In the 134th House District, Democratic state Rep. Peter Schweyer is running for a seventh term against political newcomer Republican Miriam Maldonado.<\/p>\n
Schweyer, who chairs the House Education Committee and the Ethics Committee, is a former Philadelphia public school teacher and Allentown City Council member who has focused much of his legislative efforts on getting more equitable funding for public schools.<\/p>\n
A graduate of Allentown Central Catholic High school and Penn State University, Schweyer, 41, of Allentown, is married and has two daughters.<\/p>\n
Maldonado, 40, of Allentown, did not respond to several efforts to contact her through her campaign Facebook page, \u201cMiriam Maldonado for State Representative \u2013 District 134.\u201d<\/a> She did not register a campaign committee with the state.<\/p>\n A Facebook post March 16 described her as a \u201cproud lifelong resident of the Lehigh Valley, where she is raising her two daughters with her husband of 17 years. She is an entrepreneur, business owner and customer service representative with Gateway Services, bringing real-world experience and a strong work ethic to everything she does.\u201d<\/p>\n Her Facebook page also said, \u201cAs an author and ordained minister, Miriam is deeply rooted in faith, service and community. She is passionate about strengthening families, expanding opportunity, and creating a better future for the next generation.\u201d Her last Facebook post was March 18.<\/p>\n The 134th District includes the western half of South Allentown: wards 2, 3, 11 (1st and 3rd districts), 12, 13 (1st, 2nd and 3rd districts), 16 and 19; the western part of Salisbury Township: 4th and 5th wards; and all of Emmaus.<\/p>\n State representatives serve two-year terms and receive a base salary of $113,000. The House has 103 Democrats and 100 Republicans.<\/p>\n Below are Schweyer\u2019s responses to the Armchair Lehigh Valley questionnaire for candidates. Questions and answers have been edited for space and clarity.<\/p>\n Why are you running?<\/p>\n \u201cI was born and raised in Allentown, the only child of working-class parents who instilled in me a sense of civic responsibility and pride in my community and my entire professional life has reflected those values. First as public-school teacher in the Philadelphia School District, to my time as a member of Allentown City Council, and now completing my 12th year as State Representative, I have worked hard to help my neighbors and make our community a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n What are your top issues?<\/p>\n \u201cContinued support for education will be my top priority. In the 2026-27 budget that was recently passed, we funded year 3 of a 9-year phase of funding for our most at-risk and growing school districts. We must complete that 9-year plan. Additionally, we must review our special education funding, which will begin next year with our special education funding commission.<\/p>\n \u201cAffordability will always be front and center for all our policy decisions. In the last few budgets, we have cut taxes, expanded programs to help senior citizens living on fixed incomes (most notably an expansion of the Property Tax\/Rent Rebate Program), have funded anti-hunger programs such as universal free school breakfast, and taken on the high cost of utilities. The rising cost of housing must be a top priority, and I will continue to work with Governor Shapiro on increasing housing stock, making it easier to build additional units and create additional housing for working class folks.<\/p>\n \u201cLastly, I will always work to bring more jobs to our region. From the recent announcement of the Eli Lily plant to be built in our region, to supporting Allentown\u2019s Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ), to working with current local manufacturers and small businesses, we must keep the momentum going so that folks find not just a job, but a career.\u201d<\/p>\n Minimum wage<\/p>\n Has voted in favor of raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2029.<\/p>\n Healthcare<\/p>\n Supports Gov. Josh Shapiro\u2019s proposal for a $50 million healthcare subsidy program to help low- and middle-income residents who lost the enhanced COVID-era subsidies under the federal \u201cBig Beautiful Bill.\u201d He called it a \u201cbold initiative to control the increasing cost of health insurance in the face of a federal government who has chosen to cut taxes for billionaires instead of supporting the overwhelming majority of people who make up our nation, and I\u2019m proud to stand with him.\u201d<\/p>\n Data centers regulations<\/p>\n \u201cThe PA House, led by House Democrats, has proposed a number of regulations surrounding them that unfortunately have hit a wall in the Republican controlled state Senate.\u201d In June, voted in favor of House Bill 2650, which would require data center developers seeking state tax benefits to meet strict standards protecting energy affordability, supporting local communities, creating jobs, and strengthening environmental protections. Voted in favor of House Bill 2150 to mandate annual reporting of energy and water consumption by data centers, and in favor of House Bill 2151 to develop a model data center ordinance for municipalities. In March, voted in favor of House Bill 1834, which would require the Public Utilities Commission to develop data center regulations that would include banning electric companies from passing on costs of infrastructure updates and energy demands from data centers onto customers. Voted in favor of House Bill 2496, which would allow a six-month pause on data center development. Voted in favor of House Bill 2198, which would repeal tax incentives passed five years ago to encourage data center development. Had voted with the majority in favor of the credit in 2021.<\/p>\n Ending tax incentives for data centers<\/p>\n \u201cI support the repeal of this tax credit and voted for it, though I did initially support it. At the time, we were looking to support economic development, particularly in the areas of PA that were hit hard by plant closures and other changes. Since then, we have learned that those tax credits are not only unnecessary for the developers of these data centers, but many communities do not want them in their backyard and we must respect that.\u201d<\/p>\n Immigration detention<\/p>\n Supports proposed legislation to ban ICE agents from wearing masks, bar detention centers from operating within 1,000 feet of a county courthouse or near schools and hospitals and prohibit local law enforcement from assisting ICE agents. \u201cOur federal government is acting in the most despicable manner, and it needs to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n Education<\/p>\n Opposes a proposed resolution to eliminate school property taxes through a constitutional amendment. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t eliminate school property taxes, rather it shifts taxes in a manner that is unrealistic, including creating a new tax on retirement accounts, Social Security, food and medicine. It is a bad idea.\u201d<\/p>\n Where do you stand on bell-to-bell school cellphone bans?<\/p>\n \u201cAfter extensive negotiation, I ultimately supported the legislation as it did not prohibit students from having phones on their person and created opportunities for teachers to allow for their use for instruction (honestly \u2014 when is the last time anyone you know bought a calculator?) (On Wednesday, the legislation was sent to Gov. Shapiro for his signature.) More importantly, however, we have a new law that will create social media literacy in the classroom and are actively working on new legislation to address AI in the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n Skill games<\/p>\n Supports Shapiro\u2019s 52% tax on the gross terminal revenue saying it \u201cis the best option of the ones given.\u201d The Legislature failed to enact a levy on the devices by an Oct. 13 deadline.<\/p>\n Voting<\/p>\n In June, voted in favor of legislation allowing mail-in ballot pre-canvassing before Election Day. Opposes requiring IDs to vote. \u201cWe should be making it easier for U.S. citizens to vote, not harder.\u201d Opposes legislation that would ban satellite voting offices such as those in Lehigh and Northampton counties.<\/p>\n Reproductive rights<\/p>\n In 2025, voted in favor of a joint resolution to enshrine reproductive autonomy \u2014 including abortion, contraception and miscarriage care \u2014 into the Pennsylvania Constitution.<\/p>\n Gun rights<\/p>\n Has voted in favor of universal background checks, in favor of banning firearms to persons who violated protection from abuse orders, against allowing concealed weapons to be carried without a license and against a law restricting municipalities from passing legislation that is stricter than state law. \u201cI know people who have lost loved ones to gun violence, have visited and consoled victims of mass shootings, have come home to my street blocked off by police as a neighbor threatened suicide with a firearm and I am not alone. Gun violence, although mercifully lower than in years past, is still a scourge on our community and real efforts need to be made to continue that downward trend.\u201d<\/p>\n This story first appeared on Armchair Lehigh Valley and is being published on themorningcall.com as part of a partnership with the website, which aims to give voters factual information in a nonpartisan way to help them make informed decisions at the polls. Armchair Lehigh Valley is run by publisher Katherine Reinhard and editor Robert H. Orenstein, two former Morning Call employees. Learn more about Armchair Lehigh Valley and subscribe at armchairlehighvalley.substack.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the 134th House District, Democratic state Rep. 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