Wilkes-Barre Councilwoman Jessica McClay and Bear Creek Village Mayor Mike Harostock have similar goals for Pennsylvania, and they both believe they would be the best person to help accomplish them over the next two years if elected in November.
Harostock, a Republican, and McClay, a Democrat, are vying for the state House seat representing the 121st Legislative District that will open when Democrat state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski retires in January after serving 20 years in the post.
“I think I’m the best choice because I don’t let party lines define me. I tell people this all the time. My husband’s a Republican and we’ve been working across lines for 32 years,” McClay said. “On city council, I don’t always agree with everybody. I don’t always agree with what the mayor may say. But, we work together to get things done for the residents.”
“I come from a working class background, so I understand what everybody’s struggles are because they have been my struggles. These are not just political talking points for me. These are real life experiences that I’ve experienced along with residents of the 121st. I’ve only been on city council for three years, but I’ve also volunteered for many years on a lot of boards. That has helped me gain the experience needed to help out at the state level,” McClay said.
Jessica McClay is running for state representative in the 121st Legislative District on the Democratic ticket. (SUBMITTED)
“I am focused on the future of this area. I am fearless about protecting and advocating for Northeastern Pennsylvania. I am running as a candidate, not as R or D, but as NEPA. I will bang the table in Harrisburg. I will be Northeastern Pennsylvania’s voice in Harrisburg for our community, for our future, and for our for our heritage here,” Harostock said.
“I have a proven track record of building teams, of creating efficiencies, of improving processes, and have been fortunate to create jobs here, and want to see our area continue to flourish,” Harostock added, billing himself as “a job creator” through his family business.
AFFORDABILITY
Harostock says he’s committed to “lowering taxes, reducing energy costs, and making life more affordable for families and seniors.”
Calling Pennsylvania a net energy exporter, Harostock said the state “should not be selling energy to other states,” adding, “we have the sophistication here to protect … local consumers while also participating in regional efforts in green initiatives and power grids” and supporting renewable energy. He also supports suspending the state gasoline and diesel taxes.
Mike Harostock is running for state representative in the 121st Legislative District on the Republican ticket. (SUBMITTED)
McClay said her top priority is affordability, given that “as a mother knocking on the doors, that’s the first thing that I’m hearing pretty much from everybody.”
McClay believes taxes on skill game revenue, which she believes should be lower than taxes on casinos, and other revenue sources could help support property tax freezes or reductions. While she believes federal policies would help reduce gasoline and oil prices, she thinks “corporate price gouging” must be addressed at state and federal levels.
Both candidates support bills that would freeze property taxes for qualifying senior citizens, and would support legislation to incentivize home ownership.
JOBS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
McClay wants to raise the state minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 to keep talented workers in Pennsylvania; support small businesses with funding opportunities and attract new businesses with high-paying jobs for the district; support unions that protect workers and their benefits; and create new jobs and revenue through methods like taxing skill games and legalizing marijuana.
To encourage small business growth, she said innovative state-funded programs are needed, pointing to a successful program instituted by Wilkes-Barre Mayor George C. Brown, in which he used federal funding to pay rents for new small businesses that opened in the city for one year, as an example.
Harostock wants to attract new businesses and industry to build the tax base and relieve economic pressures. Based on studies, he would focus on attracting manufacturing, robotics, potentially life science, energy and agriculture and working to strengthen those sectors, while noting there are strong STEM and STEAM programs in and near the area.
“As far as Harrisburg, over the past few years, we still hear from businesses and industries about difficulty with permitting, difficulty with readiness and licensing and somewhat Pennsylvania’s tax structure,” he said, promising to help address those issues.
EDUCATION, CHILD CARE
Harostock said teachers and support staff must have the necessary funding to help improve educational outcomes of area students. He believes a study is needed to track “how much of our time and dollars are ending up in the classroom. … We need to look at states like Mississippi, which was in last place, and now they’re in the top 20. They focused on a student-teacher classroom approach and focused on their outcomes.”
Jessica McClay is running for state representative in the 121st Legislative District on the Democratic ticket. (SUBMITTED)
He said officials should “look at the supply of childcare, … pricing, … where the waitlists are, and … the hours. What I’ve seen creative folks do, particularly childcare owners, is partner with employers and employees … to set up schedules and set up childcare that works with the the local businesses.”
McClay said she worked as a substitute teacher for a while and knows that schools, especially in Wilkes-Barre Area School District, are underfunded, and the state must increase funding to make sure students “have a successful future and that they’re getting the education they deserve.” She also wants programs such as music that have been cut from curricula brought back because “sometimes is the only introduction those students have to it.”
She also supports tax credits and incentives to make childcare more affordable, making it easier and more affordable for potential childcare workers to be trained and certified, and incentivize entering the field by finding ways to increase childcare worker pay.
HEALTHCARE
McClay would work to incentivize more medical specialists to locate locally, and she supports Gov. Josh Shapiro’s plans for subsidizing healthcare to make it more widely available and affordable to Pennsylvanians.
Harostock said there are opportunities to increase the number of healthcare providers locally and finding ways to reduce inefficiencies in healthcare systems. Reducing inefficiencies is something with which his family business has been successful, he said.
DATA CENTERS
McClay opposes tax credits for data centers and, while the executive order Gov. Josh Shapiro signed related to data centers was “a good first step,” they should be better regulated, she said.
Mike Harostock is running for state representative in the 121st Legislative District on the Republican ticket. (SUBMITTED)
Harostock believes the state should provide communities with “best practices” and “frameworks they can use to tailor to their hometown” to establish their own requirements “to put the guardrails on data center development.”
OTHER ISSUES
Both candidates pledged to do their best to secure funding for local emergency responders. Harostock wants “to look at what other tools can we provide to help our police officers,” and McClay supports “common-sense gun safety reform through background checks.”
Both candidates were asked if there were any other issues they wanted to address. Harostock declined and McClay listed the following goals:
• Pass legislation to reduce PennDOT bottlenecks so communities can improve infrastructure quickly.
• Passing a state Constitutional Amendment to protect reproductive rights and access to abortion.
• Create a non-partisan redistricting board to draw fair voting maps and prevent blatant gerrymandering, and protect mail-in ballots so voters can access their full rights.
• Ban gifts to legislators, cap campaign contributions and rein in corporate money in state politics.
Learn more about the candidates at mikeharostock.com and mcclayforpa.com.
CANDIDATE BIOS
Name: Mike HarostockParty: RepublicanAge: 41Residence: Bear Creek VillageFamily: Wife, Ashley; daughter, Katerina.Education: Graduated from Scranton Preparatory School and earned a bachelor of science in biology/physiology from Penn State University, a graduate certificate from Drexel University, a master’s in biomedical science from Commonwealth Medical College and a master’s in business administration from Villanova University.Self-described relevant experience: Small businessman, team builder, broad industry experience creating solutions, husband, father, taxpayer and not a politician.
Name: Jessica McClayParty: DemocratAge: 52Residence: Wilkes-BarreFamily: Husband, Robb; children, Kassandra, Paige and Robb; six grandchildren.Education: Graduated from Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre and earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Bloomsburg UniversitySelf-described relevant experience: 30 years volunteering in the community starting as North End Little League coach and president; volunteer service on city fire civil service and planning commissions and traffic committee; in third year on city council; doesn’t ask party affiliation when someone asks for help.
ABOUT THE POST
The 121st Legislative District includes the City of Wilkes-Barre, the boroughs of Bear Creek Village and Laurel Run and the townships of Bear Creek, Buck, Plains and Wilkes-Barre.The office of state representative is a four-year term and comes with an annual base salary of $113,000.