With less than a month until Election Day, Wayne and Pike counties’ candidates joined a candidate forum last Thursday to discuss the most pressing issues facing Pennsylvanians.

Democrats Jackie Baker (SD-20), Kyle Devlin (HD-111), and Dominique Azzolini (HD-139) joined the panel at the Wayne County Park Street Complex in Honesdale on Oct. 8. The forum was hosted by local newspaper the River Reporter, with support from Radio Catskill.

Republicans Senator Lisa Baker (SD-20) and Rep. Jonathan Fritz (HD-111) did not respond to the River Reporter’s invitation. Rep. Jeff Olsommer (HD-139) was unable to attend but emailed a response after the forum. A summary of his response has been included near the end of this article.

The River Reporter also invited Republican Senator Rosemary Brown and Democrat candidate Brian Wrightson from the State Senate District 40.

On Thursday, candidates focused their campaign promises on addressing increasing unaffordability in Pennsylvania, along with combating predatory actors in housing, education, and economic development.

From data centers to addressing affordability

Devlin, a quality assurance engineer, said data centers must be regulated at the state level but towns should have the ability to decide its parameters. He’s looking to unseat incumbent Rep. Jonathan Fritz, who represents Pennsylvania’s 111th district including Wayne and Susquehanna counties.

“[Pennsylvania] should be offering some additional help to help these towns fill out their ordinances and any zoning if they want to do it in order to have the protection,” said Devlin. “These giant hyperscale ones, they’re just used to make people rich off of our resources.”

In August, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order that removed all data center proposals from the Fast Track permitting process and said developers must comply with the state’s GRID energy requirements. Still, advocates have pushed for a statewide three-year moratorium on hyperscale data center development and permitting.

Baker and Azzolini both opposed the expansion of data centers in the state. 

Baker, a lifelong educator, called to fully funding public education, specifically more investments for early learning and teachers. She’s running against incumbent Republican Senator Lisa Baker this November to represent Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming counties in Pennsylvania’s 20th Senate District.

“We need to take some strain off of the property taxes that are funding the schools and have the state fund them more,” said Baker.

Devlin called for stricter funding and compliance regulations for public school alternatives such as cyber charter schools. Azzolini pushed for a closer look at the state’s school choice program, a tax credit program that allows families to choose an education system outside of a student’s designated school district. 

Azzolini, a real estate agent, focused her remarks on affordability, especially housing costs. She pushed for more first-time homebuyer assistance and stricter regulations on unlawful rent spikes. 

“ We also need to ensure that people who are first-time homeowners that do live in the area currently are able to qualify for programs that give them that little bump of closing cost assistance or buy down their loan a little bit more,” said Azzolini. She’s running to unseat incumbent Rep. Jeff Olsommer in the state’s 139th district including Pike and Wayne counties.

Devlin pushed for more scrutiny when private venture capitalists buy or rent the state’s limited housing supply. Baker called for passing zoning laws that allow for more diverse housing structures and cost-sharing housing models like community solar.

Baker, Azzolini, and Devlin all discussed increasing healthcare costs and called for a variety of solutions, such as making it easier for nurse practitioners and physicians to practice in the state.

Rep. Olsommer emailed the River Reporter after the event responding to a set of questions. He said data centers need a more “thoughtful and measured approach” while still protecting local control. Olsommer also said he supports “parental choice and believes virtual charter schools should remain available.”

“If re-elected, I will continue working to improve rural healthcare, expand career and technical education, support volunteer fire and emergency services, address affordability, protect local decision-making, and ensure rural communities receive their fair share of state resources,” said Olsommer in an email.

Olsommer also highlighted his first piece of legislation, House Bill 18, which requires courts to hold a timely hearing process for the state’s guardianship process. Shapiro signed the house bill into law last October.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. Polls in Pennsylvania are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. 

The River Reporter will host candidate forums for Town of Highland Supervisor on Monday, Oct. 19, at 6 p.m. at the Highland Community & Senior Center in Eldred and Town of Cochecton Supervisor on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. at Arts Nest in Lake Huntington.

Follow along for more election coverage in New York and Pennsylvania at Radio Catskill.