Pa. special election: Hear from the candidates for the 33rd District Senate seat

On May 21, there will be a special election to fill the 33rd District State Senate seat that former Senator Rich Alloway left vacant when he resigned earlier this year.

Doug Mastriano is the Republican nominee, and Sarah Hammond is the Democratic nominee in the special election. 

Whoever wins the election will serve the remainder of Alloway's term, which expires in 2020.

Below, the candidates answered a few questions about their experience and policy ideas. 

The 33rd District covers all of Adams County, Hanover Borough and West Manheim and Penn townships, most of Franklin County and parts of Cumberland County.   

More:Election 2019: Here are the candidates on the primary ballot for Hanover-area races

Candidates answers have been edited for clarity.  

Douglas Mastriano (R) 

What experience do you have that makes you qualified for the job?

I will not stand aside as career politicians and greedy bureaucrats run us into the ground. This is why I am asking for your vote to fight for you, our freedoms and state.

What do I offer as your Senator? I’m a proven leader. I lead from the front, the first one in and the last out, never asking others to do what I myself would not do. I've united diverse groups of men and women people from across this state, the nation and world. I served for more than 30 years; serving during the Cold War, in Iraq and Afghanistan.

My life is about delivering results. Of my original class of 40 plus officers, only three of us made it to Colonel. To achieve this is extremely difficult and only comes by being a person of moral character, incredibly hard work, personal sacrifice and delivering results.

If elected, what is the first policy or issue you are going to tackle in the Senate and how would you go about it?
Our property tax is the 17th highest in the nation. This is too much for our retirees.

I propose immediate relief and help for our retirees by expanding the Real Estate Tax Deferment Program. If you are 65 and over, earn less than $80,000 annually, you should be exempt from the property tax, immediately. 

PennDOT says that half of our major roads need repairs, and half of our bridges have exceeded their life cycles. To resolve this, Governor Wolf gave us the highest gas tax in the nation. He said that this high taxation was required to address our crumbling transportation network and thereby fix our roads and bridges. This cost us 76 cents a gallon (18 cents Federal, 58 cents state). PennDOT says it needs $1.3 billion a year to maintain our existing roads and bridges. Yet, despite this cumbersome gas tax, only $460 million was provided to repair our transportation networks. Since Harrisburg can't be trusted with this gas tax revenue, I propose that the money collected be returned to the counties to take charge of road and bridge maintenance at the local level.

Additional priorities include: 

• Defending life, the single most important issue of our lifetime;
• Protecting the 2nd Amendment and the right for citizens to protect themselves;
• Fighting for lower taxes;
• Rolling back government regulations crushing farmers and business owners;
• School choice 

How do you think Governor Wolf is doing? What would you like him to do differently, and what would you like to see him to continue to do?

Governor Wolf's tax and spend policies are driving the elderly from their homes, forcing businesses out of the state and bankrupting the state for the future generation. He has supported or asked for three tax increases each year as governor for a total of twelve thus far.  According to the Tax Foundation, this has made Pennsylvania the 11th most taxed state in the nation, with 10.2 cents of every dollar going to the state and local government. The tax burden at the state and local level is $4,589 per person. This is too much.

We need fiscal responsibility and an end to the tax-and-spend programs advanced by Harrisburg. Twelve billion dollars went to welfare last year, and there are generations of welfare recipients enjoying the fruits of your labors. Our welfare system is being abused and needs immediate reform. If you wish to receive welfare, there should be three prerequisites: a work requirement, a time limit and drug tests. 

Sarah Hammond (D)

What experience do you have that makes you qualified for the job?

After graduating from Slippery Rock University with a degree in communications, I spent two years as an embroidery machine operator at Legacy Athletic back in my hometown of Hanover, earning money to pay off my student loans while I was starting to get more involved in local politics. I decided to run for State House in District 169 in 2018. I gained invaluable experience and insight into how effective campaigns are run, and took the time to make sure that I was reviewing my policy views while cross examining what issues are hard pressing right here in our district.

I am currently the Director of Community Development for the Borough of Spring Grove. In this position, I’ve been learning more about local economic and environmental impacts, as well as zoning, land development, permitting, planning and all the necessary aspects of effectively running a borough.

I’m running because I understand the struggles and responsibilities of working class people in the middle class, and those trying to get into the middle class. I understand how important job security is in our current paycheck-to-paycheck culture. I was born here, I was raised here, and together, we will represent our district to make sure everyone’s voice is heard at the table.

More:Pennsylvania midterm elections: Q&A with 169th House District candidate Sarah Hammond

If elected, what is the first policy or issue you are going to tackle in the Senate and how would you go about it?

There are a lot of different factors that we must adequately address when looking into eradicating the opioid crisis as a whole. We presently struggle to provide even a basic level of universal healthcare to our people, in a state where workers haven’t seen a wage increase in years. We must provide alternatives that are cost-efficient, non-lethal, and far less damaging to those who are fighting to beat their addictions. We incarcerate both nonviolent addicts and casual cannabis users alike, who have been caught, in many cases, with less than an ounce of cannabis for personal recreational use. As a result, we have over-populated our prisons with both harmless “offenders” and with inmates struggling with addiction who should be in detox facilities instead.

More:Adams County election: Who is on the primary ballot for commissioner, other offices

I am fighting for the legalization of adult recreational cannabis because it is a non-partisan issue that has impacted, to some degree, every single person in Pennsylvania. I propose that we implement rules similar to that of nicotine and alcohol. I propose that we tax those products similarly, and put these taxes back into reforming our criminal justice system. And I propose that we erase the felonies and misdemeanors for past and current nonviolent offenders.

We can utilize the revenue from these taxes to redefine addicts as survivors by providing funding for programs within detox facilities. When we simply treat these individuals as criminals and force them into withdraw in jail cells, we see overdoses more commonly upon reentry back on the streets. 

How do you think Governor Wolf is doing? What would you like him to do differently, and what would you like to see him to continue to do?

I greatly appreciate and am directly impacted in my day-to-day job by Governor Wolf’s “Restore Pennsylvania” plan. This comprehensive plan addresses many pressing issues related to improving our infrastructure, including an initiative focused on how we can turn blighted properties (land/structures in a dilapidated, unsafe, and most often times uninhabitable condition) into sustainable long-term investments within our communities. 

Funding, which is proposed to come from the implementation of a reasonable severance tax on the natural gas sector, will ensure that we are able to reinvest resources in our communities demolishing blighted properties within PA, and redeveloping these areas. Often times, the cost of demolishing a blighted property, particularly in areas with considerably smaller tax bases, can be budget-breaking. By using the funding from the severance tax plan, “Restore Pennsylvania” is able to provide financial resources at the local level to help communities acquire and demolish blighted properties. This creates the opening for more initiatives in community and economic development.