I think sales tax is a better, fairer way to achieve the goal of true property independence and, if re-elected, I will again introduce my 1% Bill which missed passage by only seven votes in June 2006. The calculated savings to all homeowners (wage earners and senior retirees alike) in the Indiana Area School District attendance area is over $1100. Although not the complete elimination as I would prefer, it is a healthy start to beginning a change in philosophy that guides our state and school districts away from dependence on property taxation and towards a much more desirable sales tax based system.

ANSWER: I do not support outlawing teacher strikes until there is a concrete provision for binding arbitration established within the “No Strike” legislation. The provision for binding arbitration must be legally inseparable from any consideration of “No Strike” before I will even consider it.

Return to Guide to the Candidates Listing

Pennsylvania House of Representatives
DISTRICT 62
Indiana County Boroughs and Townships in District 62: Armagh, Blairsville, Clymer, Homer City, Indiana, Saltsburg Boroughs. Black Lick, Buffington, Burrell, Center, Cherryhill, Conemaugh, East Wheatfield, Pine, West Wheatfield, White, Young Townships.

(Vote for one)

Two Year Term

Salary: $72,187.27

Cynthia Spielman
Democrat
Indiana

Year of birth: 1958

Education:
BS in Education and Accounting and MBA

Qualifications for office:
Common sense, honesty, integrity, and hard work ethics. I have been employed in various work roles spanning my 30 year career including waitressing (Perkins and Ponderosa), farm labor (Musser Nursery), educator ( Homer Center SD and Altoona School of Commerce), office work (IUP and McGregor Motors), factory worker (King Leather). I have been involved with many programs in leadership roles as well as volunteering. The organizations include the following: United Way, AFSCME, Federation of Democratic Women of Indiana County, Indiana County Central Labor Council, Grace United Methodist Church, Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans, Homer City Head Start, Labor and Employment Relations Association – Southwestern Pennsylvania Chapter, and the Pennsylvania Labor History Society.

It is a proven fact that mercury is a central nervous system toxin. This is a danger to us and our families. It is important to preserve Pennsylvania’s coal mining industry and support the jobs of those who are employed through the energy industry. With that in mind, I believe legislation should be enacted to reduce the amount of mercury levels being emitted from the coal fired power plants. State funding should be established to promote the installation of scrubbers or other new devices on the stacks to reduce the mercury emissions. This would also help to create quality jobs in our region as scrubbers would have to be manufactured, installed and maintained.

There has over the past several decades been a problem with drugs and alcohol in Indiana County. Funding must be secured to implement rehabilitation clinics in the area as well as provide safe places for our youth to go – such as parks, playgrounds, and other recreational activities. Many children have few activities to partake in and therefore turn to drugs and alcohol to fill a void. Part of the problem lies with the family and the need for both parents to work full time, in some cases longer work hours, and secure second jobs. The legislature needs to actively lobby companies to locate here in Pennsylvania (and Indiana County) and encourage the expansion of small manufacturing companies who are already here.

Slots revenue is not intended to eliminate property taxes as so many legislators would have us to believe. I support the use of gaming revenues to help defray the cost for our most vulnerable citizens (the elderly and the poor) who live on fixed incomes and can least afford to continue paying the escalating costs of property taxes. It has been discussed that taxes should be shifted to an increase in the state income tax as well as raising the sales tax. Again, unfortunately, this would shift the burden back onto the poor. Unless it was a progressive form of taxation, I would not be in favor of increasing income tax. There has to be a change in the way the school district funding formula is computed.

Teacher strikes are down all over the country and considerably down from the era of the 70’s and 80’s. Therefore, I would not take away the rights of teachers to strike. This is the only mechanism teachers have to force school boards to come together at the table and bargain in good faith. Plus, if legislation were enacted it might be the start of enacting legislation across the board that would prohibit any organized entity from exercising their right to strike without retaliation. Mineworkers, Teamsters, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and all those who are in an organized work place may all be affected by legislation making it illegal to strike.

Dave Reed
Republican

Year of birth: 1978

Education:
Homer Center High School – 1996Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP): B.A. Mathematics/Economics – 2000University of Pennsylvania (Penn): M.G.A. Masters of Governmental Adm. – 2001

Qualifications for office:
Throughout my lifetime, I have experienced America from two very unique perspectives. From the beginning of my life living in a trailer park in Blairsville to my time studying economics and government at IUP and Penn, I have had the great opportunity to view life from many different facets. During that time, I have been given many great opportunities through the love and dedication of my parents. Their active interest in my development led me down the path to success and prosperity. Over the years, I have come to believe that all to often we have political leaders that lack understanding of so many of the problems facing our communities because they themselves have never experienced hardship. I question how one can truly understand unemployment unless they have experienced it first hand. Growing up in Homer City, my family did face down unemployment not once but twice. However, no matter how bleak or difficult things may have gotten, I was always taught that through hard work and determination anything was possible. It is this philosophy, set forth by my family, that I lead my life by and represent the people of the 62nd Legislative District by on a daily basis.

One of the key challenges we face as a nation and as a state as we move through the 21st century is our charge to balance both our economic necessities and our environmental responsibilities. The reduction of mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants is a first step as we embark upon this all-important journey. In order to ensure that all the needs of our community are met, we must implement a policy that ensures that electricity will remain affordable, our workers will be able to continue working, and the health of our community’s residents is secure.

To move towards this end, I have spent much of the last year developing a proposal that seeks to attain all of these objectives. More specifically, I believe that we should enact the legislation similar to that of which I have proposed that would require the installation of mercury emission control technology at each and every power plant in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania – with the objective of achieving a 80% reduction in emissions by 2010 and a 90% reduction in emissions by 2015.

The problem of drug and alcohol abuse in our communities has become increasing apparent over the last decade and we as a community must take every necessary step to combat this epidemic. The goal from the state perspective must be to provide the resources needed for our law enforcement agencies track down the perpetrators of such offenses as well as adequate funding for our rehabilitation facilities to treat such addictions.

From a local perspective, we as community members and community leaders must band together to fight this important battle together. Unfortunately, this is not a problem that will be solved by winning a single battle, but instead our success will be found in our schools, at our churches, and in our homes through our own dedicated vigilance on a daily basis.

To begin with, we must first realize that the expansion of gambling within the commonwealth will not solve our property tax dilemma. Instead, in order to bring true property tax reform to our school districts and our homeowners we must shift to either an income tax or sales tax to generate the revenue necessary to bring about at least a 50% reduction in school property taxes. Additionally, we must also see that these new state dollars are distributed on a per pupil basis so that we can begin to bring equity to the funding of our rural school districts as compared to suburban school districts.

As to the current gambling law, it must be amended to prohibit any ownership interest by any elected official, remove the middleman slot machine distributors, and give the Attorney General and State Police authority to regulate and investigate the entire industry. If we are to have expanded gambling in our commonwealth it should be regulated to the fullest extend with the tightest laws in the land.

Over the years it has become abundantly clear that nobody wins in a teacher strike. The teachers lose, the school district loses, and, most importantly, our children are the biggest losers of all. A solution must be found that protects the quality of education within our community as well as ensures affordability for the taxpayers within that community.

Whether it is through binding arbitration or any other possible means, we must be sure not to give absolute power to either side of the negotiating parties – absolute power corrupts even purest proceedings. In the end, whatever solution we may arrive at, we must always remain focused on the issue that matters most – the future of our children.

Return to Guide to the Candidates Listing

Pennsylvania House of Representatives
DISTRICT 66
Indiana County Boroughs and Townships in District 66: Cherry Tree, Glen Campbell, Marion Center, Plumville, Smicksburg Boroughs. Banks, Canoe, East Mahoning, Grant, Montgomery, South Mahoning, West Mahoning Townships.

Two Year Term

Salary: $72,187.27

Samy ElMasry
Democrat
Brockway

Year of birth: 1951
Education:
Bachelors Degree in Business Administration

Qualifications for office:
Former Restaurant Owner and previously union laborer

The legislature can mandate higher emission standards, including higher quality stack filters, to reduce or eliminate the toxins. This also covers water discharges also requiring proper filtration disposal.

More money for law enforcement and stiffer penalties for the provider of drugs and alcohol including underage participants.

Slots were solely intended to reduce property taxes for the citizens. The problem has become it has become a 'Pet Project' fund for legislators also.

I believe teachers have the right to an initial strike to bargain better. Strikes should be limited in duration. After an extended bargaining time period of a year binding arbitration should be accepted by BOTH parties.

Sam Smith
Republican
Punxsutawney

Year of birth: 1955

Education:
Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising from Penn State

Qualifications for office:
I was born and raised in Punxsutawney. I have always been a strong advocate for our region and its residents. Growing up and living most of my life here, I fully understand the issues which are important to rural Pennsylvania.

I have demonstrated the ability to get things done. For instance, as the author of the original “Growing Greener” initiative, I have helped secure major funding to clean up streams, improve local water and sewer services and reclaim abandoned mines.

I serve on the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) Council of Trustees and the Punxsutawney College Trust which supports IUP’s Punxsutawney Campus, the Community Action board, the Jefferson County Development Council and many other local organizations.

I am very concerned about the air quality within Pennsylvania. Good air quality improves our overall environment and doing so makes Pennsylvania a better place to live and to raise a family. I believe the best method to achieve mercury emission reductions in through the adoption of the Federal Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Under CAMR, mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants will be required to be reduced by 86 percent no later than 2018. Even with these significant reductions in emissions, the CAMR rule will allow coal-fired power plants to continue providing family sustaining jobs, keep energy costs under control, and help spur future development in Pennsylvania.

The General Assembly has enacted legislation directed both to the issues of illegal drugs and underage alcohol consumption. I believe we need to attack these problems in two ways. First, we must ensure our laws appropriately define and provide sufficient penalties for illegal behavior. Second, those who have drug and alcohol problems have access to appropriate treatment.

The House has already passed legislation to address the growing methamphetamine problem in rural areas. In 2004, we strengthened the state’s driving under the influence law to make our streets safer.

Through the state budget, we have provided sufficient funding for a multi-pronged effort to fight the use of illegal drugs. Funds to increase the number of State Troopers (an effort which I lead) have been included in the budget for the last three years, although the administration has been dragging its feet to hire them. Another $40 million will help communities throughout the state keep their streets drug-free and their children safe through various initiatives.

Even The New York Times called the bill the “sleaziest” gambling law in the nation – which only passed because of the perceived prospect of “free money” for marginal property tax relief. We in the General Assembly have been trying to reach a consensus to fix the state’s gaming law since the governor vetoed a reform bill 2004. In March, the House passed another gaming reform bill and the Senate just sent it back. We intend to vote on the new bill which will make needed reforms.

I am for meaningful property tax reductions. That is why I voted several times to dedicate additional revenue sources to replace local revenues currently used to fund schools. The governor opposed this effort and the Senate did not vote on the House proposal. In order to make meaningful tax reform a reality in Pennsylvania two things must happen. One, we need to control spending and, two, there must be additional revenues from the Commonwealth to replace locally –raised funds.

Teachers’ strikes deprive children of the quality education they deserve. I have supported legislation (such as Act 88 of 1992) to reduce the number and duration of teacher strikes and put a greater emphasis on students’ receiving a full 180-day school year.

While final binding arbitration, which would eliminate strikes, may appear an easy alternative,however, key questions as to who acts as the final arbitrator and how the overall process will operate must be resolved. Regardless of the details, binding arbitration means an outside entity will ultimately decide the terms of the final contract and therefore its cost.

Clearly strikes are not the best way to resolve collective bargaining impasses in public education, but we need to be cautious that any alternative will not leave locally-elected boards raising taxes to pay for more costly settlements imposed by others.

Janet Serene
Constitution
Mayport

Year of birth: 1932
Education:
B.S. in Education

Qualifications for office:
My qualifications for serving as a member of the Pennsylvania House are my years of experience as a teacher interacting with pupils, parents, administrators and school boards, having raised a family which includes grandchildren and great-grandchildren, reading and studying a wide variety of material, maintaining a home and small farm, and being a patriotic citizen of the state. I have also traveled much.

To be sure this is not “environmental hype” I would need to see good scientific research on the affect of these pollutants on their areas.

Local citizens should work with power companies to eliminate any problems.

With all of our scientific expertise we certainly should have, or be able to put in place, a filtration system that could collect particulate matter at the plants.

I would need to study this more thoroughly.

With a Federal Drug Czar working on the War on Drugs we seem to have made little, if any progress.

A lot of “big” people make a lot of “big” money on drug sales. Likewise alcohol sales are “big” business.

We need a return to the Biblical teaching: “Woe to those who put strong drink (or drugs) before their neighbors lips.”

Families and communities must be better educated on the dangers of drugs and alcohol. Local churches must be more effective in reaching out to young people.

Police must concentrate on finding the big dealers. These are all local issues. Perhaps we should legalize everything and tax them extremely high.

And returning prayer, Bible reading and the Ten Commandments to the government schools would certainly help!

I would move to repeal the entire gambling legislation.

Property taxes should be eliminated and replaced with a fair/consumption tax statewide.

I would support legislation to outlaw teacher strikes. Teaching is supposed to be a profession and as such teachers, being paid with public monies, should act in a professional manner.

Disrupting families’ schedules, walking picket lines and making demands which are mostly financial do not set a very good example for pupils, students, or the communities involved.

I would like to see accurate research as to why PA leads in the number of strikes every year. I would also like to see proof that we are really getting better education of our citizens for the money being spent in ever increasing amounts.

Return to Guide to the Candidates Listing