Election 2022: Your guide to the 102nd state House seat

Democratic candidate Laura Quick is challenging incumbent Republican Russ Diamond for the 102nd state House seat in the Nov. 8 election.

The district covers part of Lebanon County. It consists of Cleona, Jonestown, Myerstown, Palmyra and Richland boroughs as well as the townships of Annville, Bethel, East Hanover, Heidelberg, Jackson, Millcreek, North Annville, North Londonderry, Swatara and Union.

The Lebanon Daily News asked the candidates a series of questions on a variety of topics, including inflation, abortion, and elections. Each question had a 500-character limit, and the responses were not edited.

Here are their answers:

Laura Quick, Democratic

Age: 56

Campaign website: LauraQuickforPA.org

Campaign Twitter: @Quick4Progress

Campaign Facebook: www.facebook.com/QuickForProgress

Occupation: UPS Driver

Primary residence: North Londonderry Twp

What is the top issue facing this office, and what are your plans to address it?

The top issue for this office would be getting Harrisburg working for the people of Pennsylvania and for this specific seat to get a better working relationship with its constituents. My plan to get Harrisburg working again is to establish a Problem Solvers Caucus (please see next answer). And as far as the 102 is concerned, I plan on making myself accessible by prioritizing an open-door policy for all constituents by phone, by Zoom or in person meetings.

What steps would you take to reduce polarization?

As a candidate I have been accentuating the fact that voters should be concentrated on the individual candidates, not the party affiliation. As a legislator, the first thing I would do is create a Problem Solvers Caucus. This is a caucus that you can join only with a member of the opposite party. All legislation going out of it will be bipartisan and as its name implies will be focused on solving problems not partisan battles.

How would you handle legislation regarding abortion?

Pregnancy is a medical condition that needs to be overseen by trusted medical professionals not legislators or judges. The government should stay out of a medical decision that's between a woman, her family, physician and her faith. Any legislation I would sponsor/co-sponsor would be protecting reproductive rights and the overall health of women.

How can we fund needed road and bridge improvements?

The best way to fund any of these projects would be through a public bank and since roads and bridges cross over state lines this is best served by a national infrastructure bank. There is currently support within our General Assembly in the form of resolutions lobbying our Congressional delegation to support HB 3339 for a National Infrastructure Bank because it is debt-neutral and does not add any new taxes.

What, if any, reforms to Pennsylvania's election law would you support?

We need to continue using Vote by Mail, but we must increase the transparency and standardize how each county processes and reports in the ballots.

Would you seek the adoption of any new gun control measures? If yes, what? If no, why not?

We need to enforce the gun laws that are already on the books and adopt new policies for "weapons of war". We first need to define what guns are used expressly for killing people and then increase the qualifications for those to possess these types of firearms. Just as we expect a driver of a tractor trailer hauling tons of goods or volatile substances to have a higher degree of qualifications than a normal class C driver, we should expect the same from owners of powerful firearms.

How would you position Pennsylvania to be a leader on environmental issues?

As Pennsylvania is the second highest producer of natural gas in the US, we have a responsibility to that economy while protecting our environment through responsible extraction and responsible capping of depleted oil and gas wells. There is also the issue of runoff into streams and rivers from our vast amounts of farms located in Pennsylvania. We can be both good stewards to our economy and our environment and I will seek to support legislation that creates a win-win for both.

What should Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, now set at $7.25 an hour, be?

I would like to see the servers' minimum wage raised but as far as minimum wage in general I would like to focus the conversation to a "livable wage". We need to introduce new ideas to the wage conversation such as starting wage vs. wage progression to reward employees for continued years of service as well as helping employers with the cost of training new employees.

What, if any, procedural rules would you suggest or support for the 2023-24 legislative session?

As a potential freshman legislator, I may have very little to no say in procedural rules but whatever rules are established, will endeavor to get the needs of my constituents met while complying with the procedural rules in place.

Election 2022: Your guide to the Pennsylvania general election

How do I register to vote?: Making a plan to cast your ballot in the 2022 midterm elections.

Russ Diamond, Republican

Website: russdiamond.vote

Diamond did not respond.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Election 2022: 102nd state House seat in Lebanon County Pennsylvania