Election Day is three weeks away. And Democrat Tarah Probst is being challenged for the 189th Legislative District Seat. Republican Lisa VanWhy would also like to represent the nine municipalities in Monroe and Pike Counties.
Incumbent, Democrat Tarah Probst is in her second term as the Pennsylvania House Representative for the 189th District. And she wants to continue working hard for her constituents. They screamed for school funding in Monroe County and now we’re told for the first time in years, a bill is allowing money to come back to the taxpayers.
Probst says, "The school boards will all deal with that in December and January, but it’s only year one and we have a seven year plan. So if we can hold our seats, every year that tax break will be bigger and bigger to the point where school districts can lower the mill. I think that that’s really important because that’s something my constituents have been suffering from for nearly two decades."
Probst also feels like she’s just getting started. While the House Democrats had a lot of bills signed into law by the governor, she wants to ensure the rest don’t die in the Senate, especially some key ones.
Probst says, "Raising the minimum wage, lowering the corporate tax rate so that small, medium and large businesses can thrive here in the Poconos, protecting a women’s rights to their body forever in Pennsylvania."
Born and raised by a single mom in East Stroudsburg, Probst knows what it’s like to struggle, and rise above it with outside help. The former mayor and local business owner wants people to live, work and thrive in her district.
Probst says, "One of the problems I have is I have one of the longest commutes in the nation, you can look it up so people are leaving this area to put food on the table for their family. I want them to be able to not have to do that. I want them to be able to earn a good living right here in Monroe and Pike County and spend more quality time with their family."
The challenger, Republican Lisa VanWhy doesn’t like how things are going when it comes to the economy, taxes and crime on the streets. She wants to be the commonsense conservative approach to leadership.
VanWhy says, "We just passed the highest budget ever so we got to reign that in a little bit and start looking at what we’re spending and then what that means to the people of the community tax wise, right? We have to be responsible, just like you have to be responsible for your budget."
The former East Stroudsburg School Board Member originally got involved in politics to reign in the high taxes she was paying. VanWhy is proud to say the eight years she served, the school district did not raise taxes.
VanWhy says, "Even though it wasn’t always the answers and the decisions we made were not always most popular, but I did the right thing to what I felt. I always looked at all sides. In this race, that’s one thing for the 189th that I will be able to bring that type of leadership. Because I know what it takes to work across the aisles and kind of work together for a common goal of the people."
VanWhy is also a generational lifelong Monroe County resident and has operated Diamond Cuts Salon in East Stroudsburg for 20 years. As a small business owner, she knows how to rise to challenges.
VanWhy says, "I care about my community. I will work hard for my community, hopefully like I said keeping the economy under control, the taxes under control and better education for our students."
Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th.