Race offers voters a choice between experience, change

The incumbent says his experience and seniority make him the best candidate for the post.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- Kyle Klaric says people who want to maintain the status quo should vote for incumbent Robert Robbins in the Pennsylvania race for the 50th Senate seat.
If they want change, however, Klaric said they should vote for him.
Robbins, a 12-year Senate veteran, said his experience and tenure alone make him the better candidate. That seniority enables him to do more things for the district, which covers all of Mercer and Crawford counties and parts of Lawrence and Butler counties.
Robbins, who served eight years in the House of Representatives before being elected to the Senate, said he originally ran for office hoping to make a difference for his community.
"Over the past eight years, we have been successful in cutting taxes, reducing state bureaucracy and lowering the cost of doing business in Pennsylvania," he said. "We have been able to improve our commitment to the elderly population by providing for one of the nation's best prescription drug programs."
Klaric's priorities
Klaric, who has been openly critical of Robbins' performance, is taking his first stab at political office and has keyed much of his campaign on creating "family-sustaining jobs" in the district.
"I've proven that I am a job creator," he said, referring to his manufacturing plants in Farrell and Crawford County.
"With my experience in manufacturing and contacts over the United States and the world, I can be an ambassador to introduce this area to the rest of the world," Klaric said.
Creating more good jobs will reduce the burden on property taxes, he said, noting that he is proposing a property tax freeze for senior citizens on fixed incomes.
He's also pushing for improved state funding of education.
"We have to get the state to pay its fair share," he said, noting Pennsylvania is picking up only 33 percent to 35 percent of the cost of public education when it's supposed to be 50 percent.
Klaric also would like to see improvements in prescription drug programs for senior citizens and proposes that the state negotiate directly with drug companies to secure better prices on medications.
Klaric said he favors cutting government expenses and is critical of the retirement packages given to state legislators and the expenses they incur running their offices, often with several branch offices in their home districts.
Robbins' priorities
Robbins, a longtime advocate of tax reform, said there are several proposals in the hopper for overhauling the education financing system in Pennsylvania.
He said he will insist that any plan contain real taxpayer protections such as local referendums on tax increases in school districts that opt to change their tax base system from property to wage taxes.
He said he also is working to provide fair and equitable funding for all schools and to increase funding to targeted areas of need such as special education.
Robbins said he will continue working with the district's economic development leaders to identify areas of priority for infrastructure improvement needed to attract new businesses that will provide real wages for working families.
He said he's been involved as a legislator in locating potential economic development projects and finding state funding to help make them a reality and will continue that effort.