MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — The Pennsylvania House of Representatives 189th District seat, which includes parts of Monroe and Pike Counties, is up for grabs.
Three candidates are on the primary ballot.
Restaurant owners John Petrizzo and Steve Ertle are going head to head on the Republican side.
Petrizzo is a lifelong Monroe County resident and former Middle Smithfield Township official. If elected, he hopes to work on the needs people have been facing for years.
"The road improvements come way too late, and it all transpires into the longest commute in the nation from Lehman Township, the longest commute in Pennsylvania from Middle Smithfield for a sustainable job, and in East Stroudsburg lowered the mean income by 18.5 percent up against the national average. If we address the infrastructure, if we address our property taxes, we can end up with more disposable income comes the quality of life in the 189th Legislative District," said Petrizzo.
Steve Ertle is the other Republican on the ballot. Ertle worked to help businesses and restaurants during COVID-19. If elected to the State House, he wants to focus on self-sufficiency for the Poconos.
"Forget the politics because the issues we need to solve are all bipartisan issues. We need stuff like broadband infrastructure so our kids, when they come home from school with their Chromebooks can get a signal. We need businesses that moved out here that are at home to be able to upload their projects. We need fair funding. We need a strong voice that gets the money we deserve because for so long, we have been the welcome mat of Pennslyvania, but we've been treated like the doormat, and that needs to stop. Affordable housing, not only affordable housing but affordable workforce housing, is going to be a big issue that we need to look into. So with 35 years of experience, I look at solutions," said Ertle.
Whoever wins the GOP primary will run against Tarah Probst in November. The Democrat is unopposed in the primary.
Probst is the first female mayor of Stroudsburg, getting her start in politics after fighting to improve education. It's something she plans to prioritize if she gets to Harrisburg.
"We need to make sure that we are fairly funded, and by doing that, we hope that students, teachers, families, and that should reduce our school taxes in Monroe county. Second, I want to talk about health care. That's very important. We need affordable health care and prescription drugs. Families should not have to choose between getting their children medicine or food on the table. Our infrastructure around here is the pits, and we have the money coming in. We need to make sure that it's spent right and get our roads and bridges done correctly, civil Liberties, equal rights, of course, everyone should have access to the ballot and diversity, equally equals a great community," said Probst.
The winner in November will replace Republican Rosemary Brown, who retired from the State House and then announced a run for State Senate.
Pennsylvania's primary election is Tuesday, May 17.
For more information on John Petrizzo, click here.
For more information on Steve Ertle, click here.
For more information on Tarah Probst, click here.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel.