NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. by: John Gerow (RVO) – A passionate Conrad Warner, Democratic candidate for State House of Representatives in the 63rd district, held sway at a “political forum” hosted by exploreClarion.com Monday night in Clarion. A standing room only crowd of about 50 local residents and a dozen exploreClarion.com and other media people filled a small meeting room at the Park Inn in Clarion to hear Mr. Warner speak. While State Representative Donna Oberlander had been invited to attend, she could not, as she was in Harrisburg Monday evening meeting with USDA and US Department of Energy personnel. She also had a meeting Tuesday morning in Harrisburg with the Small Business Council.

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The poorly disguised campaign event gave Mr. Warner an opportunity to share his issue and policy positions in a very friendly environment. While questions were taken from the audience, there were no follow up questions, no in-depth discussion, no fleshing out of Mr. Warner’s simplistic policy and goal statements. Most importantly perhaps, Mr. Warner did not address how he would propose to pay for the ideas and efforts that he is proposing and supports.

“We are missing a generation in this area,” Mr. Warner says. There are fewer people in the age range of 25 – 45 than there should be. He said that many of the constituents that he has spoken with, mention that their children have left the area, reflecting the lack of good job prospects in the rural areas of Clarion, Forest, and Armstrong counties. Creating job opportunities, Mr. Warner said is essential to bringing folks back to the area and keeping our children here.

In the realm of creating employment opportunities, Mr. Warner says that “investing” in more and improved infrastructure will help create jobs, by enticing employers to locate in our region. He also says that expanding and developing high-speed broadband internet into the more rural areas of the district will serve to encourage people to locate here, too. He says the high-speed internet is critical for employees who can telecommute or have a “blended” workplace – that is, working some days from home via the internets. The “investment” in infrastructure and internet would have to come from government spending. When asked what industry he thinks is a good fit for the rural district, Mr. Warner replied that care services for the elderly is the best business and employment opportunity for our area. This was his only answer for creating employment opportunities.

On other issues, Mr. Warner was equally as specific. He says that he is pro-life. He is pro-2nd amendment, with “common-sense” restrictions. In a faux-populist stance, Mr. Warner says that he is against “hidden” taxes and “creative funding solutions that mask what we pay in taxes. He says that every tax should be up front and everyone should know what he or she are paying in taxes. Mr. Warner supports legalization of medical marijuana, but not recreational. He believes that “government” is the tool that we should use to create “market” opportunities. This statement was followed by him saying that the high gas tax in Pennsylvania harms rural economies.

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As a lifetime educator, Mr. Warner is very concerned about how the state funds rural school districts. He says that the current funding formula is weighted toward urban and suburban schools and does not treat rural school districts fairly. He also pointed out that funding for cyber and charter schools is not based on the costs of the alternative school, but rather on the cost structure of the typical government school. Cyber schools get each child’s portion of the entire school budget, including costs that no cyber nor charter school would ever incur, creating a hardship for rural districts.

Not surprising from a progressive audience, Mr. Warner was asked if he thought the “rich” were paying their “fair share” of taxes. To his credit, Mr. Warner answered the question by saying that at the state level, he thinks that they do. Mr. Warner also did not pander to 2 other questioners, standing on his belief rather than seeking approval. When asked why citizens “need” to have automatic rifles. His answer was that it is not as much a “need” to have as being “free” to have. Similarly, when he was asked if he supported the elimination of property taxes, by a proponent of such, Mr. Warner replied that he did not favor elimination of property taxes, as that gives localities “control” over their schools.
The questioner would have preferred a different answer.

Questioning returned to job opportunities and bringing businesses into the region. When asked what his plans for bringing businesses into the area were, Mr. Warner said that developing broadband, high-speed internet, and improving career and technical education, and reviewing taxing policies toward businesses. Another jobs related question was, what would the first thing that Mr. Warner would do to create jobs. His answer was to create a market for jobs. Mr. Warner did not follow up nor flesh out this comment.

When asked what he would do to improve conditions for the homeless and our veterans, Mr. Warner said that there needs to be more spending on mental health care and that we need to entice more doctors to come into the region. Improving mental health care and creating jobs was also his answer to dealing with the opioid epidemic.

Mr. Warner referenced the 2016 election several times, suggesting that being a little loud and outspoken has become a winning style for politicians. And it was apparent that he has adopted somewhat of a loud, outspoken campaign style. His attempts at populism fall short, as he is running as a Democrat, but populist stand places him in direct opposition to the Party that has controlled Pennsylvania for many years. This writer was left with jarring harmonic dissonance. This writer would also have liked to have known more specifics, more about the costs, and more about just how the candidate thinks command and control economy can improve the economy and quality of life in rural Western Pennsylvania.

Candidate Warner is definitely passionate about his issues, but Monday evening, at least, he was very short on specifics.
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ABOUT:
Redbank Valley School District provides education services for the 165 square mile area of New Bethlehem and Hawthorn boroughs, and the townships of Mahoning, Madison, Porter, and Redbank of both Clarion and Armstrong counties.

MEETINGS:
The Redbank Valley School Board meetings the first Monday of every month at 7pm at the High School Library.

CONTACT:
For more information about the Redbank Valley School District, please call 814.275.2426 or visit RedbankValley.org/pg/biz/redbank-valley-school-district