GOP hopefuls speak to faithful

By Jerri Brouse
For The Daily Item

March 21, 2008 08:00 am

— LEWISBURG – With the Pennsylvania’s primary election just around the corner, Republicans in Union County took advantage of the opportunity to learn a little more about the candidates asking for their votes on April 22.
Five area candidates spoke Thursday at the Union County Republican Committee’s fourth annual Lincoln Day dinner at the Lewisburg Hotel. Candidates for Congress in the 10th District — Chris Hackett and Dan Meuser — and Pennsylvania state Senate candidates Doug McLinko and Gene Yaw attended the event to let voters know where they stand on key issues.
State Rep. Steven Cappelli, R-83, was unable to attend, but sent a spokesman in his place.
McLinko, Yaw and Cappelli are running for the seat held by Sen. Roger Madigan, R-23, of Towanda, which includes a section of Union County.
State Rep. Russell Fairchild, R-85 of Lewisburg, and U.S. Rep. John Peterson, R-10 of Pleasantville, were also in attendance, as were several local politicians.
Each candidate was given three minutes to speak.
If elected, Hackett said he intends to end wasteful spending in Washington, D.C. and work to “rein in the size and intrusiveness of the federal government.”
“We’ve tried the other approach – it’s time to take our country back,” said Hackett.
Meuser said he wants to be a congressman that people can feel comfortable talking to, the kind of person who can reach out to the community. He said his background in business (he’s run a business for more than 20 years in northeastern Pennsylvania) will work to his benefit.
“I believe I have the business experience to get things done,” he said. “I have the conservative principles to get things done and help our country move forward.”
Gene Yaw, a lifelong resident of Lycoming County, worked his way through law school and believes his years of hard work make him the best candidate for state Senate. He took the three minutes he was allotted to give a bit of personal history because, he said, he believes voters will vote for someone they feel they have something in common with.
Yaw, who worked on his family farm growing up, said he would fight against the idea of tolling Interstate 80 because he knows how drastically it would affect businesses in the area.
“For me this is not a politically convenient issue,” he said. “I know several people who would be dramatically affected.”
On behalf of Cappelli, Jason Fitzgerald assured the audience that the tolling proposal is nothing to worry about and said there is no reason for “cheap talk about dead issues.”
Fitzgerald said the former Williamsport mayor is a “man who says what he thinks and thinks what he says,” and his record speaks for itself.
As a state senator, Cappelli would work to reduce taxes and create jobs, said Fitzgerald.
Doug McLinko, a Bradford County commissioner, described himself as a “blue collar conservative” and said he is running for state Senate not because he thinks he can make a difference, but because he knows he can.
“We have to stop sending people to Harrisburg who don’t represent our Republican interests,” he said.
“Send me to Harrisburg and you can bet I’ll vote as a Republican conservative,” he said. McLinko is a small businessman who wants to repeal the I-80 toll legislation, end school property tax and reform state government.
Following the speeches, Fairchild and Peterson spent some time talking about the issues they believe are facing voters in the next presidential election. Fairchild said he thinks this is the year Republicans may finally break out of the “eight years in, eight years out” rut. “We have a unique opportunity,” he said. “The Democrats are split. Our ticket to winning is to have a unified party.”
Peterson echoed Fairchild’s comments and said Washington, D.C., is simply not the same as it used to be.
“We need to be a team in Washington and in Harrisburg,” said Peterson. “We need people in Harrisburg who will stand up to the leaders in Washington.” As far as the idea of tolling I-80 goes, Peterson called it a “dumb proposal.” “There is nothing in that bill that makes public policy sense,” he said.
Peterson also spent some time talking about the importance of America finding affordable energy. He is retiring from Congress following this term, but said he plans to continue being outspoken about the energy issues.
n Jerri Brouse is a freelance writer who lives in Lewisburg. E-mail her at scoop@ptd.net.