Republican and Libertarian try to retake Pennsylvania House seat held by Democrat in North Hills
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — In most state legislative districts in the Pittsburgh region, incumbents are running for reelection often without an opponent, but voters in the 30th District, which covers part of the North Hills, have three candidates on the ballot for the House: incumbent Democrat Arvind Venkat, an emergency room physician; Republican Nathan Wolfe, an automotive repair owner and constable; and Libertarian Bill Baierl, a former Republican committeeman.
So why is each running?
Baierl: "Democrats want to keep government out of the bedroom, Republicans want to keep government out of your pocketbook and Libertarians want government out of both."
Wolfe: "Our criminal justice system has become a revolving door in a lot of cases. We really need to correct that. The drug epidemic in Allegheny County is horrendous."
"I think with my skillset being in law enforcement, I can really help that."
Venkat: "I ran for office because I wanted to make sure we funded our first responders, and we were better prepared in our health care system for emergencies. I now see having been in office that there's so much more we need to do."
In a second term, Venkat says his goals are protecting abortion rights, passing gun safety legislation, more affordable health care, funding public schools and protecting voting rights.
Baierl says the current system is corrupt, and he wants to cut government back.
"If there is no victim involved in the activity, then the state does not have a role. Let's get the state to have a focus on those things that it is actually needed for and can do better," Baierl said.
Wolfe says state government spends too much and needs to promote its fossil fuel resources.
"We can't spend money like drunken sailors and unfortunately we are doing that a lot of times. Most importantly, we really need to go after the natural energy resources that Pennsylvania has," Wolfe said.
Venkat says he's proud of the work he's done in his first term, but that fundamental rights are also on the ballot this year.
"Protecting reproductive rights and voting rights – these are individual freedoms that frankly are under threat and who we elect to the state Legislature will determine whether we continue to protect them," Venkat said.
The 30th District includes Ben Avon, Ben Avon Heights, Emsworth, Franklin Park, Kilbuck, McCandless, Ohio and parts of Hampton.
There's another issue at stake: Venkat's election in 2022 gave the Democrats control of the state House in Harrisburg for the first time in more than a decade.