On Nov. 6, voters in Pennsylvania’s 28th House District will have a choice of two candidates for the office of State Representative: the incumbent, Speaker of the House Mike Turzai (Republican), or Emily Skopov (Democrat).
This district comprises the TOWNSHIPS of Marshall, McCandless, and Pine, and the BOROUGHS OF Bradford Woods and Franklin Park.
We asked each candidate five questions about their stance on key policies to combat hunger in Pennsylvania. We did not receive a response from Turzai despite multiple requests, so we determined his position where possible based on his voting record and public statements.
Skopov’s full response is below the graphic.
Emily Skopov (D)
Do you support work requirements as a condition to access public benefit programs, even though it would prevent people from accessing healthcare or food assistance?
We should be looking to expand access to healthcare and food to those in need, not limit it. Work requirements are bad policy that pose a particular harm to those often most in need of assistance and who may be unable to work.
What should the state minimum wage be?
While we certainly need a more immediate increase to $15/hr of our stagnant statewide minimum wage, we should look to indexing our state’s minimum wage to economic factors long term so that the minimum wage rate keeps pace with overall cost of living for our state’s residents.
Do you support state laws that preempt laws on local taxes, local public health regulations, or local labor protections? In particular, do you support HB 861?
No. People should have autonomy over their communities and have a say in their local economy and environment.
Do you support the Fair Share Tax Plan?
Yes. A healthy tax plan allows everyone to contribute their fair share to an economy that works for everyone, and I believe this tax plan helps push us towards this goal.
Do you support the Marcellus Shale severance tax, as proposed in Gov. Wolf’s budget, as a way to provide sustained revenue for Pennsylvania?
Yes. We are the largest gas producing state without a severance tax, and the people of Pennsylvania should be compensated for the use of their resources.
[…] Emily Skopov, Democratic Candidate: Skopov, a former small business owner and founder of the nonprofit No Crayon Left Behind, supports raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour.“We should look to indexing our state’s minimum wage to economic factors long term so that the minimum wage rate keeps pace with overall cost of living for our state’s residents,” she told Just Harvest in 2018. […]