Pennsylvania voters will vote for their House representatives on Nov. 3. Pennsylvania has 203 districts, and Elizabethtown is housed within District 98. There are three candidates for this district: Republican Nicole Woods, Democrat Hugh Darlington and Independent Joshua Deering. It is important for voters to know who the candidates are before voting day, which is what this column aims to cover.
All three candidates are more similar than people may think. To start, each one has some sort of tie to service. Woods has many years of experience as a police officer, Darlington is a U.S. Navy Veteran and Deering comes from a military family.
Each candidate’s background plays into their beliefs as well. Being a small business owner and deeply rooted in her faith, Woods has stronger views towards the economy and her overall values.
Darlington has a history in arboriculture and environmental stewardship, so he cares more about environmental policy. He also cares a lot about building community and service, coming from his service in the Navy.
Deering has experience through serving the Mount Joy Borough Council, and is mainly focused on finding solutions that are for the people and not the parties.
“[I’ve learned] what it really looks like when the government is working for the people it serves,” Deering says on his website.
Going back to economic policies, each candidate has similar views towards how to grow the economy. They all believe that local small businesses are a big factor when it comes to stimulating growth. Increasing the opportunities present for starting a business is a goal each one shares.
Deering is slightly less on board with reducing regulations when it comes to these businesses, but this is because he thinks that worker, consumer and environmental protections should be kept. He also wants to think of new funding mechanisms to help combat rising costs.
Past the economy, their viewpoints tend to branch off from each other. This mainly comes from the different angles that each politician attacks a subject from, akin to a writer and their subject.
When asked about her views on education, Woods said that she is for the dissolution of the Department of Education. This isn’t to say that she doesn’t want a good education for the future generations, but just feels that rules towards education should be made by the local government.
Darlington and Deering both talked about education in a different light. Instead of focusing on the rules and regulations, they both honed in on the educational journey of the students.
Deering said education should focus more on a basis for life rather than just graduation, and Darlington deems having different pathways after high school is a key part of the education system.
The final policy each candidate had a comment on is energy and the environment. Darlington and Deering once again have similar views on the topic.
With his arborist background, Darlington naturally has an appreciation for the land, agriculture, conservation and clean water. He also considers environmental stewardship to be a personal responsibility of each person.
Through a slightly different lens, Deering focuses on AI data centers. He is against funding them without first thinking about the impact that they would have on the communities around them.
Woods focused on the bigger picture once again, talking about climate change in general. According to her, it’s an issue, but it should not be the number one priority of the government. This is the biggest difference between all of the candidates.
Between Woods, Darlington and Deering, they are strikingly similar. Only one can win the election, though. Election day is tomorrow, Nov. 3, and hopefully this column has provided some cursory knowledge to help prepare for that day.
