Oct 29, 2014 4 min read

Voters will find the two candidates vying for the 48th state House District seat don’t have much in common besides the fact they both reside in North Strabane Township.

The Democrat, incumbent Brandon Neuman, and his Republican challenger, Sonia Stopperich, disagree on a variety of issues that impact the district, including pension reform, privatizing state liquor stores and a potential Marcellus Shale severance tax.

Stopperich, 50, an intensive care nurse at Canonsburg Hospital who also serves as a North Strabane supervisor, said she would be opposed to a severance tax on Marcellus Shale drilling because she thinks it would be “picking on” an industry and could terminate the local impact fee money that has helped many communities.

Neuman, 32, the two-term representative, said he would not be opposed to a severance tax that is “competitive” with neighboring states as long as it does not affect the impact fee or direct all money to state coffers rather than routing some to local municipalities.

Although Marcellus Shale issues dominate several parts of the district, both said there are a variety of issues they want to concentrate on if elected.

Neuman said he is proud of his work to promote science, technology, engineering and math education initiatives in public schools to better prepare students for the workforce. He also is pushing a false claims bill that would crack down on tax fraud from people bilking programs such as Medicare.

“We’re fortunate to have that global job market right down the road in Southpointe,” Neuman said. “Education and the economy are top issues in Pennsylvania.”

Stopperich said she would be an independent voice in the state House and thinks her nursing background would help to improve problems regarding health care.

“With all of the health care changes, I just think it makes sense to have someone with a health care background (in the state House),” Stopperich said. “There aren’t too many people out there who have not been touched by the (federal) health care changes.”

They both agree something needs to be done to correct ballooning public pension obligations, but have differing ideas on how to correct the problem.

Neuman said the Legislature needs to reconfigure the pension system for incoming employees and use feedback from a commission of financial experts and actuaries to decide how to make the fund solvent in the future.

“There needs to be a balance so it’s constitutional and the employees are getting what they deserve,” Neuman said. “But we need a long-term fix so the taxpayers aren’t funding billions of dollars in problems.”

Stopperich is proposing an “incremental phasing in of changes and reforms” for people still in the workforce, while not touching benefits for retirees.

“We have to get to a system that mirrors the private sector,” Stopperich said. “It’s just financial reality. We’re trying to be fiscally responsible with taxpayer money.”

What should be done to the state’s liquor store system also divides the candidates. Neuman wants to modernize the system and possibly privatize it later, while Stopperich is advocating for privatizing liquor and wine sales now.

“Let’s make it more consumer friendly and meet the needs of the area. Once we do that, we can generate more revenue,” Neuman said. “Let’s see how that changes what we do in business. Once we evaluate that, then we can work off that (privatization) plan.”

“I don’t want the state to be in charge of it as a sales product while also regulating it,” Stopperich said. ” It’s a conflict of interest. We don’t sell anything else in the state like that.”