Election 2022: Doylestown's Connor O'Hanlon running for redrawn state 29th District seat
An accountant from Doylestown Township is the first to announce a run for what may be the newly drawn 29th State House District in November.
Connor O’Hanlon, 25, announced his bid as a Democratic candidate in the 2022 election nearly two weeks after the state’s Legislative Reapportionment Commission released a preliminary map following the 2020 census.
O’Hanlon works as an auditor in public accounting, primarily specializing in auditing publicly traded companies in the online gaming and casino industry, a news release states.
He presumably would face Republican Meghan Schroeder for the seat. A longtime legislative aide to former Rep. Bernie O'Neill, Schroeder succeeded him in 2018, and was re-elected in 2020.
Chairman of the Doylestown Democratic Committee, O’Hanlon grew up in the Doylestown area and said he would work to strengthen Pennsylvania's economy to help local businesses.
“I know the owners of these businesses and I know they’re fighting to hire local people and pay them living wages, everything my platform is going to stand for,” O’Hanlon said during a phone interview Monday.
Along with increasing the state’s minimum wage, O’Hanlon’s campaign website adds the right to unionize, access to healthcare and increasing housing through developing vacant properties in O’Hanlon’s platform.
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O’Hanlon added that he would also protect the voting, reproductive and civil rights of all his constituents if elected, including protections for LGBTQ individuals and voting rights in general.
If approved in February, the new 29th District includes Buckingham, Chalfont, Doylestown Borough, Doylestown Township, New Britain Borough, New Hope and Solebury.
As of Dec. 13, there were approximately 53,184 registered voters in those seven towns with Democrats making up nearly 42% of the electorate compared to the 38% of registered Republican voters, according to Department of State voter data.
O'Hanlon said the current legislative layout across the county sways more heavily in favor for Republicans running for office in the past.
The municipalities that make up the planned 29th District are currently split between the current 29th, 143rd, 144th and 178th districts.
Those current district boundaries connected the Central Bucks communities to districts that extended far to the upper and lower regions of the county.
Democrats have consistently outnumbered Republican voters in Bucks County for several years, but GOP candidates have represented all but a handful of districts in Lower Bucks County for years.
"They make it so that at least there's potential for a Democratic majority. I think everyone would agree there should always be a potential for either party taking power. That's the only way we hold our elected officials to account," O'Hanlon said.
While O’Hanlon currently is the only person in the running, there are still months to go until the May 17 primary and Nov. 8 election.
More information about O’Hanlon can be found at www.connorohanlon.com.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Two weeks after new map, Bucks County sees first candidate in 29th race
