Penn Forest Supervisor Christian Bartulovich is running against Republican Doyle Heffley to represent the 122nd District in the state House of Representatives.

Heffley went into the primary election unopposed within his party and also having no Democratic opponent, but he lost a concerted effort to win the Democratic nomination to Bartulovich, another Republican.

Heffley was first elected in 2010.

The base salary for the position is $110,016, with per diems of $198 per day.

Legislators are eligible for per diems, a flat daily expense allowance, for food and lodging when they travel more than 50 miles from their home for official legislative business.

The Times News asked candidates to provide background and answer questions on the issues. Their responses, limited to 100 words, are listed in alphabetical order:

Candidate information

Christian Bartulovich

Age: 37

Background: Penn Forest Township Supervisor and Vice-Chairman. Treasurer of the Carbon County Council of Governments. Career in healthcare, from EMT and paramedic across eastern Pennsylvania to regional operations management. B.A. in Criminal Justice, Thomas Edison State University; MBA, Liberty University. Head coach of the Jim Thorpe Lady Olympians girls varsity soccer team. Happily married with four children.

Doyle Heffley

Age: 56

Background: Doyle Heffley represents the 122nd Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where he currently serves as chairman of the House Human Services Committee. A proud lifelong resident of Carbon County, Doyle graduated from Lehighton Area High School in 1989 and earned an associate degree from Lincoln Technical Institute. Before entering public service, he built a career in the trucking industry, managing more than 100 employees. He previously served on the Lower Towamensing Planning Commission and as chairman of the Carbon County Republican Committee. Doyle resides in Palmerton with his wife, Kellie. He is the proud father of two daughters, has a son-in-law and two grandchildren.

Questions

What is the issue people bring up most when you knock on their door, and what have you told them you’d do about it?

Bartulovich: What people talk to me about first is representation and trust. Property taxes, data centers, and electric bills usually all come up in the same conversation. When you boil it down, people want to know they can afford to stay in their homes and that their representative in Harrisburg is looking out for them. I tell them three things. I’ll work to eliminate school property taxes. I’ll make large energy users pay for the grid upgrades they cause. And I’ll keep decisions about what gets built here with the people who live here.

Heffley: One of my favorite parts of campaigning is knocking on doors, there is nothing more valuable than talking with people on front porches and in their homes. I hear concerns about roads, bridges, blight, property taxes, and the rising cost of living. I also hear how my office has helped residents navigate state government. I take conversations seriously. They help shape the legislation I introduce, the amendments I support and the votes I cast. My job is to ensure our communities’ voices are heard and represented. I promise to listen and take those concerns when I vote in Harrisburg.

Data centers have become the loudest issue in the county. Where do you draw the line between development Carbon County should welcome and development it should turn away — and who should get to draw it, the township or the state?

Bartulovich: There are now five active data center projects and challenges and residents are understandably concerned. But I don’t draw a line based on whether the project is called a data center. I draw it by what impacts it causes: noise, traffic, water, power demand, and whether local fire and EMS can handle it. The problem is that state law doesn’t clearly let municipalities weigh all impacts or make developers pay to close the gaps they create. Harrisburg needs to fix that. State law should protect our environment and our neighbors, but it shouldn’t override local control.

Heffley: I support local control. Our communities, not Harrisburg, should decide what is best for their residents. My voting record reflects that, including support for a 180-day moratorium on data center development and protections against higher electric bills.

I oppose clear-cutting pristine Pocono forests or placing massive industrial developments in residential communities. I also oppose zoning overlays that give developers special exemptions and disregard residents’ voices. Responsible development should prioritize brown-fields and appropriately zoned industrial land while protecting the environment, water supplies and utility rates.

Local decisions, local accountability and NO blank checks for developers.

Electric bills are going up. What can Harrisburg do about that?

Bartulovich: PPL generation fees have gone up 92% in the past five years. Harrisburg can do more about that than people think. Part of every bill pays to guarantee there’s enough power on the regional grid at peak, and that cost has jumped. Pennsylvania took a good first step by having the PUC check forecasts so speculative data center projects don’t inflate costs. The next step is a separate rate class, so heavy users pay for the grid upgrades they need. PPL’s settlement this year did that. Harrisburg should make it the law for every utility.

Heffley: Pennsylvania must expand reliable, domestic energy production to meet growing demand, strengthen our electric grid and help control costs. I oppose policies like Governor Shapiro’s proposed Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which could discourage energy production and increase costs.

Large industrial developments, including data centers, must pay their fair share of infrastructure and energy costs rather than passing them along to families and businesses.

I also introduced legislation proposing $500 million from the Rainy Day Fund for emergency heating assistance, expanding LIHEAP and helping Pennsylvania families struggling to heat their homes this winter.

School property taxes keep climbing while districts say state funding is unpredictable. Do you support eliminating the school property tax, and if so what replaces it?

Bartulovich: Yes. If the government can take your home when you stop paying school taxes, do you ever really own it? I support HB 1649, the School Property Tax Elimination Act. It replaces school property taxes with slightly higher state income and sales taxes, paid into a dedicated fund that goes to every district. That gives schools a broader, steadier revenue source that grows with the economy, instead of leaning on property owners year after year. It’s the most serious plan out there, and it ends the tax instead of trimming it.

Heffley: Eliminating school property taxes for homeowners has always been a priority, provided revenue is replaced with a fair, sustainable funding source. I’ve supported sales tax alternatives, full homestead relief, homeowner rebates up to $1,000, and expanded Property Tax/Rent Rebates, helping nearly 800 additional Carbon County residents apply.

I’ve also helped secure continued funding for the SHINE After-School Program and supported increased education funding, school safety and facility improvements. Local school districts must also be accountable for spending.

I do not support any plan that includes taxing seniors’ retirement income while exempting large corporations. Homeowners deserve relief, not a new tax.

Much of this district has no local police force and depends on the state police at no cost to the municipality. Bills keep coming back in Harrisburg to charge those communities a fee for that coverage. Where do you stand, and if not a fee, how should the state pay for policing out here?

Bartulovich: I oppose it. A fee for state police coverage is a tax increase with a different name. Residents here already pay for the State Police through their state taxes. The state police do not enforce local ordinances, and our municipalities shouldn’t pay extra for them to enforce state laws. The fee keeps coming up as Harrisburg moves state police costs off the gas tax and onto the General Fund. That’s Harrisburg’s budget problem to solve, not something to hand to small municipalities. I will work with other representatives to ensure that State Police coverage stays funded through the state.

Heffley: Public safety is one of government’s most important responsibilities. I support our law enforcement officers and am proud to have earned endorsements from local and state Fraternal Order of Police organizations and the Pennsylvania State Police Troopers Association. I oppose additional fees on taxpayers for services funded through existing state appropriations. Municipalities can also explore sharing police services with neighboring communities to maximize resources. State police provide essential coverage, but local policing also plays a critical role in fighting crime and keeping drugs off our streets. We must give law enforcement the resources needed to keep Carbon County safe.

A lot of young people leave Carbon County for work. What would you do in Harrisburg to give them a reason to stay?

Bartulovich: Many would love living here but simply can’t afford it. We need to give them careers that pay, not just jobs. The average job located in Carbon County pays significantly less than the statewide average. That gap is why so many people commute or leave altogether. I’d connect high school CTE programs directly to LCCC apprenticeships and to local employers who commit to hiring graduates. I’d push hard for fiber infrastructure expansion, so people can earn city wages while living here. And eliminating school taxes would make it easier for young families to buy a home here and keep it.

Heffley: Young people need good-paying jobs and affordable places to live if we want them to build their futures here in Carbon County Since I took office, unemployment has fallen from more than 11% to 4.3%, with growth in healthcare, tourism, manufacturing and other industries. I’ll continue supporting small businesses, responsible investment, workforce training and affordable energy.

I’ll also work with municipalities to redevelop blighted properties and expand responsible housing opportunities. More senior housing can free existing homes for young families.

Good jobs and affordable housing are essential to a stronger Carbon County, where the next generation can build successful futures.

Carbon County’s economy leans on tourism and open land. How do you weigh that against the tax base industrial development brings?

Bartulovich: Carbon County can have both. We need industry to broaden the tax base, because too much of the burden falls on residents. But our open land isn’t a placeholder. The forests, the Lehigh River, and our trails bring visitors and their money, and they’re why families live here. Still, municipalities shouldn’t be forced into putting heavy industry wherever a developer wants. I’ll push for state law requiring developers to show their specific site fits the use, with the roads, water, and buffers to support it. That respects property owners and protects our communities.

Heffley: Carbon County’s natural beauty is one of our greatest assets, supporting tourism, recreation and our quality of life. We shouldn’t have to sacrifice that to create good-paying jobs and strengthen our tax base.

I support responsible industrial development in appropriately zoned areas, particularly existing industrial sites and brownfields, rather than sacrificing farmland, forests and residential communities.

Investments in manufacturing, healthcare and small businesses can provide economic opportunities while preserving what makes Carbon County special.

We need a balanced approach that protects our natural resources, respects local decision-making and creates opportunities for future generations to live and work here.