October 20th at 6:30pm
Open Forum Registration
"The folks of Chester and Berks Counties in the 6th Congressional District deserve to be heard and ask their questions of both candidates" - Marty Young
I wrote Congresswoman Houlahan this invitation and asked for a public community conversation this fall. Not a debate built to score points. A conversation between two veterans, on the issues that reach kitchen tables here, with questions from the community. I offered to use a date already on her calendar. I offered a long-form, one-on-one conversation if a larger forum was not her preference. I asked for a response by September 4 so there would be time to give the public notice.
Her campaign manager, Sue Walker, replied to my invitation with this email and noted that serving in Congress is not a role to be taken lightly. I agree. She then said that before a joint discussion could be planned, I first needed to publicly state my positions on nine national issues handpicked by her team.
In a letter to our community, I published the nine answers in full. They are now part of the public record and will remain available.
But a public forum should begin with the voters, not with conditions placed on the conversation.
Sue Walker, Congresswoman Houlahan's campaign manager reached out and offered a debate on October 21st, hosted by the League of Women Voters and I accepted. The terms and conditions of this debate may be found here.
The format of the Debate will be a television studio, not a community open forum. The Debate will be available online to for all to view, but not live. However, I don't think that this is what the constituents of PA-6 want. They want to ask their questions directly of both candidates. They want to be in the room and they want to be heard. And so, the invitation to a community forum remains open.
As my campaign promised, we will have an Open Forum in West Chester at 630pm on Tuesday October 20th, before the debate. Constituents will have the opportunity to ask me any question they want.
The invitation remains open. The second chair will be there, with Congresswoman Houlahan's name on it, to answer questions alongside me.
Please register to attend and also submit any question you want answered. The West Chester area location details will be emailed to registrants 72 hours prior.
Open Forum Registration
The Nine Answers, On the Record
Elections
Only American citizens should vote in American elections. That is the law. I support a version of the SAVE Act that requires a state or federally issued ID, with the same transparency standard Pennsylvania already has: full and public disclosure of who voted. We should not make it hard to vote. We should make it hard to cheat.
2020
Joe Biden was elected President. I will not spend a term relitigating it. After January 6th, I deployed to Washington with the National Guard to help secure the peaceful transfer of power to him. I took that oath seriously then. I take it seriously now.
Immigration and ICE
Public safety here starts with local police. I am proud to have the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police, Chester County Lodge. Washington should do the work only Washington can do: the border, the cartels, human trafficking, and serious criminal offenders. It should stay in that lane — and be held accountable when it does not.
Organized Labor
Workers have the right to organize and to bargain. I have spent twenty-five years in rooms where those contracts get negotiated, usually with the company on the edge of failing.
The minimum wage
Pennsylvania’s has been $7.25 since 2009. The Commonwealth should raise it. No one in Chester or Berks is one wage vote away from affording a house here. I would rather spend my time on the things that actually put homeownership within reach.
Reproductive policy
My position is the current TRICARE rule: coverage when the life of the mother is at risk, and in cases of rape or incest. I will not vote for a national ban. That is the standard military families already live under. People of good faith disagree here. I am not going to pretend otherwise.
The Epstein files
Release them. Protect the victims. Hold offenders accountable regardless of party, wealth, or title. Congress should hold itself to that same standard, starting with the taxpayer-funded settlements used to bury misconduct in its own building.
Iran and war powers
Congress declares war. Congress controls the purse. I will not rubber-stamp an unauthorized war or unauthorized spending — including from a president of my own party.
President Trump
I will work with President Trump, as I would with any president, when it helps this district. I will tell him no when it does not. Specifically: spending that routes around Congress, military action without a vote, and healthcare, where my plan is mine. I am a Chester County Republican. I intend to vote this district.
