State Sen. David Argall, R-Schuylkill/Berks, has represented all of Schuylkill County since he was first elected to the Senate in 2009. But for most of that time, a significant portion of his district has been south of the Blue Mountain in Berks County.

The 2022 redistricting changes that. The 29th senate district shifted northeast to include all of Carbon County and the greater Hazleton area.

Argall, who is running unopposed in the primary, recently sat down with the Times News to discuss his redrawn district, where his Rush Township home will be more centrally located.

“Maybe I’ll be spending a little less time in the Jeep,” Argall said.

While Carbon has been part of the 14th Senate District since 2012, Argall has some experience representing sections from his first few years in office.

Between 2010 and 2020 the state’s population shifted further south and east. In order to keep the districts the same size, the lines also had to shift. The 14th is now located in the Lehigh Valley.

“Redistricting is like throwing a rock in a pond - it reverberates,” he said.

Politically, the district is similar to the old 29th, with a strong Republican registration advantage. The new district is 62 percent Republican, and the old one was 61 percent.

Argall said he feels the issues in Carbon and Luzerne are more similar to Schuylkill County than those in Berks.

Argall sees Jim Thorpe as an example of revitalization which other towns in his district can learn from.

“I’m fascinated and want to learn more about Jim Thorpe,” he said.

In the past decade Schuylkill County has seen significant growth in its warehouse industry, generating jobs and tax revenue. Argall said that developers seem to be primarily interested in areas along interstate highways.

School funding is another issue in both counties. Argall has long pushed school property tax elimination. The issue is popular among Carbon County voters, but not statewide. Argall says the plan’s hopes now rest on being able to amend the state constitution to eliminate school property taxes.

“It would get it right on the ballot to let the people decide,” he said.

In both counties, municipalities face the same struggles when it comes to police. Small departments struggle to retain officers who can leave for better paying jobs elsewhere. Argall said Harrisburg shouldn’t force towns to consider regional police, but in some areas, it’s one of the few remaining options.

Argall said he’s pushed for more state police funding in his role on the Senate Appropriations committee. Currently the state police budget relies heavily on money diverted from fuel tax revenue - which is meant for roads and bridges.

Highway funding is an area where Harrisburg must do more, he says. But he strongly opposes the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s plans to toll nine bridges around the commonwealth, including the I-80 bridge over the Lehigh River near White Haven. He said it will be disastrous for nearby towns.

Argall said that the tolling issue is part of a larger problem - a dysfunctional relationship between Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf and the Republican Legislature. Tension between the legislative and executive branches is expected, but he said the current situation goes far beyond.

“The relationship between this governor and general assembly is probably as bad as I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Argall said that the rift can be blamed partly on the growing distrust between the two parties on a national level. That was made clear last year when, as chairman of a committee which sets policy for the Senate Republicans, he hosted a hearing on election fraud. Rudy Giuliani appeared at the hearing and Donald Trump spoke via telephone. Argall said that concerns about election fraud prompted as much feedback from constituents as any issue he’s ever been involved with.

As chair of the Senate state government committee, Argall said he wants to take steps to restore faith in elections. The committee recently held a hearing to look at banning counties from accepting grants from outside organizations to help administer elections. He also favors Voter ID. He’s also advancing bipartisan ideas such as allowing precanvassing of ballots, to allow votes to be counted quicker and eliminate some voters’ suspicions.

“Once people don’t trust the election process, that is damaging in so many different ways,” he said.