Election 2022: The race to represent the 24th Senatorial District

Oct. 13—The faces are familiar, but the battleground will be new.

Republican Rep. Tracy Pennycuick and Democrat Jill Dennin will compete to represent the 24th Senatorial District.

In 2020, Dennin unsuccessfully challenged Pennycuick in the 147th Legislative District.

The two are running to replace Sen. Bob Mensch, who announced this year that he would not be seeking reelection. The district includes parts of eastern Berks County and northwest Montgomery County.

State senators serve a four-year term and receive an annual salary of $95,432.

We asked the candidates to respond to four questions:

Democrat Jill Dennin

Residence: Douglass Township, Montgomery County.

Age: 60.

Background: Dennin served two terms as a member of the Boyertown School Board. She worked as a substitute teacher in the Boyertown and Daniel Boone school districts and has served as president of the Boyertown Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization, as a member of her local Boy Scout committee, as a volunteer at her church and as the soup kitchen coordinator for Meals on Wheels. She has a degree in political science and public policy from Goucher College in Maryland.

Website: jillfor24.com

Why should voters elect you and not your opponent?

I believe I represent the values of our district. We must provide fair and equitable funding of our schools to provide every child with a quality education, while also providing much needed property tax relief. Years of advocating for our community in Harrisburg have taught me how to navigate a complicated bureaucratic system and get things done.

As a former elected local official, and working for and serving in various community organizations, I understand the issues that impact our hard-working families and small businesses. I view serving as your state senator as an extension of my public service and representing you will be my first priority.

Assuming your victory, choose a single issue you would prioritize in the coming term — name it and describe what you want to accomplish.

The single issue I would prioritize when I win is public education funding. I believe democracy and our economy are strongest when we have an educated society and skilled workforce. This is accomplished by ensuring every child has access to a quality education starting with pre-K, regardless of ZIP code or economic status. I will support fully funding our schools by continuing to restore the decade-old cuts to public education.

In addition, I will address the millions of taxpayer dollars that are going to unregulated cyber/charter schools that are overcharging and underdelivering. This will not only benefit our families but our taxpayers as we have a more equitable property tax system and can finally provide relief to our senior citizens who are burdened with high property taxes.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade now leaves the decision about how to regulate abortions up to individual states. Describe the abortion legislation that you would like to see enacted in Pennsylvania?

As a woman who is about to have a granddaughter, I would like to see legislation adopted that will enshrine a woman's ability to make their own reproductive health decisions. I do not believe the Pennsylvania General Assembly should be making reproductive decisions for women.

Pennsylvania, like the rest of the nation, is suffering through a period of severe inflation. What specific steps do you believe need to be taken to address this issue?

Inflation is a complicated global problem that cannot be blamed on one administration, business or foreign country. It is a series of factors that have created a perfect storm. There are steps we can take to ensure inflation has less of an impact on Pennsylvanians.

We should ensure food security by protecting our food supply in the state, including protecting our farmers. We should also examine ways to use the billions of dollars sitting in the state's Rainy Day Fund to support families and small businesses that are at risk due to current inflation.

Republican Tracy Pennycuick

Residence: Lower Salford Township, Montgomery County.

Age: 56.

Background: Pennycuick has served as a state representative since 2021. Before running for office, she served in the Army for more than 25 years, owned a small business in the aviation services industry and was chosen to lead the Montgomery County Veterans Affairs Office for three years. She has a business degree from the University of Missouri.

Website: tracypennycuick.com

Why should voters elect you and not your opponent?

I'm a combat veteran, small-business owner and currently a state representative.

As state representative, I fought inflation by reducing taxes on Pennsylvania job creators, established the PA Childcare Tax Credit to help struggling families and expanded our safety net so families and seniors who need support through inflation receive it. Additionally, I voted for historic education funding, school safety grants and vital mental health funding. Our state now has the largest Rainy Day funding reserve in history. All of this has been accomplished without raising taxes.

My opponent has a much different record. As a local official, she's raised property taxes seven times by 25% and increased debt by 200%. Our differences on government are stark, and people cannot afford to have their taxes raised any further. I will never vote to raise your taxes.

Assuming your victory, choose a single issue you would prioritize in the coming term — name it and describe what you want to accomplish.

We need to continue to support businesses, families and seniors through historic inflation. I will work to help our job creators expand and bring new, good-paying, family-sustaining jobs to Pennsylvania. That's why I voted to reduce Pennsylvania business taxes, and we can do more to help workers and businesses succeed.

We need to review all of our regulations and eliminate anything that's duplicative or failing to achieve the intended result. We should not be standing in the way of safe energy production that has been shown to lower the cost of energy to consumers. Finally, there are families and seniors that are reeling from the effects of inflation. That's why I voted to increase home heating assistance and property tax and rent rebates for low-income families and seniors.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade now leaves the decision about how to regulate abortions up to individual states. Describe the abortion legislation that you would like to see enacted in Pennsylvania?

This is a deeply personal and emotional issue for many. I will always ensure that the life of the mother is protected in Pennsylvania and that there are exceptions for rape and incest. As such, while I would like see abortions become rare, I will not support a total ban on abortion.

As a society, we must recognize that there are extremes on both sides of this issue. We have spent two years allowing these extremes to divide us through the pandemic, historic inflation and now abortion. We need to come together and bring back civility and respect for differing viewpoints. This issue goes way beyond life or choice.

We need to support young women in need. That's why I am proud to have backed funding for programs that help women avoid crisis pregnancies, provide women's health care, adoptive support and education. We must do more and strengthen our safety net for low-income mothers. It's important that everyone approach this issue with compassion and caring.

Pennsylvania, like the rest of the nation, is suffering through a period of severe inflation. What specific steps do you believe need to be taken to address this issue?

As I stated in the previous questions, I have already taken many steps to fight inflation like improving our supply chain and reducing taxes on Pennsylvania job creators. I have also opposed onerous regulations that would drive up energy costs on consumers. While root causes of inflation occur at the federal level, there are initiatives we can undertake to mitigate the effects like reviewing eliminating regulations that stand in the way of job creation and safe, domestic energy production.

We must not add to the cause of inflation, which is why I supported balanced state budgets, every year, that did not raise taxes. Further, while we work to support job creators, workers and the economy, we cannot allow low-income families and seniors to be left behind. That's why I voted for safety programs that aim to offset the increased costs these people are facing.