A nonpartisan campaign is urging write-in ballots from both parties in the May 19 primary.

A nonpartisan write-in effort is building support for Christian Bartulovich for state representative.

Voters of both parties are urged to write-in Bartulovich in the upcoming primary. The current Carbon County Representative is Doyle Heffley, who has held the seat since 2011.

The grassroots campaign is being led by both Democratic and Republican voters who say they want representation that better reflects local concerns especially in land use issues.

Voters have been disappointed by the lack of state level action to protect citizens from land uses like data centers, heavy industry and distribution centers. Campaign leaders say that the effort has grown from a simple belief that voters deserve a choice and deserve leadership that will help protect our future.

Bartulovich is an elected supervisor in Penn Forest Township, which is currently facing a possible data center proposal.

A local supporter, Dot Olonovich, says, “People want a representative that will listen and take local concerns seriously. Throughout this data center process, Christian has listened carefully to residents and has used his power as a supervisor to put guardrails in place and protect citizens from unacceptable development.

“Our campaign is drafting Christian for the job of state representative because we want his leadership at the state level.”

Bartulovich has served as a Penn Forest supervisor since 2020. He serves as the treasurer for the Carbon County Council of Governments, and is a member of the nonpartisan Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, where he serves on a committee representing Pennsylvania townships with between 5,000 and 10,000 members.

He is currently employed as a regional solutions manager for Olympus Corporation, and also serves the community as the head coach of the girls varsity soccer team at Jim Thorpe Area High School and vice president of the Jim Thorpe Youth Soccer Association.