The candidates in Pa.’s 12th Congressional District
McLINKO (R)
HERSCHEL (D)
Friedenberg (D)
REP. MARINO (R)
McLINKO (R)
HERSCHEL (D)
Friedenberg (D)
REP. MARINO (R)
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LOCK HAVEN -- When Clinton County became part of the 12th Congressional District following the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's February redistricting decision, many residents were thrown into a state of confusion. Who was their representative? What would this mean for the upcoming congressional primary?
Clinton County was formerly part of the 5th District, but now joins the new 12th District, which was formerly the 10th District. The southeastern parts of Centre County, including State College and the Penns Valley area, and parts of Northumberland County join Clinton, Lycoming, Potter, Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Snyder, Union, Sullivan, Bradford, Susquehanna and Tioga counties in the new 12th District.
In Centre County, State College Borough and Harris, Ferguson and College townships reside in the 12th. Bellefonte, Pleasant Gap, Milesburg, Snow Shoe, Patton Township and Philipsburg reside in the new 15th District. Halfmoon Township is split between the 12th and 15th districts.
March 20 was the deadline for candidates to file petitions for Congressional seats. Filing began on Feb. 27.
The deadline was pushed back after the state Supreme Court adopted a new congressional district map. The court had ruled that the 2011 map adopted by the state Legislature in 2011 constituted an illegal partisan gerrymander, meaning districts were constructed to further a political agenda.
Four candidates are seeking nomination in the May 15 primary for the 12th Congressional District. They include two Democrats and two Republicans. U.S. Rep. Tom Marino, R-Cogan Station, is the incumbent candidate for the 12th District. Bradford County Commissioner Doug McLinko is the Republican challenger to Marino. Judy Herschel and Marc Friedenberg are seeking the Democratic nomination.
THE INCUMBENT
Congressman Marino is a native of Williamsport. After working in factories, he attended Williamsport Area Community College and transferred to Lycoming College, where he completed a bachelor's degree. He then graduated with a law degree from Dickinson School of Law.
He served as the district attorney of Lycoming County for a decade, and in 2002, President George W. Bush appointed him United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
As a congressional representative, Marino supports tax cuts, conservative spending, term limits in Congress, and a strong and technologically advanced national defense. He values the Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence as some of the most important documents to the United States. Currently, he is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Committee on Homeland Security and the Judiciary Committee, on which he serves as chairman of the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law. He also serves as co-chairman of the Congressional Kidney Caucus and the Cystic Fibrosis Caucus.
Marino was President Donald Trump's pick for drug czar. However, he backed out of the nomination in the wake of an October 2017 Washington Post and CBS "60 Minutes" collaborative report on his involvement in backing legislation in 2016 that weakened the Drug Enforcement Agency's ability to regulate opioid drug distributors.
The report also said the drug industry spent more than $100 million lobbying Congress to pass the bill, which was signed into law by President Obama, and that Marino received almost $100,000 from the industry for his campaign.
Marino's office did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
NEW CANDIDATES
Democrat Marc Friedenberg lives in State College and is a native of Northeastern Philadelphia. He announced his candidacy for Congress in September 2017. His platform focuses on jobs, healthcare, environment and education.
He is an instructor at Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology. He has a wife and two daughters. He graduated from Penn State in 2006 with a master's degree and later graduated from Columbia Law School in 2009.
Before teaching, he worked for two law firms on cases that sued the Wall Street banks that caused the financial crisis. He founded the group PA-5 Truth and Action, a local group that advocated against the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
As a candidate, Friedenberg wants to invest in rural Pennsylvania economically and fight the opioid crisis's hold on the area.
"Pennsylvania is long overdue for investment in rural infrastructure… especially for rural broadband," he said. "The majority of people don't have access to broadband, and no one has access to affordable internet."
If elected, he wants to make rural broadband access a priority, because it could provide a "huge jobs creation program."
Friedenberg spoke against Marino's reported involvement in sponsoring the DEA de-regulation law. Friedenberg said he wants to focus on combating the over-prescription of opioid drugs, the illicit production of opiates like fentanyl and heroin, and the stigma with which society treats drug addicts in order to encourage them to seek treatment.
As for the redistricting, he believes the new congressional map is much closer to fair than the previous one. He was originally running in the former 5th District, which is currently represented by U.S. Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Howard.
"Certainly it's created some confusion," he said. "But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found a violation of the Pennsylvania Constitution and corrected it."
Democrat Judy Herschel is a native of Susquehanna Depot. She announced her candidacy for Congress on July 4, 2017. She is a certified drug/alcohol counselor and community advocate with more than 18 years of experience in the addiction field.
Married with two children, she described herself as a "career mom" in her campaign website's biography.
Her platform focuses on healthcare and ACA improvement, fighting the opioid epidemic, jobs, education and environment. Some of her smaller issues include supporting net neutrality, retaining Second Amendment rights while advocating for gun control, unions/workers rights, veterans issues, seniors, a path to citizenship for DACA recipients, police reform and the repeal of Citizens United.
Anne Allen, Herschel's campaign manager, said her message really resonates with people.
"No matter what party affiliation you have, she is a candidate for the people," Allen said. "Her goal is to represent the community, not to toe party lines."
In light of Herschel's background in drug and alcohol abuse counseling, Allen said, people identify with her approach to the opioid crisis.
"There's not one person that hasn't been affected," she said, "especially where Judy is from."
Susquehanna County had eight deaths due to opiate abuse in 2016 and six the year before. It is a county of a little more than 40,000 people.
"Her main issue is what is affecting the community… no matter who they voted for in the past," said Allen. "Solutions to the opioid crisis is No. 1."
Allen also said the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision to redraw the congressional map created a lot of confusion among voters and candidates for office. Prior to redistricting, Herschel was going to run in the former 10th District. In the time following the announcement, Susquehanna County suffered four nor'easters and a state of emergency, making it more difficult for Herschel's campaign to collect the signatures it needed to run in the 12th. But the campaign was able to collect almost 1,800 signatures, more than necessary.
"I think that's a testament to our team, how well we handled the redistricting," Allen said.
Republican Doug McLinko is a Bradford County Commissioner from Wysox Township in Towanda. He announced his candidacy for the 10th District on Dec. 1, 2017. His platform focuses on rural economic development, cutting taxes, reducing debt and combating the opioid crisis.
McLinko is a former Wysox Township supervisor and owned and operated several businesses in Bradford County for 25 years. Currently he serves as chairman of the local Salvation Army Service Unit, president of the Wysox Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Wysox Planning Commission and Municipal Authority.
He is a father of four and a grandfather to several children. He is a self-described pro-life, Constitutional conservative. As a county commissioner, he helped make Bradford's property taxes the lowest in the state, eliminated county debt, reduced the size of county government by 15 to 20 percent, and helped the county achieve a AAA bond rating.
"I was asked to run more than a year ago, because our current representative hasn't been in the county for years," said McLinko. "We need representation that shows up for work."
As an advocate against the opioid crisis, he also referenced the "60 Minutes" investigative report that included Marino's involvement in the DEA-hampering legislation.
"We have people in our counties dropping like flies, it's horrible," he said. "Behind every death… is an extremely destroyed family."
With regard to economic development, McLinko said he has been integral in bringing the energy industry to northeastern Pennsylvania and creating jobs. "I support energy 100 percent," he said.
He also stressed that his campaign has a grassroots approach, incorporating local officials and hardworking citizens from Bradford County. The shift from running in the 10th District to the 12th District, now including parts of Centre, Clinton, Potter, Northumberland and Wyoming counties, hasn't changed much of his campaign.
"The go-along to get-along days of politics are gone," he said. "We're running against the incumbent here, make no mistake."