The May primary produced an upset in the 16th senatorial district when longtime incumbent Sen. Patrick Browne, a Republican, lost by 19 votes.

Browne has been a senator since 2005 and before that served in the House of Representatives for 11 years.

The Republican primary winner was Jarrett Coleman, who had 17,041 votes to 17,022 for Browne.

Coleman will face Democrat Mark Pinsley, who ran unopposed in the primary.

The district encompasses of parts of Bucks County, and parts of Lehigh County, including Allentown, the townships of Heidelberg, Lower Macungie, Lower Milford, Lowhill, Lynn, North Whitehall, part of South Whitehall, Upper Macungie, Upper Milford, Upper Saucon, Washington and Weisenberg and the borough of Slatington.

Born and raised in the Lehigh Valley, Coleman and his wife, Katie, live in Breinigsville with their two children and three dogs. His job as an airline pilot has taken him to different locations, but eventually he returned to the Lehigh Valley/Upper Bucks County region.

He serves on the Parkland School Board.

Coleman did not respond to the Times News questionnaire but we have included some of his priorities below, as outlined on his website.

Pinsley is a 16-year resident of Lehigh County who is the Lehigh County controller. Before his election in 2019, he served as a South Whitehall Township commissioner.

He is also a small businessman, running his company, DermaMed Solutions, for nearly a decade. Before that, he was a global product manager for a $14 billion company.

A Pennsylvania senator’s base salary is $95,432.

Mark Pinsley

Website: VoteMarkPinsley.com.

Three top priorities if elected to office: Ensuring that our elections are safe and secure. I would work to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat; working to reduce the impact of inflation by shifting subsidies away from large profitable corporations towards working moms and dads. We can reduce the cost of childcare, healthcare, and property tax; and protect our freedoms under the state and federal constitutions. This includes protecting a woman’s right to choose.

Our senior population is being hit harder than most with the high inflation. Property taxes don’t help. What do you think can be done to alleviate the burden of property taxes? In order to reduce property tax for seniors we need to look at things that the government is currently subsidizing and make sure it is the most efficient use of our tax dollars. Currently, the oil and gas industry is highly profitable. They may have required subsidies in the past, but they do not require them now. We should shift that money towards reducing property tax for seniors.

Pennsylvania is one of only a handful of states where school districts fund outside cyber/charter schools. Do you think the current method of funding cyber/charter schools is fair and what, if any, changes would you make to the funding system for cyber/charter schools: When we opened charter schools we are creating an additional level of administration. When the property taxes were established they were based on the need to fund a certain number of students and buildings. We need to increase the amount of money that goes to all the schools. We must account for all of the new costs associated with charter schools. I am a proponent of the fair funding formula to make sure all students are treated equally.

How you would you help improve access to mental health services: I would start by working with the hospitals. The local public hospitals have an obligation to give back to the community. In many cases, they are stating that their acceptance of Medicare is their “community benefit”. Accepting Medicare is an obligation. I would work to change that “community benefit” into a significant investment in mental health, without sacrificing Medicare acceptance.

Warehouses become a hot topic in the region. How would you attract new businesses while balancing the need to preserve the land and environment: We need to rewrite the Municipal Planning Code. This is the document that every municipality uses as its guideline for planning and development. By changing this document we can establish new criteria for where the warehouse should be located. What the proximity of the warehouse is to neighborhoods vs the proximity to highways. I would work with the County planning commission to update or rewrite this document to ensure a high quality of life.

Jarrett Coleman

Website: https://mrcolemangoestoharrisburg.com/

Background: Born and raised in the Lehigh Valley, Jarrett and his wife, Katie, live in Breinigsville with their two children and three dogs. Jarrett’s job as an airline pilot has taken him to different locations, but eventually he returned to the Lehigh Valley/Upper Bucks County region because it was the best place to raise his growing family.

Priorities if elected: Protect taxpayers, ensure fiscal responsibility, and grow economic opportunity.