ELECTION 2022 Stefano, Hovis offer differing plans to rejuvenate region in 32nd District Senate race

Nov. 3—Fayette County native Sydney Hovis has focused her grassroots campaign for state Senate on offering "new approaches" to solving the 32nd District's same old problems.

While elected leaders push the same, "tired" approaches, Fayette, Somerset and Bedford counties continue watching their populations decline — a trend driven in large numbers by young professionals who take their talents elsewhere, said Hovis, a Democrat.

"Over the past 10 years, Fayette County has lost 31/2% of its population, and the solutions our elected officials keep trying clearly aren't working," said Hovis, who, at 27, is among the generation of young professionals communities are jostling to attract.

As part of a third generation in his family's now-former printing company, Sen. Patrick Stefano, R-Bullskin Township, said he's spent the past eight years taking an outsider's approach to Harrisburg to enact change.

Stefano said he's done so by leaning into his small business background to offer "fresh approaches" to foster economic growth, help struggling fire and ambulance services thrive and small businesses service during a difficult pandemic.

Both are vying for a seat whose territory is shifting this year — away from a southern portion of Westmoreland County and adding all of Bedford County.

StefanoStefano is seeking a third term in office.

A Connellsville native, he served as president of Stefano Printing before the family sold the business in 2020.

As a senator, Stefano said simply thinking outside the box isn't enough to change decades-old challenges.

For proposals to pass into law, it takes majority support in the state House and Senate — and then earn the governor's signature.

And with a member of the opposing party as governor, vetoes can swiftly strike plans down.

"I've been in office the same period as Gov. (Tom) Wolf," Stefano said. "Even so, I still think I've managed to get quite a bit done."

He cited efforts enabling redevelopment authorities, such as Somerset County's, to act as land banks for economic development purposes as one example.

As chairman of the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, Stefano said he's also been proud to get several efforts passed into law to support fire and EMS agencies.

Among five bills he's ushered into law over the past year, one enables junior firefighters to finish training at age 17 — with their parents' approval — instead of 18, which will allow them to receive their certifications and lend support before graduating.

"Retaining and recruiting is a huge challenge for responders," he said. "With this, if (departments) can recruit them while they are young, they'll have a greater tendency to stay when they are older. It's hard trying to recruit when someone already has a job and a family."

He's also tried to find creative ways to support Main Street as well, pushing a plan during the worst of the pandemic that allowed businesses to sell "to-go" beverages.

And as an Economic Development Council board member, Stefano said, he has thrown support behind projects that support small business development.

His land bank bill, approved three years ago, also enables redevelopment authorities to acquire tax-delinquent blighted properties without bidding, making it less costly to clear away eyesores that discourage neighborhood development.

He's spent his life living and working in Fayette County.

He's the father of four grown children and recently remarried Erin Riggi, with whom he shares three stepsons.

As a lawmaker, Stefano said, he's hopeful a wave of retirements within the Senate will enable him to move into new leadership roles in 2023 that he can leverage to bring more opportunity to his district.

"Unfortunately, government has two speeds. Slow and slower," Stefano said, noting that it takes time to vet statewide proposals and even moreso to find compromises that a majority of House and Senate lawmakers can agree on.

But bipartisan successes can still be found in Harrisburg, he said.

He pointed to one deal he's pushed for since taking office as a "major" example this fall.

The move cuts Pennsylvania's corporate net income tax rate by 10%, to 8.99% — and sets the table for additional cuts over the next eight years.

Corporations and economic development groups have often pointed to Pennsylvania's high corporate tax as an obstacle to increasing job creation and competing with other states — some of which do not have the tax.

"When business is thriving ... everyone does better," Stefano said, pointing to the impact lower taxes have on state such as Florida and North Carolina.

Hovis

To Hovis, of Scottdale, lawmakers spend too much time catering to big business — while continuing to tighten the belt on vital services that all Pennsylvanians rely on, such as roads and local infrastructure.

Blight has grown while neighborhood redevelopment and Main Streets and family farms across the district have taken a back seat, she said.

"I want to represent the people — not special-interest lobbyists," she said.

Hovis, 27, said her personal "politics" were forged 20 years ago while tagging along with her grandmother, "Sis" Mikita, while the county committeewoman would meet and mingle with Fayette County residents during veterans club dinners and community events.

She, like Stefano, identifies as pro-Second Amendment and said Pennsylvania government needs to work harder to curtail spending, not expand it.

She also advocates for reducing the size of the legislature as a multi-million-dollar cost saving measure and limiting service to three terms.

"I grew up with same values my grandmother grew up with," she said. "I'm talking about issues that effect people every day — like their water rates tripling while big water corporations move in and benefit from it.

"My grandmother taught me how important it was to be involved," she said. "To work hard and help people."

Hovis grew up in Bullskin Township but alongside her husband, Ryan, lives in Scottdale, Westmoreland County, with their three sons, who range from 8 months old to age 4.

Ryan Hovis is a Scottdale councilman.

Hovis spent years working in her family's concession business, and after college worked for several nonprofits — including the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority — before returning to school to earn her master's degree.

"This is where I want to raise my family," Hovis said, "but lawmakers' current efforts to improve (it) clearly aren't working."

"Times have changed," she added.

The shift to remote working, however, opens up a new opportunity to lure young professionals and families into the district. If successful, that could help companies fill vacant jobs and start to reverse the decades-long population drain, she added.

As a member of that generation of young professionals, Hovis said she understands their "needs and wants."

Citing the region's outdoor offerings as a marketing tool, Hovis said the state needs to provide communities with ways to "incentivize" real estate purchases in counties with declining populations to make it even more enticing.

"We can build a community of employees ... in our hometowns," Hovis said, "and I'm someone who understands what it takes to bring that younger generation of remote workers to our community."

In recent years, local residents have gotten so tied up in what's happening on the national level that they are more concerned with political party talking points than problems that truly impact them at home, she said.

"Once people in the (32nd District) actually sit and talk, you quickly realize you have a lot more in common with each other than they actually disagree about," she said. "I'm tired of hearing about something happening in Brownsville, Texas, when there are problems in Brownsville, Pa., that need addressed."

Still, there are some decisions nationally that have drawn Hovis' attention.

After a July decision by the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 ruling that made abortion access a federal right, Hovis said she was jolted to respond.

She said she does not support abortion for any reason and at any point during pregnancy.

"But banning them, even when a woman's life may be at risk, is unacceptable," Hovis said, noting state lawmakers will be left to decide. "Reproductive health is not a black-or-white issue, and legislators should not impose judgment into the decision-making process."

To Stefano, the decision simply puts the issue "on (the) state level where it should've been all along" — and with lawmakers "who are closer to the people."

Stefano said he remains pro-life.

"But I encourage people to share their opinions — whatever they are, because I need to know where they stand when important votes come up," he said. "At the end of the day, I look at what people (in the district) have told me and weigh their opinions."