Republican incumbent Zach Mako is running for his sixth term in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. His challenger is Democrat Deirdre Kamber Todd.

The 183rd District includes Lowhill and North Whitehall townships and Slatington Borough in Lehigh County. It also consists of Allen, East Allen, Lehigh and Moore (part) townships, and Bath, North Catasauqua, Northampton and Walnutport boroughs in Northampton County.

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:

Background

Deirdre Kamber Todd

Age: 54

Town: Schnecksville

Background: Deirdre Kamber Todd has lived in Schnecksville with her family for nearly 20 years with her husband and two children. She grew up in Selinsgrove and enjoyed the rural life there. Later, she moved to Allentown and graduated from Allen High School, where she was a student representative to the Allentown School Board. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University, master’s degree from the University of Limerick, and then to law school at Hofstra University. Her first job was as a civil rights and business lawyer in the World Trade Center. She then returned to the Lehigh Valley, and continued working as an attorney for many years.

Zach Mako

Age: 37

Town: Walnutport

Background: Zach Mako is serving his fifth term in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He serves on the appropriations; ethics; finance; professional licensure; and veterans affairs and emergency preparedness committees.

A graduate of Northampton Area High School, Zach joined the Pennsylvania National Guard in January 2008. As a Chinook helicopter pilot, he was deployed to Afghanistan in December 2012 for nine months supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. He completed his bachelor’s degree in finance from Kutztown and earned his master’s in business administration with a concentration in international affairs from Pennsylvania State University.

Zach and his wife, Brittany, have a son.

Questions

Data centers have become the loudest issue in the state. Where do you draw the line between development Lehigh and Northampton counties should welcome and development they should turn away?

Kamber Todd: Data centers should not be built in our backyards, include neighborhoods, schools, daycare centers, small businesses, public attractions or other small public-use locations. They must be limited to industrial zones and be safe for the community, the people, and the environment. Business development, depending on type, can assist our small businesses and Main Streets. Development that employs more people, creates greater appeal for our Main Streets, and does not directly compete with our existing small businesses may bring in additional funding, lift some of the burden of property taxes and generate attractive housing at a more affordable price.

Mako: Data Center developers need to pay their own way and respect the people living here. That means the developer, not ratepayers, covers grid up-grades and new transmission. It means honest water-use numbers before approval, and data centers sites on brownfields or existing industrial land, not farmland or next to homes or schools. Local zoning boards should keep the final say, not Harrisburg.

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?

Kamber Todd: Property taxes have reached a point of brutality. There is no “affordable housing” with the current extraordinary cost of property taxes. The straight elimination of property taxes is a promise made by too many politicians – idealistic and unattainable. Instead, we need to aim to reduce taxes. We can chip away at property taxes include improving our Main Streets through development and increased online presence. We also need to pursue relevant grants with professional grant writers and compliance teams. Finally, we need to look for Historic Registry benefits to reduce tax obligations for those maintaining historic homes.

Mako: I’ve supported eliminating school property taxes since my first campaign, because no one should rent their home from the government. Property taxes force seniors out of their homes, squeeze families, and make home-ownership nearly impossible for young people. Reducing the property taxes is the objective but controlling local spending is an equally important issue that we must address. Until then, I’m pushing immediate relief: a $5,000 school property tax break for seniors 65 and older residents earning under $60,000.

What can be done to improve traffic safety on state-owned roads in the region?

Kamber Todd: Traffic safety has become a massive problem. People driving dangerously, insufficiency of the roads to manage increased traffic, and electric bikes with the power of a motorcycle are all problematic. I am flatly opposed to flock cameras without exception. However, I am not opposed to using non-flock cameras for the purpose of ticketing speeders, dangerous drivers, and motorcyclists. This would deter speeders, decrease danger to our police, and save tax money. We need to expand roads where feasible at a quicker rate than currently done. Finally, we need to regulate electric bicycles as motorcycles, where applicable.

Mako: Start with the roads people already know are dangerous. Routes 145, 248 and 329 run through growing communities with truck traffic they were never designed to carry. I’ll keep pressing PennDOT District 5 for turning lanes, better signals and rumble strips at intersections with repeat crashes, and for safety-corridor designations with stepped-up enforcement where the data supports it. Truck detours need to be enforced so tractor-trailers stay off local roads. And when townships approve warehouses, the state should require traffic studies that account for the full corridor, not just the driveway.

Affordable housing is a growing concern throughout the Lehigh Valley. What role should the state play in addressing it?

Kamber Todd: Affordable housing requires less expensive homes, reduction in utilities and property taxes, and assistance to those in their homes to remain there. Some legislative solutions include: (a) require developers to allot a certain portion of new house construction to smaller housing and apartments; (b) prevent landlord gouging with mandatory maximum increases on lease agreements; (c) apply for whole-house grants to improve home safety and efficiency; and (d) introduce Area of Aging’s housemate match program to allow for professionally coordinated house-sharing arrangements. Legislative support is critical for all of these solutions.

Mako: The state’s job is to get out of the way of building and stop making homes more expensive. Permitting delays, outdated codes and stacked fees add cost to every new house. Harrisburg should speed up approvals, give municipalities incentives to allow starter homes and townhouses near existing infrastructure, and help redevelop vacant commercial buildings. Property tax relief matters too: a young family’s mortgage payment and a senior’s ability to stay put both depend on it. I recently introduced a bill stating that any municipality property tax increase above 4% would require a voter referendum to be placed on the ballot for approval.

If you could accomplish one thing for your district in the next year, what would it be and why?

Kamber Todd: With numerous goals for my candidacy, one of my primary goals is to bring greater success to our community. We have beautiful old homes and businesses that could be developed into wonderful Main Street shopping. Likewise, our hiking, outdoor sports, and scenic locations can draw greater outdoor tourism into the area. Finally, we have incredible farms, local agriculture, farm-to-table restaurants, and farmers’ markets that can be developed into a gourmet draw beyond our community. I would like to develop our reliance on taxes to morph into tourism and development based on the beauty and business of District 183.

Mako: Pass real property tax relief for our seniors. Too many people in this district built their lives here, paid off their homes and now face a school tax bill that rises faster than their Social Security. My priority is getting a $5,000 school property tax break for seniors 65 and older earning under $60,000 across the finish line. It’s targeted, it’s affordable using existing rebate dollars, and it keeps people in the homes and communities they love. It’s also a down payment on the bigger goal of eliminating school property taxes altogether.