Incumbent Jamie Barton, a Republican, is being challenged by Democrat Tina Burns for the 124th Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

The district includes parts of Berks County and parts of Schuylkill County, including the townships of Delano, Rush, Ryan, Schuylkill, and West Penn, and the boroughs of Coaldale, Deer Lake, Landingville, New Ringgold, Orwigsburg, Port Clinton and Tamaqua.

Barton, who is seeking his third two-year term, succeeded former Rep. Jerry Knowles upon his retirement.

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

Jamie Barton

Age: 61

Residence: East Brunswick Township

Background: Barton is running for his third term in the House of Representatives with a focus to stimulate our economy; ignite small business; reduce the cost of energy for families and businesses; improve state infrastructure; invest in our school students; ensure election integrity; and support community safety through law enforcement. He serves on appropriations committee as vice chairman, energy committee and intergovernmental affairs & operations committee. He serves as a lay pastor and has served as president and consistory member at his church St. John’s UCC in Orwigsburg. He and his wife, Brenda, have four children and two dogs.

Tina Burns

Age: 61

Town: Tamaqua

Background: Tina Burns grew up in a lower-middle-class family in New Ringgold, and graduated from Tamaqua Area High School. She served in the United States Coast Guard, where she learned the importance of leadership, service, and honoring the Constitution. After her military service, she worked in a wide range of jobs, including truck driver, educator, small business owner, and health care professional. Burns holds a Master of Science degree in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Florida International University and currently work in the health care industry. She says these experiences have shaped her into a practical problem solver who understands how to work with others to get results.

Questions

What do you see as the biggest challenge facing Schuylkill County over the next two years?

Barton: Schuylkill County is facing multiple challenges over the next two years. Immediately, affordability is a huge concern for our families, who are navigating high utility, grocery and housing costs. High energy costs have a trickle-down effect that influences homes and businesses alike. Yes, higher energy costs hit hard when we pump our gas and heat or cool our homes, but it also affects farmers growing and harvesting our food. Likewise, It increases the cost of goods being manufactured and shipped raising the costs across the spectrum for us all. Raw materials like lumber, siding and roofing materials used in building homes have skyrocketed due to high energy prices. The good news is this is fixable. Pennsylvania is the number two energy natural resource in the United States. Our energy prices, here in Schuylkill County, should be some of the lowest in the country. We need to lighten the regulatory environment and unleash our energy potential and we’ll see relief that will affect each and every person here in Schuylkill County.

(Barton’s answer is for this question and the next.)

Burns: The county faces a combination of significant challenges including severe economic decline, massive decrease in the working age population, environmental damage from the coal industry, infrastructure decline, and a collapsing tax base. The challenge for the next two years and beyond is to overcome these issues while we are faced with increasing prices and declining incomes. The answer will take commitment and time. We need to leverage our assets, actively pursue all available grants, restructure fiscal policies, implement tax reform to include closing corporate loopholes, implement a severance tax, and aggressively find and stop waste.

What can the state do to help residents struggling with rising utility, grocery and housing costs?

Barton: See above.

Burns: We can practice fiscal responsibility so that all pay their fair share, and the community has its needs met. This is accomplished by avoiding overspending while aggressively ending waste and corporate subsidies to larger industries like fossil fuel and technology. These industries have record-breaking profits and do not need handouts. Closing tax loopholes and implementing a severance tax can lead to tax relief for gas, property, or income taxes. Zoning laws should allow higher density housing and limit out-of-state LLC-type buyers. We can increase tax credits for low-income households, subsidize universal childcare, and increase funding for assistance programs like LIHEAP.

Data centers have become the loudest issue in the state. Where do you draw the line between development Schuylkill County should welcome and development it should turn away?

Barton: Our community residents should have a voice. I think when our municipalities are weighing their options for a data center there are basic concerns. Some communities see the significant tax revenue, construction jobs and permanent jobs and while those can be appealing, I believe if a data center is coming it should generate its own energy and have additional base load energy to put onto the grid lowering local energy costs.

A closed loop cooling system is important to ensure water conservation. Local governments should ensure a data center is in a commercial industrial area and not a residential community.

Burns: Strong zoning, permitting, vetting, and environmental rules are essential. Our county continues to see the economic, environmental, and health burden rogue industry has on our area. We need to control and limit the number and placement of data centers along with other regulations. The Kline Township Center has already destroyed hundreds of wooded acres. The ultimate question is why do we need more? The U.S. already has many more than any other country. We cannot allow another industry to further ruin our beautiful area in the name of greed. One center in Schuylkill is more than enough.

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?

Barton: Our Pa. constitution states that we must fund our public school system. We do that with property taxes. I absolutely support eliminating school property taxes, the question always remains: how then do we fund our public schools. If this was an easy answer, it would have been fixed by now. The solution will require multiple facets including a shift from property taxes to an increase in income and sales taxes. I think our public school system can use a complete overhaul and could be more efficient, with a focus on students and families, not the institutions and offering an educational choice.

Burns: I do support eliminating that tax. There are proposals for elimination that are little more than tax shifting, which negatively impacts lower income earners. Shifting is not the answer. The answer is a multifaceted state and local plan. The state needs to contribute its fair share, which they haven’t done for years. Additional funds need to come from tax reform, streamlining, spending cuts, selling vacated properties, consolidation, and ensuring fair and equitable contributions from everyone including industry. After that is accomplished, then and only then, if a gap still exists, an equitable tax shift may be considered.

Schuylkill County is known for its farmland. How do you propose balancing job growth while preserving the land?

Barton: Agriculture is the number one industry in Pennsylvania and has a rich heritage here in Schuylkill County. When we ask, how do we balance job growth with preserving the land, the answer is simple, promote Ag education to create more jobs in the agricultural industry. Programs like 4-H and school-based programs like Future Farmers of America are ones families or schools can embrace. There are robust Farmer Training Programs at places like Rodale Institute in neighboring Berks County. Our Schuylkill County Fair continues to promote young people seeking careers in agriculture. We can grow jobs and maintain our beautiful farmlands.

Burns: The county already has enough structures to support job growth, so building more by using precious land isn’t necessary. There are thousands of job postings across the county including roughly 3,000 childcare jobs without applicants. We need to focus on repurposing what we already have, support and encourage small business growth through grants and subsidies, invest more in vocational and apprenticeship programs, and solve childcare issues with funded pre-K programs. Doing so would go beyond balancing jobs and preserving land. It would provide jobs, revitalize communities, increase and educate our job pool, and provide early learning advantages to our children.