Flynn, Bassett face off in 22nd Senate District
Oct. 10—Voters in Northeast Pennsylvania's newly redrawn 22nd Senate District have a choice between a veteran lawmaker and a political newcomer in the Nov. 8 election.
The contest pits incumbent Democratic Sen. Marty Flynn, of Dunmore, against Republican Tom Bassett, a Pittston resident who is making his first bid for public office.
Flynn, 47, who was unopposed in the May primary, is seeking his first full four-year term in the state Senate after winning a special election in 2021, to finish out the term of former state Sen. John Blake, who resigned to take a position with U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright's office.
Flynn previously served as state representative for the 113th District, where he was first elected in 2012, and was reelected four times.
Bassett, 31, a band and music teacher in the Dallas School District, secured the Republican nomination in the primary through a write-in campaign.
Bassett received 1,504 write-in votes to defeat Scranton insurance executive Joseph Albert, who had 869 votes.
The 22nd District, which previously included all of Lackawanna County and slivers of Luzerne and Monroe counties, now consists of only part of Lackawanna and a larger area of Luzerne as a result of redistricting.
The district includes Scranton, the Abingtons, the Downvalley, Scott Twp., Dickson City, Throop and Dunmore in Lackawanna County, and Wilkes-Barre, the eight Pittston Area School District towns, Bear Creek, Buck, Plains and Wilkes-Barre townships and Bear Creek Village, Laflin, Laurel Run, West Pittston and Wyoming boroughs in Luzerne.
Senators currently earn $95,432.14 annually, but the salary will increase by the inflation rate Dec. 1. Here is where the candidates stand on key issues:
2020 election
Bassett says the 2020 election is over and he accepts the results. While he believes there is evidence of "questionable things" during the election, there is no evidence that would lead to a different outcome, he says.
Flynn says even former Attorney General William Barr agreed there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election, which Flynn considers a "100% settled" issue. "Anybody who is not blind can see that," he says.
Abortion
Bassett, who describes himself as pro-life, personally opposes abortion except to save the life of the mother, but says he would vote for legislation that also includes exceptions in cases of rape or incest. He also supports paid time-off for maternity leave, child support starting during pregnancy and better adoption programs.
Flynn supports a woman's right to choose whether to have an abortion. The responsible way to reduce the number of abortions is by educating the public, not by making abortion illegal, which will force women into back alleys to seek the procedure, he says.
Election administration
Bassett supports requiring voters to show identification and favors making state-issued IDs free so every eligible voter can obtain one. He is not opposed to mail voting but says there should be a "strict no-tolerance policy" that requires the rejection of mail ballots that are not properly signed, sealed and dated. He would also support narrowing the time-frame when mail ballots can be submitted to shift it closer to Election Day.
Flynn says voting should be easy for citizens and the state should not be erecting barriers. He is satisfied with the way Pennsylvania conducts elections but would like to see the state move to online voting in some capacity.
Inflation, economy and jobs
Bassett favors a tax-cut approach to combating inflation, saying he would support reducing taxes, particularly for lower- and middle-income individuals. He would support job growth by seeking additional reductions in the corporate net income tax, which he says would encourage more businesses to be in Pennsylvania.
Flynn would like to temporarily suspend the state's gasoline tax to help Pennsylvanians dealing with higher everyday costs. He supports efforts to ramp up domestic natural gas and oil production, saying it would create jobs and help foster energy independence.
Education funding
Bassett is opposed to cutting any state money for public education, calling it vitally important. He says the school funding formula in place seems to be working for now. On a related issue, he would like to see broader implementation of late-bus or activity-bus programs to allow more children to participate in extracurricular activities after school.
Flynn says he is happy to have been part of the record funding the Legislature and Gov. Tom Wolf have invested in public education the past couple of years. However, he says the state still has a long way to go to ensure its funding for public schools is equitable.
Environment
Bassett says he would be willing to entertain the idea of limiting the locations where fracking can happen. He opposes Pennsylvania's continued participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), an interstate program aimed at cutting carbon emissions from power plants, and believes the Legislature, not the governor, should make the decision.
Flynn says RGGI was a great idea but now believes it will not be economical in practice and does not support the state staying in, saying it will "end up costing us an astronomical amount of money overall." He supports fracking if it is done safely and correctly but would like to see a severance tax.
Government ethics and transparency
Bassett favors term limits for legislators and supports banning gifts to elected officials. He opposes automatic pay raises for lawmakers. Although he's not sure what the answer is, he would support campaign finance reform, saying the existing system has the effect of circumventing the people by allowing big-money interests to decide which candidates' ads voters see on TV or receive in the mail.
Flynn opposes term limits for members of the General Assembly, saying it would shift the power to staff, and does not see anything wrong with "minimal" gifts to elected officials as long as they are reported. He would support limits on donations to candidates. He has no issue with automatic pay raises for legislators or judges, saying that was voted on long before he got to the Legislature.
Gun regulation
Bassett is satisfied with existing background checks and opposes "red flag" laws. "The Pennsylvania Constitution says the right to guns will not be questioned, so I don't think it's a good practice for the Legislature to question that unless there is lawbreaking involved," he says.
Flynn says he supports "common sense" gun regulation. He takes no issue with "red flag" laws and would support closing a loophole that allows people to buy ghost guns.
Minimum wage
Bassett supports raising the state's hourly $7.25 minimum wage but worries about the effect an immediate jump to $15, a figure often cited by proponents, would have on small businesses. He believes an increase to at least $9.13 — representing the $7.25 minimum adjusted for inflation since it was enacted in 2009 — would be reasonable. He would support making future minimum wage increases automatic and indexing them to the inflation rate.
Flynn wants to raise the minimum wage in Pennsylvania to $15 an hour. "When McDonald's is paying $15, that tells you the minimum wage should be $15," he says.
Recreational marijuana legalization
Bassett is taking no position on the issue, saying he needs to study it more. He believes there could be costs associated with legalization, including for law enforcement and employers, that have not yet been properly considered. "I'm not saying I'm totally against it," he says. "I want to learn more before I make a hard decision and say I'm in favor."
Flynn says the recreational use of marijuana by adults should be legal. He would like to see the sales in state liquor stores to ensure they are done responsibly.
Taxes
Bassett supports lowering taxes across the board, including the state sales tax, saying there are too many and they're too high. Unless another funding source is found, he would oppose eliminating the property tax that helps fund school districts. He also opposes a proposal by Gov. Tom Wolf to phase out the gas tax in favor of a vehicle-miles-traveled or similar tax, calling it bad for Pennsylvanians.
Flynn wants to see the state's corporate net income tax reduced but says it needs to be done in tandem with combined reporting to ensure that large corporations in Pennsylvania that set up shop in Delaware pay their fair share. He favors temporarily suspending the state gas tax.
Contact the writer:
570-348-9132.
