Karen Shuey: Primary 2022: 2 candidates vying for Democratic nod 129th House District

Apr. 29—Two familiar faces in local government are running in the 129th Legislative District.

Reading School Board member Mark Detterline and Reading City Councilwoman Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz are seeking the Democratic nomination in the May 17 primary. The district includes parts of Reading and Spring Township as well as Sinking Spring, West Reading and Wyomissing.

The district has been represented by Spring Township Republican Jim Cox who announced he would not be seeking reelection following the approval of new legislative maps that significantly changed the district. Under the new map, several precincts in the city are included in the the district, which caused a dramatic change to its political and demographic makeup.

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

We asked the candidates to respond to four questions:

Mark Detterline

Residence: Reading.

Age: 27.

Background: Detterline is assistant dean of admissions at Swarthmore College and a Reading School Board member. He graduated from Reading High School, earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Lehigh University and a master's degree in education from Albright College. He serves as president of the Reading Public Museum Corporation, as a representative for the school district to the Reading Redevelopment Authority's Land Bank and as a member of the nonprofit Unity Within Our Community.

Website: detterline129.com

Why are you the best person for this position?

As a lifelong Berks Countian, I understand the issues that the folks in the 129th face. At the end of the day, we all want the same things — we want our children to go to good, fully funded schools; we want to be able to afford a place to live, make a sustaining wage, not worry about affording health care; and we want to make sure that the Pennsylvania of tomorrow is a place we would be proud of and the generations after us would be proud of, too.

We need someone in Harrisburg to fight to make sure those conversations remain top-of-mind to all legislators in Pennsylvania. My professional work in higher education, combined with my experience on the Reading School Board, make me particularly well-positioned to deal with issues related to education in the state. Young people are vastly underrepresented in the General Assembly. It's time for young people like myself to begin to step up — something we are beginning to see across the country.

It is for those reasons, and many more, that I would very much appreciate the opportunity to represent the interests of the 129th in Harrisburg.

What do you think is the single biggest problem currently facing Pennsylvanians and what would you do to address that problem?

Pennsylvania is in a really precarious situation because there are many issues that I think easily fit into this category: lack of trust in local/state government; ongoing and irreparable damage to our environment; housing and food insecurity; unfair public school funding and attempts to undermine the public school system completely; or the attacks on the rights of women, voters and underrepresented groups across the state.

I think the issue we need to take most seriously, however, is the threat that is looming over us if we don't begin to do more to address the changing climate. Pennsylvania accounts for about 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The state needs to think more seriously about investments in renewable energy, job training for fossil fuel industry workers so they can begin to work in renewables, stop investments in deforestation and fracking, and educate students and families on ways they can better protect the environment. For me, all of the preceding issues are of equal importance, though, and I am ready, willing and able to fight for the people of the 129th in Harrisburg.

Pennsylvania's fair funding formula for education is only used for new state funding, meaning it will likely take years to address financial inequities unless major increases in funding are implemented. Do you believe that such major increases are needed, and where would you suggest the money come from?

I have had the opportunity to study this topic in-depth. The state absolutely has to begin to funnel more money through the formula. The formula itself works well — it takes into account English language learner populations, special education students, poverty levels in communities, among other metrics.

The problem is that only about 11% of funds go through the fair funding formula because of hold harmless — the principle that makes it impossible for districts to receive less money now than they did in 2016 when the formula was signed into law. Hold harmless remains active despite the fact that there are districts in the state that are considered overfunded or have seen declining enrollments.

The state needs to take a serious look at eliminating hold harmless through a phased approach and funneling more of the money that already goes toward education through the formula. This process will certainly require a level of tact, though, because we want to make sure that we aren't negatively impacting districts by moving toward this model.

Turnout in Pennsylvania elections, particularly in non-presidential elections, continues to be low. How would you increase participation?

Low voter turnout is not only a Pennsylvania problem, but it is a problem that we can begin to fix. The Pennsylvania Legislature is actively, and has been, trying to make it more difficult to vote and provide more barriers for voters based on lies that mail-in ballots are unsafe, dead people and undocumented immigrants are voting all over the place and that automatic voter registration would be rife with issues.

None of these assertions have proven to be true. In order to make our turnout for all elections stronger, we need to make sure that local elections align with presidential elections, educate constituents on their voting rights and duty, create less barriers to voting — not add more — and just generally make the process more digestible to the average voter. We need to implement an automatic voter registration system, open the primaries (maybe even move to a top-two system), engage community organizations to get out the vote, among other commonsense reforms.

Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz

Residence: Reading.

Age: 48.

Background: Cepeda-Freytiz has served on Reading City Council since 2019 and is the owner of Mi Casa Su Casa in downtown Reading. She has a bachelor's degree in French from the State University of New York at New Paltz College and a master's degree in education from Long Island University. She serves of the board of directors of the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance and Centro Hispano.

Website: facebook.com/FriendsofJohannyCepeda

Why are you the best person for this position?

I am the best person for this position because I genuinely care about people and love serving and being a voice for the people. As a small business owner for over 15 years, I managed to thrive beyond the economic crisis of 2008 and I am still working past challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic caused to myself and business owners alike. My career background is in the nonprofit sector, where I operated and managed a community center for youth and families.

As the owner of Mi Casa Su Casa Cafe, my team and I created a space that builds community, empowers entrepreneurs, highlights artists, promotes civic engagement and provides candidates and elected officials with a platform to speak and meet with their constituents. Serving as Reading city councilwoman for District 6 has given me the opportunity to work on municipal budgets, listen to constituents, and create or modify ordinances related to parking, property development, public safety and grants.

I am the best person for this position because I understand the needs of the community, and I will work hard to increase the minimum wage, equitable education, affordable housing, eliminate gun violence, and improve our health care system.

What do you think is the single biggest problem currently facing Pennsylvanians and what would you do to address that problem?

While there are many problems currently facing Pennsylvanians, I believe one of the biggest problems is the $7.25 minimum wage. Pennsylvania is one of 20 states still using the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour whereas nearby states of Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Ohio all pay higher wages.

I would work across party lines to increase the minimum wage to afford every Pennsylvanian an opportunity to access a better quality of life. As a state representative, I would also work to pass legislation that would incentivize and empower small businesses to afford to pay their employees increased wages with better benefits.

Pennsylvania's fair funding formula for education is only used for new state funding, meaning it will likely take years to address financial inequities unless major increases in funding are implemented. Do you believe that such major increases are needed, and where would you suggest the money come from?

I believe major increases are needed to fund and provide more equitable education in schools throughout Berks County and Pennsylvania. While working toward a more sustainable funding source, the immediate funding should come from the rainy-day fund that exists at the state level rather than placing the burden on property taxpayers. It is critical to ensure that every child has access to equal and fair, high standards of education regardless of where they reside and their ZIP code.

Turnout in Pennsylvania elections, particularly in non-presidential elections, continues to be low. How would you increase participation?

I would increase voter participation by partnering with advocacy groups throughout Berks County and elected officials to have voter education and voter registration drives year-round and ultimately make these efforts incorporated into schools and in the workplace. Voters need to be empowered and be inspired to vote for the candidates that they truly believe in and know will represent them well as elected officials.

While I worked in New York City, I ran a youth summer camp where youth were trained on registering people to vote and in eight weeks they registered 5,000 people to vote in the Lower East Side. Throughout the years I have been in business in the city of Reading I have had voter registration drives at my restaurant and I always have voter registration applications available to customers in both English and Spanish.