Brown, Shukaitis vying for state senate seat in 40th district

Oct. 15—A longtime state representative faces a Stroud Twp. supervisor in the Nov. 8 election for the 40th Senate District, which will encompass parts of Lackawanna and Wayne counties and all of Monroe County under redrawn district maps.

State Rep. Rosemary Brown, R-189, Middle Smithfield Twp., and Democrat Jennifer Shukaitis, Stroud Twp., are battling for the right to represent Carbondale city, the boroughs of Archbald, Blakely, Jermyn, Jessup, Mayfield, Moscow, Olyphant and Vandling and the townships of Carbondale, Clifton, Covington, Elmhurst, Fell, Jefferson, Madison, Roaring Brook, Spring Brook and Thornhurst, all in Lackawanna County. The district will also include in Wayne County, the boroughs of Honesdale, Prompton and Waymart and the townships of Canaan, Cherry Ridge, Dreher, Lake, Lehigh, Salem, South Canaan, Sterling and Texas.

Brown, 51, worked in executive management positions in retail and pharmaceutical sales before being elected to the state House in 2010. Shukaitis is a coding specialist with Lehigh Valley Hospital and has served as a Stroud Twp. supervisor since 2020. The winner will replace state Sen. Mario Scavello, who retired. The seat is a four-year term and pays $95,432.14 this year.

In a phone interview, Shukaitis vowed to be independent and work for taxpayers' best interests while being fiscally responsible.

Brown declined requests for a phone interview. In a written statement and information posted on her campaign website, she touts herself as an independent who has fought for tax reform, sound fiscal policies and discipline.

2020 election

Brown says she's grown weary over the continued focus on the results on the election and prefers to focus on real issues, including record inflation "caused by liberal policies."

Shukaitis says she has confidence in the election system, and while there may be irregularities, there are numerous safeguards to protect the security of the vote on the state and federal level.

Abortion

Brown opposes sex selection, late term- and taxpayer-funded abortions but does support exceptions for rape, incest and threats to the mother's life. She defended her votes on a number of bills her opponent says were against preserving women's reproductive rights, including her recent vote in favor of Senate Bill 106, the first step in a multi-part process that would place a ballot question before voters to amend the state constitution to say there is no guaranteed right to a taxpayer-funded abortion. Brown said the amendment, if passed, would not change current law. She said she supported the bill because she "believes giving people a voice is a great thing."

Shukaitis disagrees with the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe vs. Wade and vowed to be a strong supporter of a woman's right to the procedure. She supports current law, which allows for an abortion up to 23 weeks of gestation, with exceptions for later term pregnancies if the mother's life is in danger. She also supports exceptions for rape and incest.

Election administration

Brown says the goal should be to have secure elections run under consistent rules. She supports drop boxes, as long as they are secure. She also supports current mail-in ballot regulations, which allow eligible voters to seek a mail-in ballot without providing a reason for it.

Shukaitis opposes any legislation that would make it more difficult for eligible voters to cast ballots. She supports drop boxes and no excuse mail-in ballots and questioned why anyone would advocate for changing something that gives more people access to voting.

Inflation, economy and jobs

Brown says current economic policies are not working. The state needs to control spending and become more competitive through tax and regulatory reform. She recently voted for bipartisan legislation to reduce the state corporate income tax, which is the highest in the nation and makes the state less competitive in attracting new employers. She also want to make the state's regulatory system fairer, more predictable and consistent.

Shukaitis does not support any further reduction in taxes on corporations, which already benefited from tax cuts at the expense of the middle class. She says there are other ways to attract businesses, including ensuring there is a well-trained workforce, which benefits workers and businesses. She would push for more investment in training programs to help people develop marketable skills that will pay a living wage.

Education funding

Brown says she has consistently supported increased funding for public education. She worked with Democrats and Republicans to lobby for passage of a bipartisan education funding formula that resulted in the state having the highest-ever funding level for education this year.

Shukaitis says the state needs to make education funding more of a priority. She would work to alter current funding formulas to address inequities among school districts, including Carbondale Area School District, which she said is at the bottom for per-pupil funding in the state.

Environment

Brown supports the development of alternative energy sources, but is critical of "far-left government policies that try to force artificially decided goals onto society," which cost consumers money and jobs. She calls for a carefully thought-out plan to balance environmental protection and economic viability. She did not respond to questions about fracking or the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, an interstate program aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.

Shukaitis says the country must gradually move away from fossil fuels and develop more clean energy sources. The state needs a well-thought-out method that incorporates clean energy into the plan instead of being reliant on one source. She supports fracking, as long as there are regulations to protect the environment, and the state remaining in the Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

Government ethics and transparency

Brown says all money spent to influence elections should be publicly reported. She did not respond to questions about banning gifts to legislators or term limits. She supports automatic pay raises for legislators, which are tied to inflation, because that helps dissuade politicians from enriching themselves through votes, but she said they should be paused during times of economic strife.

Shukaitis says all donations should be reported. She wants more transparency in campaign finances and reforms to reduce the pressure on candidates to raise so much money, which increases the chance they can be unduly influenced. She does not support automatic pay raises for legislators and believes gifts should be banned because "you don't know what's on the other end of that string." She does not support term limits because "that's what voting is for."

Gun regulation

Brown supports reasonable restrictions, including universal background checks and red flag laws that allow authorities to seize guns of people deemed a danger to themselves or others, as long as there are safeguards to protect people's due process rights. Brown also called for more to be done to address the underlying issues that lead to gun violence, including mental health intervention, and for serious penalties for criminals who use guns.

Shukaitis supports common sense safety regulations, including universal background checks and red flag laws. She wants more education of public officials on the use of red flag laws to ensure owners' rights are protected.

Minimum wage

Brown supports increasing the minimum wage, which has not changed since 2009. She did not cite a specific dollar amount, saying the increase should be developed through careful consideration of the changing buying power since the last increase and the impact on small businesses and consumers.

Shukaitis supports increasing the wage over time, starting with an increase to about $12 an hour.

Recreational marijuana legalization

Brown supported legalization of medical marijuana, but does not support recreational use based on positions held by the law enforcement community.

Shukaitis supports decriminalizing recreational use, saying too many people who pose no threat are being harmed. That does not mean people can "do whatever they want," she says, as they have a responsibility to be responsible.

Taxes

Brown says she is a longtime supporter of eliminating school property taxes. She voted for the property tax independence act that would have replaced school property tax with a mix of sales and income tax rate adjustments, and would have brought more fairness to school funding.

Shukaitis is concerned about the reliance on property taxes, but does not support eliminating them entirely because other types of taxes to replace them are too volatile. She supports a hybrid plan to reduce property taxes and supplement the lost revenue with an increase in the state income tax.

Contact the writer: tbesecker@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9137; @tmbeseckerTT on Twitter.