Candidate for
State Representative; Pennsylvania State House of Representatives; District 120; Democratic Party

Having been involved in many community organizations over the past 20 years, I have worked hard to make a positive impact in our community. I have worked with many of you in Little League, Scouts, school events , local government and through my constituent work in Representative Phyllis Mundy's office. Recently I have joined the board of directors of CASA of Luzerne county to help at risk children in the foster system. Together we have invested in our community and made a difference. I have lived by the motto "to leave things better than I found them" with each organization I have been involved in and, with all of your help, I think we have done just that. But there is more work to be done and that is why I am running for the House of Representatives.

I have made many great friends through my community activities, it is heartwarming to see so many of them here tonight. We worked in the little league stand, coached basketball, planted trees and camped with our cub scout den all to make our community a better place to raise a family.
One of the biggest challenges I have experienced in my political life, was the financial crisis West Wyoming experienced in 2009. But in only 5 short years we have made a remarkable recovery. As council president I led the effort to change the entire culture of government. Transparency and good business practices have led to good government and financial stability. My fellow elected officials and I gave back our pays and are in the process of downsizing our council from 7 to 5 members, it is all about good government. I have learned alot from this experience, what seemed impossible to fix, was not with strong leadership, teamwork and a great group of fellow council members.
In order to continue our recovery and help provide the services our residents need while keeping costs down, I founded the West Side Council of Governments. We are now at 11 member municipalities and I serve as the councils first president. We are making great strides to encourage cooperation and sharing among the municipalities on the West Side.
All of my life experiences have led me here tonight. I was fortunate to grow up in a loving family, my mom Pat Tracy is here tonight and she is one of the best campaign weapons I have. My late father Max Tracy, was a union leader, and fabulous organizer, both my mom and dad taught me the value of hard work.

We have a lot of issues facing us both locally and at the state level. As a community leader and council member, I know and understand these issues facing the citizens of the 120th district. As president of West Wyoming Borough Council for four years, I worked hard to develop strategies and find resources to fund government services without raising taxes and fees on residents. But skyrocketing property taxes are driving people from their homes and making it impossible for younger generations like my kids to buy a home because the state is not living up to its obligation to properly fund public education. As state legislator, I will hold Harrisburg accountable and work to find other revenue streams to reduce our reliance on property tax but still equitably fund our schools. That is why I will co sponsor HB 76. We need to move forward and take action to provide real property tax relief for our residents, while ensuring a quality education for our future generations. I will work tirelessly toward that goal, beginning with funding for early childhood education, funding for full day kindergarten and smaller class room sizes. Education has a direct effect on most of the issues we face in Pennsylvania. If we don't fund education to properly train our work force, how do we attract businesses that offer family sustaining jobs. There is much research that links poor education with increase crime rates. So properly funding education is a key to a healthy future for our community.

Our area has lagged behind in economic recovery. We need to work to bring family sustaining jobs to our area and help our middle class families thrive. I grew up in a middle class family, my dad worked in the Post Office and my mom worked in retail at the Bon Ton. We enjoyed a good quality of life, but today's middle class families are facing serious challenges. Middle class families have seen their incomes decline. Job growth has been stagnant over the last decade. From 2000-2010 the median family income in Pennsylvania decreased by over $6,000 yet school property taxes increased 66%. We continue to give tax breaks and tax cuts to corporations, yet we fail to insure that these incentives lead to jobs for Pennsylvanians. We need to break this cycle and help hard working families thrive once again.
The increase in violent crime and gang activity is alarming. We need to invest in strategies to prevent crime and make our streets safe. Together, 11 municipalities of the West Side Council of Governments are working to better coordinate public safety and improve communication and cooperation throughout the west side. We are undertaking efforts such as group purchasing with our emergency services to reduce costs and reduce the burden on tax payers, while providing the necessary equipment to fight crime efficiently and effectively.
Our environment should be one of our top properties. During my time on council in West Wyoming we became a Tree City USA, and took steps to control erosion along our waterways. These steps are important in good environmental stewardship. We face environmental challenges today as Pennsylvania has become the second leading exporter of natural gas in the USA. It is important that the industry is properly regulated and a fair severance tax is placed on the industry. It is amazing to me that we will increase the tax at the fuel pumps, making Pennsylvanian residents pay more to fill up their cars, but we still remain the only gas producing state not to place an extraction tax on the industry.