Candidates seeking 48th Senatorial District seat put their differences on display – PennLive

Three of the four candidates vying for the open 48th state senatorial district seat showed voters there are some clear differences among them on where they stand on issues facing Pennsylvania during a League of Women Voters candidates forum on Tuesday.

During the 90-minute Zoom discussion, Democrat Dr. Calvin Clements presented himself as a party loyalist who would be supportive of many of Gov. Tom Wolfs positions on issues while independent Edward Krebs and Libertarian Tim McMaster made it clear they would not be beholden to either of the major parties.

Republican Christopher Gebhard, 46, of Lebanon County, did not participate in the debate. The president and CEO of an insurance and risk management firm said in an email sent to PennLive on Wednesday morning that he had a scheduling conflict and was unable to participate.

The Senate Majority Leader [Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County] was the guest in Lebanon and I needed to attend that event, Gebhard said.

On May 18, all four candidates names will appear on the ballot as they compete in a special election for a Senate seat representing Lebanon County and parts of lower Dauphin and northeastern York counties.

The winner will occupy the seat that became vacant due to the Jan. 17 death of Dave Arnold and serve out the unexpired portion of Arnolds term that expires on Nov. 30, 2022.

Krebs, a former six-term House member, made a commitment to serve only for the remaining year and a half left in Arnolds term and not seek re-election. The 77-year-old Lebanon County resident said that would basically give him enough time to try to work on breaking through the partisan gridlock in the state Capitol, work on creating a balance budget, and tackling redistricting reform.

He also said if elected, he would not caucus with either the Republican or Democratic party and retain his independence to the point that if neither caucus gave him office space in the Capitol, he would pull a trailer up in my parking spot and my office will be in the trailer.

McMaster, a 46-year-old an information technology analyst who lives on his family farm in York County, said he also would not caucus with either the Republican or Democratic parties. But he said he hopes to caucus with the other Libertarian candidates running in other special election races to be decided on May 18.

All three candidates said they wanted to see more civility in the legislative process and expressed a desire to work more collaboratively with members regardless of party. Krebs, who was first elected to the state House as a Democrat and switched to run as a Republican in his third term, said he always left his party label at the door and I plan to do that when I get to Harrisburg.

Clements, a 70-year-old semi-retired veterinarian from Lebanon County, said, My goal will be as your senator to sit down with both sides and listen with an open mind, open heart, so that we can achieve the goals of producing legislation that will move Pennsylvania in a forward direction.

McMaster said he was willing to work with anyone on good ideas, not based on party, but based on principle and that principle is freedom of the people, the liberty of the people.

All three candidates called for redistricting reform and pointed to the 48th Senatorial District that stretches across the Susquehanna River with no way to get from one shore to the other without leaving the district as a perfect example as to why it is needed.

I think the way this district has been gerrymandered is absolutely appalling, McMaster said. It essentially disenfranchise almost fully half of the electorate in this district.

All three voiced support for a more transparent, accountable redistricting process that allows for robust public input.

The trio also supported the voting reforms that the General Assembly enacted in the last legislative session, known as Act 77, that introduced no-excuse mail-in voting to Pennsylvania.

Clements said that issue is a clear distinction between himself and Gebhard based on what he sees on the Republican candidates website.

The first thing [Gebhard] is going to do is he is going to work to repeal Act 77, which I just absolutely think is ridiculous, Clements said. This was the first election where the largest number of Americans voted since1960. I think participation in the election is a good thing, not a bad thing. The mail-in ballot was one of those things that allowed that to happen.

On the issue of raising the minimum wage to $12 and ratcheting it up to $15 an hour as Wolf has proposed, both Clements and Krebs supported the idea but McMaster said he is against it.

All it does is inflate and prevent entry into lower positions or entry-level positions or part-time positions, McMaster said. All that is doing is hurting the small business owners.

When the conversation turned to the selection of appellate court judges, McMaster and Clements said they support letting voters decide who serves on the Commonwealth, Superior or Supreme courts.

But Krebs favored forming an independent commission of legal scholars who could review rulings made by the judicial candidates and letting them make the selection rather than leaving it to individuals who know nothing about the legality of many things.

McMaster slapped Krebs for saying he doesnt feel that the voters are smart enough to decide either on their own who their judges or who they are represented by, I take great offense to that.

Krebs said he would have more confidence in qualified people who studied judicial candidates qualifications making the decisions rather than the way he picks them based on where they are from.

I voted for the guys that werent from Philly or Pittsburgh, Krebs said. Is that really what I should be doing? But that was my general rule. I knew nothing about the judges.

On the proposed constitutional amendments that will appear on the May 18 ballot to curb the governors emergency declaration powers, McMaster said he was 100% in support of them while his two opponents said they oppose them.

I just dont think the Legislature is competent enough to sit down and recognize the seriousness of some of the things that are going on, Clements said. It was pretty obvious that some of the things that they said that ninth-grade science wasnt their strong suit.

Krebs called it ridiculous to limit the length of a gubernatorial emergency declaration to 21 days (from the current 90 days) but it could be extended with legislative approval.

An emergency is an emergency, Krebs said. If theres any one I dont want to have to make the decision in a short period of time, its the General Assembly. They dont work that way.

Along with all of Lebanon County, this senatorial district encompasses Dauphin County municipalities of Conewago, Londonderry, Swatara and Lower Swatara townships and the boroughs of Highspire, Middletown, Paxtang, Royalton and Steelton; and the York County municipalities of Conewago, East Manchester, Newberry and Springettsbury townships and the borough of Goldsboro, Lewisberry, Manchester, Mount Wolf, and York Haven.

* This story has been updated to include GOP candidate Christopher Gebhards reason for not participating in the forum.

Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.

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Candidates seeking 48th Senatorial District seat put their differences on display - PennLive