Newcomer says incumbent is out of touch
\nIncumbent Senator Robert Jubelirer and challenger Stacy Brumbaugh both agree that this year\u00eds race for the seat Jubelirer has held for nearly 28 years is all about his performance in office.
\n\u201cIt \u00eds not about me,\u201d Brumbaugh said, \u00ecIt\u00eds about what he has or hasn\u00edt done in the last 28 years.\u00ee
\nThe contest has been heated at times, with Jubelirer, a Republican, criticizing Brumbaugh as an out-of towner who worked for Democratic First Lady Hillary Clinton, and Brumbaugh accusing Jubelirer of being out of touch and \u00ecvoting with the senators from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
\nJubelirer says his experience and leadership,as senator since 1974, as Majority Leader, as President Pro Tempore of the Senate since 1984, and as Lieutenant Governor since last year, qualify him for another term. And, he says, his years of seniority give him advantages a newcomer could not get.
\n\u201cI can pick up the phone and call the governor, and he calls back,\u201d he said. \u201cNot everyone can say that.\u201d Jubelirer says he has a \u201cpassion of serving this area,\u201d and that he has been a \u2018voice\u2019 in Harrisburg and across the state for the area.
\n\u201cYou look back years ago and see what this district looked like. I didn\u2019t do it by myself. Bud Shuster and other local legislators, we did it together. We\u2019ve made significant changes in this area. It \u00eds pretty exciting,\u201d he said.
\nBrumbaugh is a local attorney who cites her community involvement as a qualification for her election. Brumbaugh has served on the board of directors for Blair County Human Services and the Hollidaysburg Area YMCA, on the Domestic Abuse Advisory Board, and was a custody master in Blair County. She teaches a four-credit course in business law at Penn State Altoona.
\nBrumbaugh also came in second to Scott Conklin in the 2001 Democratic race for the 9th Congressional seat after Rep. Bud Shuster resigned. She calls herself a \u2018conservative Democrat\u2019. \u201cI think I\u2019m probably more conservative than my opponent,\u201d she said.
\nBrumbaugh said she \u00eds interested in creating jobs, improving education, and increasing allotments for senior citizens\u00ed prescriptions by $80,000. She said the state should look to increase revenues by building up tourist attractions. She\u00edd also like to see medical malpractice tort reform.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re really in danger of losing our best and our brightest. He\u00eds been siding with the trial lawyers in Harrisburg,\u201d she said. \u201cAwards should be reasonable. Some are incredibly punitive.\u201d
\nBrumbaugh charges that many of her supporters\u00f3some of them Republicans feel that (Jubelirer \u00eds) gotten complacent. They feel he\u00eds out for his own power, but the power hasn\u00edt translated into anything for 99.9 percent of the people. A lot of Republicans who\u00edve supported him in the past have come over\u00ee to support her, she said.
\n\u201cIf it doesn\u2019t do any good around here, what good is it?\u201d she said.
\nJubelirer listed several area projects among those he has helped to bring to the area, such as the Blair County Ballpark, expansion to Penn State Altoona, and the Convention Center. \u201cI have been able to garner tax dollars for this area,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cI know where to go or who to talk to when there\u00eds red tape to cut.\u201d
\nBoth candidates cite jobs as the biggest issue facing Pennsylvania today.
\nJubelirer said that Pennsylvania must put a stop to \u00ecjob crushing tax increases. \u201cWe compete against the sunbelt states and right to work states, but we have some superb tax incentive programs (to bring jobs) and our markets are closer\u00ee to many other markets,\u201d he said.
\nThe solution to the job problem, he says \u00ecdepends on who the next governor is. If Ed Rendell is governor, then his answer is to expand gambling. If you\u2019re Mike Fisher, you\u2019re going to be more traditional.\u201d
\nBrumbaugh cited the closings of several businesses lately in her criticism of Jubelirer\u00eds performance. \u201cWhere \u00eds the senator? He is here for the ribbon cuttings, but where is he for the pink slips?\u201d she said. \u201cHe \u00eds in Harrisburg. He \u00eds not helping people here.\u201d
\n\u201cHe has,\u201d she said, \u201ccreated some jobs.\u201d Brumbaugh then cited a lawsuit brought against the Turnpike Commission by an employee who claimed to be passed over for a promotion that went to \u2018a close friend\u2019 of Jubelirer. \u201cIt is for his close friends,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it cost the taxpayers a half a million dollars. It is egregious and irresponsible.\u201d
\nBrumbaugh also criticized Jubelirer for not taking a more active role in the property tax controversy, saying he has been \u2018obstructionist\u2019 on the issue.
\n\u201cHe refused to sign a petition for property tax reform (calling for a special session recently). Republicans from his own party from the southeast part of the state supported the special session. One was the final signature that put the petition over the top,\u201d she said.
\nJubelirer said talk about property taxes \u201chas been with me the whole time I\u2019ve been in Harrisburg\u201d for 28 years.
\n\u201cYou don\u00edt need a special session to talk about property taxes.\u201d Jubelirer even seems to stand apart from Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Fisher on the property tax issue. \u201cBoth gubernatorial candidates have promised to lower property taxes, but if you lower property taxes, you have to increase income taxes,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThe increased concern is understandable, particularly with school districts which have no cap (on the amount of taxes they can levy). The people should have the power to decide (about property tax reform.) Act 50 is already in place (which permits municipalities and school districts to allow) for voter referenda on taxation types, but school districts don\u2019t like it because it puts a cap on taxes. You (then) can\u00edt raise taxes without voter approval.\u201d
\nIn the final count, Jubelirer said, he believes the voters will select him for another term. \u201cHas he represented us? Has he been honest, open, and available? Has he worked hard to make our lives better? I don\u2019t fear the answer to that question.\u201d
\n\u201cEven though they don\u2019t agree with every single vote I\u2019ve made, I\u2019ve been honest with them,\u201d he said.
\nBrumbaugh said her campaign is both \u201cold-fashioned,\u201d featuring door to door campaigning, and high tech.\u201d
\n\u201cThis is an opportunity. I have the wherewithal. I think you prove yourself every day. He is not there for us anymore.\u201d
\nBrumbaugh has challenged Jubelirer to debate. As of press time, Jubelirer has yet to respond to Brumbaugh\u2019s challenge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Newcomer says incumbent is out of touch Incumbent Senator Robert Jubelirer and challenger Stacy Brumbaugh both agree that this year\u00eds race for the seat Jubelirer has held for nearly 28 years is all about his performance in office. \u201cIt \u00eds not about me,\u201d Brumbaugh said, \u00ecIt\u00eds about what he has or hasn\u00edt done in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48170\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}