BERKS COUNTY, Pa. – Republican State Rep. Mark Gillen has secured his party’s nomination to run in November for Pennsylvania’s 128th Legislative District.
As of 10:50 p.m. on election night, with all precincts reporting, the incumbent Gillen defeated challenger David Hughes by over 2,000 votes.
Gillen began serving the 128th Legislative District in 2011.
Prior to being elected to the House, Gillen was a Pennsylvania correctional officer and a former long-time emergency medical technician (EMT.) The representative previously served as a Berks County jury commissioner and on Mohnton Borough Council.
Rep. Gillen currently serves as Chair of the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness committee.
Gillen’s says his top priorities while serving in Harrisburg include eliminating wasteful spending, reducing the size of state government and continuing the fight to eliminate property taxes.
On his campaign website, challenger David Hughes said he spent 40 years managing money at Fortune 500 companies, helping solve tough financial and operational problems where every dollar counted.
Hughes, who is a Certified Management Accountant and Certified Financial Manager, has been a corporate accountant, cost manager, controller, and CFO over the course of his career.
Hughes says he knows what it takes to turn around a failing operation because he’s done it for decades. That’s the experience he says he hoped to bring to Harrisburg should he win the party’s nomination.
His top priorities included eliminating property taxes, reforming township codes and capping property taxes.
Democrat Andy Wagner is running unopposed in the race.
The 128th District includes all or portions of the following municipalities: Amity, Birdsboro, Caernarvon, Cumru, Douglass, Exeter, New Morgan, Robeson and Union.