State Senate 20th district

Who wants to be a state senator raise your hand? Two more candidates made it official that they are seeking to replace retiring Charles Lemmond
in the State Senate. As reported earlier Harrisburg insider Lisa Baker and chiropractor David Madeira have announced their intention to seek the Republican nomination for the seat.

One of the new candidates has a strong background in education and has experience dealing with property tax issues. From the TL:

Russell Bigus, a parochial school principal and president of the Dallas School Board, has entered the increasingly crowded Republican race for state Sen. Charles Lemmond’s seat in 2006. Bigus, a 34-year-old Dallas Township resident, works as principal of Regis Elementary School in Forty Fort. He has a master’s degree in biology from East Stroudsburg University, with a concentration in wildlife research.

If elected, Bigus said he would focus heavily on tackling property tax reform, quality deer population management, rising health care premiums and out-of-state garbage hauling through the area. He said he would never vote to accept a pay raise for his post while in office.

The other new candidate is Jackson Township Republican Ronald Chvotzkin. He is motivated by a frustration in dealing the mental health system. From the CV:

He decided to enter the race after experiencing problems finding help for his daughter, Heather, who has a mental illness and bulimia. If elected, Chvotzkin said he will work to pass laws protecting the rights of the mentally ill.

Chvotzkin vowed not to take a pay raise if elected and called himself a "people's candidate" There will be no back room deals or nepotism," he said. "The wealthy people have too much control and the poor are getting poorer and the middle class are feeling the squeeze. I'm running to help the people." Chvotzkin said he will maintain offices in every county of the 20th District and they will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He supports eliminating the property tax with a tax based on income and wants to restore funding to special education. In addition, Chvotzkin said he will work to create more high-paying jobs in the district and reduce health insurance premiums. "If school districts eliminate the middle man and purchase health insurance right from the source, they can save $300 to $400 a month per family," he said.

He wants to be an advocate for the mentally ill, bashes the rich, wants to move to a tax system based on income and increase funding for special education. Sounds like a Democrat to me. Hopefully a serious Democrat will get into this soon.

And we can expect at least one more person to throw their hat into the ring if this report in the TL tells us anything:

Republican Kingston Mayor Jim Haggerty is also interested but has not yet announced his plans.
Rob Jacobs, chairman of the Friends of Haggerty campaign committee, released a statement Monday saying Haggerty has received an "overwhelming" level of encouragement to run based on his "impressive record of accomplishment as a mayor. Mayor Haggerty is consulting with friends and supporters in serious consideration of a potential candidacy," the statement said.