State House candidates tackle issues at forum

The Republican candidates are, Josh Bashline of Clarion Township, Clay Kennemuth of Mayport, Lisa Kerle of New Bethlehem and Darlene Smail of Kittanning Township, Armstrong County. The 63rd District includes all of Clarion County and parts of Armstrong County.

Republican incumbent Donna Oberlander announced earlier that she would not seek another term.

Each candidate was given two minutes to make introductory remarks.

Josh Bashline, a 12-year veteran of the U.S. Army, said he has always wanted to help people. “This is the closest governmental position to the people,” he said. He said as a Legislative Chief of Staff in Harrisburg that he has done everything a Representative does except vote.

Clay Kennemuth is the Deputy Fire Chief in Hawthorn and a paramedic supervisor in Clarion. “I want to continue to serve my community. I threw my hat in to help our fire departments and our ambulance services and to promote natural gas, coal and oil industries. I want to stand up for what our district cares about.”

Lisa Kerle, of New Bethlehem, the mother of two adult children said she grew up in a coal mining family. Kerle has served as President of the New Bethlehem Borough Council for the past four years and serves as President of the New Bethlehem Water Authority. She is active in her community, serving on numerous boards and organizations, including church, civic, and political.

Darlene Smail, of Kittanning Township, Armstrong County, is a U.S. Marine veteran and PA. State Trooper. She is the mother of two adult children. She is active with the American Legion and was elected to the state GOP Committee and is the chair of the Armstrong County Republican Committee. She said two things happened that got her involved with politics, the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 election debacle.

Question One: If elected, what committees would you like to serve on and why?

Bashline said he would like to serve on Tourism and Recreation Committee and the Veteran’s Affairs Committee.

Kennemuth said his to top two committees would be Health and Human Services because “there are lot of problems” in Pennsylvania. His second would also be Veteran’s Affairs and Emergency Services. “This is another tragedy nationwide,” he said. “I know our fire departments are struggling financially and they need help from state government.”

Kerle said she would like to serve on Health and Human Services. She serves on board for the Area Agency on Aging and said she sees the challenges the elderly are facing. She would also like to serve on the Tourism Committee.

Smail said she would like to be appointed to Veteran’s Affairs. “I am really humbled when I talk with combat veterans,” she said. “I feel that in my heart.” She would also like to work on the tourism committee.

Question Two: In Pennsylvania abortion is legal up to 22 weeks of pregnancy. Would you support legislation that reduces that number?

Kennemuth said he would support any bill that came to the PA. House that bans abortion as a means of birth control. He said there are three exceptions he “would not give up on.” Those exceptions are; the life of the mother is in danger, rape and incest and in the case of fetal malformation. “Abortion tears apart the fabric of our society,” he said.

Kerle said she is pro-life and firmly believes that life begins at conception and ends with a natural death.

Smail said she would definitely support legislation that makes it more difficult for an abortion. “Family is a very important part of my life,” she said. “I would consider the instances of rape and incest and if the life of the mother is in danger. I would be in favoring of changing the current law.”

Bashline said he would support a “heartbeat bill.” He said he is 100-percent pro-life. “I believe life begins at conception and an abortion ends a life,” he said. “I would do everything I can to support mothers and families.”

Question three asked what they would do if elected to reverse the decline in enrollment at PennWest Clarion University.

Kerle said “Our University is not going anywhere. They are recruiting now. People having been saying it is going to close but it is not.”

Smail said she is concerned about the tax dollars going to the university. She admitted she does not have an answer at this time.

Bashline said when he was entering college he was asked where he wanted to go to college and not what he wanted to do. He suggested working with local businesses to find what training is needed. “Then you can constantly update that,” he said.

Kennemuth said the university is essential to local economics. “The PennWest merger has caused serious heartache at Clarion University,” he said. “We have had declining numbers and this merger has created an even worse situation. I would, as a state representative, look at removing this university (Clarion) from the PennWest program and encouraging another more successful university to step in.”

Question Four: Would you support a statewide sales tax to fund public schools instead of the current real estate tax?

Smail said she would support that. “That would be one way to enable others to share the burden,” she said.

Bashline said he worked with the budget team in Harrisburg and said he would need to look at the numbers before he would support it. “I would have an open ear to it,” he said.

Kerle said she would support a retail tax. “That way everyone who comes into our state would be contributing and helping to alleviate that tax burden,” she said.

Question Five: How would you represent constituents with opposing views?

Bashline said there would be open access to him and his staff if he were elected. “You represent all of the people in your district not just those in your political party,” he said.

Kennemuth said he welcomes opposing viewpoints. “Politics is politics and campaigning is campaigning,” he said. “Being a representative is something in and of itself. I would represent the entire district.” He said he would hold town hall meetings for “hot button” issues.

Kerle said she would have an open door policy. “We are elected to serve all of the people in our district,” she said.

Smail said she would keep an open door and an open mind. “I would vote my convictions keeping in consideration that this is not a monochromatic district,” she said.

Question Six: How would you prevent the loss of public school funding to cyber schools?

Kennemuth said “Our educational system is broken.” He said he supports school choice because they provide a better education in some cases.

Kerle said not every school is the right school for children. “I am for school choice,” she said. She said her children attended the Catholic school in Clarion.

Smail said local school boards need to be involved. “What needs to be addressed is why parents are taking their children out of public schools,” she said. “If the schools were performing well enough then the parents wouldn’t be taking their children our and the schools would not be losing money. I am very much in favor of school choice.”

Bashline said he is for school choice. “Where you live should not determine what kind of educational opportunity you have,” he said. “I don’t think we can just be throwing money at the problem.

Question Seven: Would you support legislation banning transgender men from competing in women’s sports?

Smail said she does not support any type of “cross” sports. “Young ladies should compete against young ladies,” she said.

Bashline said we need to “protect women in sports.” He said there could be injuries and scholarships could be lost for women.”

Kennemuth, a referee and coach, said he fully supports separation by biological gender. “We should take action that prevents putting girls in a bad situation,” he said.

“We worked so hard to get women where they are in athletics,” said Kerle, a former Division II collegiate golfer. She said she would support that legislation.

Question Eight: Would you support the legalization of recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania?

Kennemuth said he would not. “Recreational marijuana is a gateway drug,” he said. He rejected the idea that legalization would raise tax dollars. He said currently there is no way to determine when someone is driving under the influence of marijuana. “Until we can come up with something like that I am definitely against it,” he said.

Kerle said she is opposed to legalization.

“My history with law enforcement has given me opportunities to interact with people driving under the influence,” said Smail. “Marijuana does affect your reaction time. It is a serious issue. I would not support legalizing recreational marijuana.” She said our government “does not need more money but needs to spend that money better.”

Bashline he would be a not vote for legalization citing issues with law enforcement. He rejected the argument that legalization would raise additional tax money.

Question Nine: What would you do to help Fire and EMS services?

Kerle said the lack of volunteers is a problem as well as the financial aspect.

Smail said as a police officer she interacted with many fire departments and spoke with them about their situations.

Bashline said he listened to experts in this area and one way is to increase the tax base. He said firefighters shouldn’t need to rely on fish fries for funding.

Kennemuth said there many problems with the services. “As a fireman I love gun raffles and fish fries but I think any volunteer fireman will tell you it would be easier if they had a little more help,” he said.