Howard against Dicranian for state House
On Nov. 5, Charlestown Township resident and Republican Melissa Dicranian will battle Democrat and East Whiteland Township resident Kristine Howard, incumbent, for the seat in state House District 167.
District 167 includes the following townships: Charlestown, East Caln, East Goshen (precinct 05, 06), East Whiteland, West Pikeland, West Vincent, West Whiteland and Malvern Borough.
For a candidate survey, each candidate was emailed identical questions and asked to respond with less than 425 words.
Name a single problem facing the district you are running to represent and how you would address that issue if elected.
HOWARD: Although Chester County is mostly perceived to be one of the more affluent counties in the Commonwealth, there are underserved, low income families struggling to survive here. We need to provide support to those families by strengthening the social services we provide, making sure there are job training opportunities and adequate public transportation to meet the needs of working families.
DICRANIAN: The 167 economy continues suffering in a strong recession. The State House seat needs to come onboard and work with the communities, efficiently, in supporting the needs of our district; as well as working with other districts as we are interdependent. The resources of our citizens and the businesses cannot continue to sustain this inflation, already high and continually increasing. In the 167 we need a strong plan to address the gap in our workforce, which is down over 12% in 16–24-year-old participants, while our aging work force is large and moving into retirement. I would like to retain our aging workforce as an active participant in workforce training programs.
What specific actions should the state Legislature take to make life more affordable for the people living in your district?
DICRANIAN: Lower the maximum amount of interest legal on credit cards.
Make use of our natural energy resources, open the pipeline; and remove Pennsylvania from
participation in multi-state energy agreements.
Policy makers must maintain knowledge of funded programs; that they reach the targeted outcomes.
HOWARD: I believe the single most important affordability issue in my district is the cost of housing. It is nearly impossible to find affordable rentals and challenging for first time home buyers. We need to crackdown on corporate speculators who buy up available properties and charge exorbitant rents. We need to expand programs that help homeowners repair, weatherize and maintain their homes so they can stay in the places where they have lived, and in many cases, raised their families. We also need to double down on efforts to shift a portion of education funding away from property taxes to a less regressive taxing structure.
How will you gather feedback from the community regarding their needs and concerns?
HOWARD: Since being elected in 2018, I have been engaged with the community and gathered feedback by attending community meetings and events; maintaining office hours at the Chester County Library, the Chester Springs Library and the Henrietta Hankin Library; organizing special events including shredding events, sustainability workshops, senior fairs and a pet resource fair; periodically conducting door to door canvassing of various neighborhoods in the district. I also send periodic newsletters and maintain a social media presence that generates community feedback and comments. I have an excellent staff highly regarded by the people we serve for their constituent service work.
DICRANIAN: As a candidate I gather feedback within the community, by actively participating in meeting with the people. As a State Representative I will work within the communities, for the people. We will progress toward the goals of the 167, as well as support and work with the other districts of our state.
What inspired you to run for office?
DICRANIAN: I am inspired to run for office to serve the people of the 167. That the House Seat will function utilizing our amazing resources and committed citizens to deliver a prosperous future to our children.
HOWARD: I was motivated to run for office by my work in child welfare and as a child abuse investigator. In office, I have focused on these issues serving on the Children and Youth Committee, Human Services Committee and the Governor's Juvenile Justice Task Force.
