Denny Semsick for PA 62nd

Denny Semsick for PA 62nd updated their website address.

Last evening, I conceded my race to the incumbent Jim Struzzi. It was not done lightly, but there seemed little mathematical possibility of a win. Today's results confirm that.
I'd like to sincerely thank my supporters, Indiana County voters, election staff, my campaign committee, my wife Cheryl, and our local Democratic committee. I believe that we ran a great campaign and I am proud of our work. Remember to always hold our politicians accountable. Shine a light on them and demand transparency. Thanks to all!!

Tomorrow is election day and I am humbly asking for you to choose Semsick on your ballot. See you at the polls!

Our PA legislator Struzzi had an opportunity to introduce legislation to increase funding and save IUP. Instead, he "cosponsored the bills that are allowing this restructuring that is occurring right now." 300 jobs lost. Support staff, administrative assistants, instructors, custodians.....

I attended a rally at IUP today. Our legislators should have found the funds to stop the restructuring. Instead, Struzzi co-sponsored the bills that enabled this to happen!!! I will stop the corporate welfare and restore the higher level of funding for our state schools! This is unacceptable.

If you would like one of my signs, there is a new Democratic HQ in Blairsville. You can stop in and pick one up from 5pm-8pm, M,W,F.

Thank you to Josh Shapiro and Nina Ahmed for allowing me to speak as part of your Biden bus tour and SWC Chair Fairman for organizing the event.

As a participant in the Indiana mural tour on Saturday, I have to say how amazed I was by the talent and creativity of the artists. The subject matter was timely and important and will likely draw visitors to Indiana. Well done, all.

Here is the link to view the live stream of this evening's CofC Candidates Debate, featuring Deloreto for SD41 and Semsick for HD 62. The debate begins at 6:30pm. Tune in! https://iupvideo.zoom.us/j/93534669460

My opponent is making some laughable claims on his mailer. Come on, Struzzi. Who are you kidding??

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I've been fortunate not to have been personally affected by this disease. But to honor those who have, let's find and fund a cure!

Thank you, David Loomis and the Hawkeye for your coverage (no pun intended) of the mask issue. I appreciate that you wanted my thoughts. https://thehawkeyeonlinenews.wordpress.com/2020/10/05/masking-opponents-revisited/

Masking opponents, revisited   Deborah Shreckengost, center, leads anti-masking rally, Indiana Borough municipal building, Aug. 18, 2020. Photo: Anthony Frazier Coronavirus diary By David Loomis INDIANA – On Aug. 18, oppo…

It was a pleasure to hear our next POTUS in person!

I am supporting the legalization of recreational ma*****na for personal use by adults.

Thank you, Chauncey Ross, for the opportunity to share my thoughts and plans to improve the lives of the residents of HD 62!

Dennis Semsick, 71, Pine Township. Wife Cheryl, two sons, two stepsons, six grandchildren.

Semsick worked 35 years as an engineer at PennDOT District 10. He is a lifelong resident of Indiana County, a graduate of Indiana Area Senior High School and Western Pennsylvania Institute of Technology. He has been involved in community service with The Salvation Army, Indiana Love Basket program, Indiana Optimists Club, Little League Baseball and Trinity Cathedral Church.

“Since 2010 I’ve been following politics but didn’t feel anything move me until his cycle. It’s Act 76 (known as House Bill 76 or Senate Bill 76, a perennial property tax reduction proposal). I’m a detail guy and I studied it … and we analyzed it and I got so upset over that piece of legislation and what it will do to our people. I complained to my wife, ‘I’m going to stop following the news or I’m going to get involved.’ She encouraged me to get involved.

“It’s absolutely horrible. There are 45,000 parcels in Indiana County; 49 percent are homesteads and 51 percent are others. Act 76 was meant to relieve the tax burden on senior citizens so no one lost their house due to taxes. You have to replace it, and what happens is your personal income tax will virtually double. Sales tax will go up 1 percent. If (76) passed, I would be cleared of $2,300 of real estate tax, but I would lose all that plus another $1,400 (in an increase of income and sales taxes).

“We’re going to kill our low-income and working middle classes with that tax (reform). I feel this is a calling for me. I’m not looking for another job, this is a calling, a heartfelt response from me to help my fellow man. That’s why I’m here.”

The candidates were asked to identify the issues confronting the district and the state that have been overshadowed by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“Because of the virus, the governor had to make decisions that have harmed our small businesses and people are really upset about that. Our Republican legislators have harassed our governor endlessly over this stuff. There’s no way you can have a global pandemic … everybody has to kick something in to get through this.

“In 2010, our state Legislature really started cutting the support for IUP. In the last 10 years, IUP student tuition has gone up 40 percent, all because the Legislature has cut back. When that happened, our enrollment dropped. It’s down in the 9,000s from 16,000. Think about what that’s doing to our local business.

“It’s horrible what they’re doing to municipalities. They mandate stuff for them to do and they never give them money. These people are hurting, they’ve cut everything they possibly can. People need broadband, they need waterlines, they need sewer lines, they need things they can’t get, and they don’t have the money. Let’s start some kind of cash flow for municipalities and help them.”

Semsick said the state pays too much in subsidies to gas producers, utility companies and insurance companies.

“I want to evaluate all forms of tax welfare and start cutting them. There’s too much out there.”

Semsick said an increase in the state’s minimum wage would translate to more local spending: “I don’t understand why people fight it; it will stimulate small businesses.”

How would the candidates solve the problems confronting the district?

“For every issue I see, I have identified a source of revenue on my Facebook and website. I support a Marcellus shale tax. There’s no reason we are not taxing that (industry) except for unethical reasons.”

Semsick said the Legislature is swayed too much by gas industry lobbyists.

“We have to go get that (gas production tax). Then we start eliminating corporate welfare.

“Education is the same way. It is underfunded. I believe they are going to try to do away with free public education. No one knows there’s an initiative by the Legislature to kill public education. They came out a couple of years ago and approved charter and cyberschools.”

Semsick said the cyber and charter schools, as profit-making businesses, now consume 25 percent of the state funds budgeted for local districts, and the money goes to profits and high-paid executives.

“If we lose free education, we’re going to be paying a hell of a lot more for education in the end. We need to be vigilant. People I know in public education say they’re concerned that education as we know it will not exist in the near future.”

Candidates were asked to speak about whether the state House and Senate have had appropriate roles in responding to the pandemic.

“No, I think they are a big part of the problem.” Semsick said. “First, seven bills were submitted to the governor, almost a bill a month. Almost every one has been vetoed. They could have been working on tax reform. Anything. Something positive to help our people. Our legislators have been out in public downplaying the severity of the virus and have never supported wearing a mask in public.

“It’s too late now; the die is cast. People are entrenched in this and I don’t know how we’re ever going to get beyond it. I remember when they came out with ‘no shirt, no shoes — no service,’ and people accepted that, no problem. Now, all of a sudden, you tell someone they have to wear a mask, and you’re infringing on their rights. It’s absolutely crazy,” Semsick said.

“If we had sacrificed for just one whole month … we wouldn’t be having this conversation. This would all be gone. Our numbers would be so low that we could be back in school normally. What happened is that our people refused to accept any responsibility. They want everything, self-gratification, for themselves. They want to be able to do what they want, when they want, and that’s it. And they’re not responsible for anything. We are here today because of our own decisions.

“We’re No. 2 in the state behind Centre County, another college town. We’re a college town, we know what these kids are going to do. Luckily, this increase right now is in the university, but if you hang around a campfire long enough, you’re going to get smoke on you. If those numbers keep going up, it’s going to work its way into our population in the county.”

Semsick said state regulations that now allow increased capacity in bars and restaurants, with winter only months away, is “total irresponsibility.”

“My question to them is, ‘Are you trying to get more people sick?’ Are they doing it on purpose or just fanning the flames of controversy to keep this a political issue? That’s what I think it is more of right now. All this man (Gov. Tom Wolf) has tried to do is save lives, and he has taken all this grief from these people. If we would just wear a mask for a month, all this would go away. We have to help ourselves. We are responsible to ourselves.”

What would you change about the state’s responsibilities in addressing the COVID-19 outbreak?

“Part of the bills that our state Legislature sent to the governor and that he vetoed — what they’re trying to do is a power grab. They want to be a part of the decision-making process. They are the guys that have sat on the tax reform bill for 20 years. They can’t even decide that issue, yet they want to be a part of their responsible decision-making process with the pandemic. You’ve got to be a lot quicker than that.”

Because the pandemic has slowed the economy and, in turn, reduced expected revenue collection by the state, where should the budget be cut and which programs and services should be protected so they continue?

“For me, as a challenger to the position, it is difficult for me to answer. I’m not in the position and I don’t know what the budgets are. Those numbers have to be crunched. This is big; that’s not a decision that’s going to be worked out, not just by the House and the Senate. It will require a lot of comprehensive analysis.

“But things like education have to be funded at some kind of level and maintained. The question is, are we going to have to have help to recover from this? And that is part of the problem we had, cyber education, before the pandemic came out. I think there was a buy-in across the board, that they knew they were going to have to get more money into education in this session.

“We’re going to need federal help or some borrowing assistance to be stable. It’s all got to be analyzed and looked at, and not being in the Legislature, I’m limited. There is always a way, but to me there is only one solution: You have to have people that know what the words ‘compromise’ and ‘negotiate’ are. If you don’t have that, I don’t care how much money you have, you’re not going to resolve anything.”

Of all the changes that have come about in government and culture because of the pandemic, which have some good and ought to be continued?

Semsick praised the work of local leaders, such as school district superintendents and others.

“These guys elevated their game. They were good before and they elevated their game and virtually did the impossible. The experience they gained will stay with them and help them to be a lot more efficient in the future. They didn’t need it, but they’re going to take care of that experience, and it is a wealth to them.

“I think the way people have come out in support of essential people, those who work in convenience stores and grocery stores, I think that’s fantastic. And we should continue to respect these individuals and show our respect to them,” Semsick said. “That goes for everybody: our emergency providers, first-line responders, all these people. The way people reach out to them and show their appreciation and love for these people, that’s important. So we should keep that up.

“I would like to say the community — that part of the community that worked to come together, that’s good, and it brought us close together.

“And maybe we learned something about the other side of the community that doesn’t want to participate. Maybe it teaches us that no matter how clear something looks, there is another side to it and we need to be more tolerant.”

In what way do you stand out from your opponent as the better choice for voters?

“I hear that my opponent likes to talk to people and hear their point of view, and he’s a very good listener, and that’s good. For me, my management style is that there are talkers and there are doers,” Semsick said. “We are, in today’s world, far beyond talking. We need to be doing. My opponent is more … he is supportive of the Republican Party line, which is the trickle down. To me, that is an old, tired program that has been proven several times that it does not work.

“My goal, and I realize I’ll be the new kid on the block, is that I’ll be the voice. I can ask the tough questions when I’m in Harrisburg. I’ll hold people to the fire. Even my own party, I’ll hold my party to the fire.

“Anything I hear comes back to Indiana. I want you to know everything I know. That’s part of the transparency.

“But my goal is to put more money in the people’s pockets right now,” Semsick said. “I want to do that through tax reform, Marcellus shale (production tax), lower prescription drugs (prices) and the minimum wage increase. I want to put money in their pockets and leave it there.”

Semsick said he was a leader in creatively budgeting road and highway projects while at PennDOT to get the most from limited amounts of money available for public works.

“All projects are funded 80 percent federal, 20 percent state. When I was there, my style was to push the envelope. What can I do to work with that 20 percent number? I found a way and people said ‘you can’t do it.’ It took me years to do it, and it worked.”

Semsick said he developed public-private partnerships that encouraged developers to invest in road improvements to their benefit, have PennDOT perform the improvements within the scope of the public project, and save on the state’s share of the cost, allowing PennDOT to increase other local maintenance projects.

Thank you, Indiana County Democratic Committee.

CAMPAIGN 2020: Semsick challenging Struzzi in 62nd House District Voters in the 62nd District of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives will select a lawmaker to serve a two-year term beginning Dec. 1 in the 203-member chamber, the largest full-time

Thank you, Joy. I will fight for full, sustainable funding of our school system!
Semsick will preserve education system

I’m not opposed to charter or cyber schools, but I am opposed to unfunded mandates established by our state Legislature regarding these schools. Previously, our local school districts were allocated a set amount of annual funding to operate their school districts. Responsible school boards then established annual budgets to support their goals.

Then, our Legislature passed legislation for the creation of charter and cyberschools, which are for-profit operations, without establishing a funding source. They decided instead to take the easy way out and just lumped the new programs into each school districts existing annual allocation, which was already underfunded.

Today, these schools are siphoning off over 25 percent of the state’s basic education funding. Our Legislature created this situation, which is harming our children and placing their future quality education at risk for profits.

Perhaps there’s a bigger picture. Is our Legislature beginning the process to eliminate our public education system?

For those of us who like our public education system, I encourage you to make your voice heard and make your vote count. If we don’t stand united now, we will lose our public education.

Our school districts officials have implored our area legislators for relief but to no avail. At best, they’ve been cordial and polite in their listening. The time for talking is past. We need action and results. In the 62nd District, we lost $13.5 million of our 2018-19 school budgets, which was replaced by the taxpayers. A loss of this magnitude and all our legislators can do is listen!

We need new legislators. Our current representative may not be able to restore this funding, but surely, he could be out there working like hell to restore this money but, that’s not his party’s position.

Denny Semsick, our Democrat candidate in the 62nd District, would be out there fighting for the preservation of our public education system.

Joy Goodyear

Indiana
https://www.indianagazette.com/opinion/semsick-will-preserve-education-system/article_b1728d5a-ff2b-11ea-80f0-17e49714191b.html

Semsick will preserve education system I’m not opposed to charter or cyber schools, but I am opposed to unfunded mandates established by our state Legislature regarding these schools. Previously, our local school districts were allocated

Thank you, Joy. I will fight for full, sustainable funding of our public school system!
Semsick will preserve education system

I’m not opposed to charter or cyber schools, but I am opposed to unfunded mandates established by our state Legislature regarding these schools. Previously, our local school districts were allocated a set amount of annual funding to operate their school districts. Responsible school boards then established annual budgets to support their goals.

Then, our Legislature passed legislation for the creation of charter and cyberschools, which are for-profit operations, without establishing a funding source. They decided instead to take the easy way out and just lumped the new programs into each school districts existing annual allocation, which was already underfunded.

Today, these schools are siphoning off over 25 percent of the state’s basic education funding. Our Legislature created this situation, which is harming our children and placing their future quality education at risk for profits.

Perhaps there’s a bigger picture. Is our Legislature beginning the process to eliminate our public education system?

For those of us who like our public education system, I encourage you to make your voice heard and make your vote count. If we don’t stand united now, we will lose our public education.

Our school districts officials have implored our area legislators for relief but to no avail. At best, they’ve been cordial and polite in their listening. The time for talking is past. We need action and results. In the 62nd District, we lost $13.5 million of our 2018-19 school budgets, which was replaced by the taxpayers. A loss of this magnitude and all our legislators can do is listen!

We need new legislators. Our current representative may not be able to restore this funding, but surely, he could be out there working like hell to restore this money but, that’s not his party’s position.

Denny Semsick, our Democrat candidate in the 62nd District, would be out there fighting for the preservation of our public education system.

Joy Goodyear

Indiana
https://www.indianagazette.com/opinion/semsick-will-preserve-education-system/article_b1728d5a-ff2b-11ea-80f0-17e49714191b.html

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Thanks, Noreen, for the praise. I won't let you down!

Semsick has proven track record

I’ve known Denny Semsick for more than 35 years. During his professional life, I’ve observed him dealing directly with the public and elected officials at all levels. Denny has a unique ability to put others at ease and express himself in a simple and plain way.

He has a proven track record of managing multimillion-dollar budgets and has brought stakeholders together to solve big issues. The people of Indiana County will never fully appreciate what he has done for our county as a result of his many noteworthy accomplishments while at PennDOT.

I’m proud to call him a friend, and I’m comfortable with him being in a position to serve our county. I believe it is his compassion for others that has brought him to this point. I’ve spoken with him about why, at this point of his life, he would get involved in local politics. “To help our low-income and hard-working middle class,” was his reply. He said he was no longer able to stand by and watch what has happened to our people and what our Legislature is planning on doing to them. He felt he had no choice but to run for office and offer his services to our people in order to help turn conditions for the better. He said, “My goal is to put more of their hard-earned money back into their pockets.”

He added, “I see a lot of empty storefronts. I’ve watched mines close and industry leave. Good paying union jobs have been replaced by low wage positions without benefits. Poverty in our county has increased and along with it, frustration. Our leaders have failed us.”

He feels it’s time to raise the wages of the workers of Indiana County, especially those who’ve been on the front lines during this pandemic. It’s time for our representative to work for the people and not big business interests who donate to his campaign.

It’s time to elect someone with real, workable plans and vision who will get real results. On Nov. 3, vote Denny Semsick for representative of the 62nd District.

Noreen Hart Barkley

https://www.indianagazette.com/opinion/semsick-has-proven-track-record/article_5a9c2aca-fcdf-11ea-87ee-1b62ceb4ffa5.html

Semsick has proven track record I’ve known Denny Semsick for more than 35 years. During his professional life, I’ve observed him dealing directly with the public and elected officials at all levels. Denny has a

Thanks to the Indiana County Farm Bureau for allowing me to speak at your picnic. I strongly support our local farmers.

I've donated the basket below to the United Way for this year's campaign. Bidding is open now until Sept 16th. The virtual kickoff is Sept 17th at 5:30pm. Support our local United Way. These folks do so much for our community. Here's the link to bid: https://one.bidpal.net/unitedwaykickoff/browse/all Good luck and happy bidding!!

I support the legalization of ma*****na.

On Saturday, my opponent hopped on the Trump bus and toured our county. Masks were not worn and the potential for the spread of Covid was huge. I just have to shake my head. I'm not willing to risk YOUR health for your vote. Many photos of the event are available to view on the Indiana County Republicans page. Be smart, Jim and stop pandering. This virus is real.

Thank you, PSEA-PACE for your endorsement of my candidacy!

Thank you, AFSCME Council 83 for your endorsement of my campaign!

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We're so happy to have received the endorsement from United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776 Keystone State! https://www.ufcw1776.org/index.cfm?zone=%2Funionactive%2Fview_article.cfm&HomeID=832068&page=Political20Action&fbclid=IwAR0sLjG5rRja8Y-2G3-7JJZmBkWnPv2fLXBb3GRpezmYPtwEPyonuxwAu7Y

Endorsements 2020 General Election

If you've looking to register to vote, check out this video. It will help new IUP students and locals register online! Remember that even if you're not 18 yet, if you're 18 by Nov 3rd, you can register now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqKakW5UeL0&fbclid=IwAR3DXOADlvLLbEEfF30QcQU_3M-93lSxw59-Y90pleHwb0u8wqc8t3rfSrw

How to Register to Vote Registering to vote in Pennsylvania only takes a few minutes. Here's how to register to vote at IUP. Register to vote, confirm your registration, request a m...

We're so happy to support the good work of the United Way of Indiana County. The virtual basket raffle is on Sept 19th. Show them your support!