Kratzerville resident to seek Dem nomination for 85th District seat

Marcia Moore, The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
·2 min read

Dec. 26—UPDATE: This story has been updated to clarify Rep. David Rowe's support of a resolution declaring Pennsylvania's statewide election results in 2020 in dispute.

KRATZERVILLE — Lifelong Kratzerville resident Jared Hoffman is seeking the Democratic nomination to serve the 85th Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

"Community involvement is very important to me," said Hoffman, 27, who is employed at the Weis distribution center and is a first responder with Shamokin Dam and Kratzerville fire companies.

"I've always been politically engaged and I figure I have some ideas," he said of his interest in serving as a state representative in a district that covers parts of Snyder, Union, Juniata and Mifflin counties.

Republican David Rowe has served as the district's state representative since 2019. In the weeks after the election, Rowe was among Republicans who presented a House Resolution "Declaring the results of statewide electoral contests in the 2020 General Election to be in dispute" and to await rulings on court cases in the commonwealth reviewing the election.

Hoffman describes himself as a "moderate Democrat" and believes compromise is needed in state government.

"Most Pennsylvanians reject extremism on both sides" of the political aisle, he said. "I don't believe in political divisiveness."

His priorities are to address economic issues, support agriculture and expand access to vocational education.

Decreasing the gas tax and small business tax would help "instill the entrepreneurial drive," and lowering property taxes would ease the burden on homeowners, said Hoffman.

He would also support increasing the minimum wage and reducing needless spending — while maintaining funding for education, health care, agriculture and public safety.

"I fully believe in a $15 an hour minimum wage, but I believe we could negotiate that," Hoffman said. "No one can survive on $7.25 an hour."

He'd also like to see the state issue fines against businesses that outsource jobs. "They need to be held accountable and fines could be used for economic development," he said.

Hoffman is in favor of renewable energy — such as solar farms — but wants to limit their installation to non-arable areas. "They need to stop encroaching on our farms," he said.