CNET hosted candidates for the 2016 general election for interviews conducted by StateCollege.com editor Geoff Rushton. In the days leading up to the Nov. 8 election, we will be sharing the interviews with candidates for Pennsylvania’s 5th Congressional District, Pennsylvania Auditor General, and the 77th, 76th, 81st, and 171st State House Districts.
THE RACE
Pennsylvania State House of Representatives 171st District, which includes parts of Centre and Mifflin counties. In Centre County, the district represents Bellefonte, Centre Hall, College Township (partial), Ferguson Township (partial), Gregg Township, Harris Township, Millheim, and Penn, Potter, Spring and Walker Townships.
THE INCUMBENT
Republican Kerry Benninghoff of Bellefonte is seeking his 11th term as representative for the 171st District, having first won election to the office in 1996. Since 2014, he has been chair of the House Majority Policy Committee. Prior to his election to the state house, Benninghoff was elected to two terms as Centre County coroner in 1991 an 1995 after serving as deputy coroner for six years. Benninghoff graduated from State College Area High School and attended Penn State. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary
THE CHALLENGER
Democrat Melody Fleck of Pine Grove Mills is a retired attorney who practiced real estate law, estate planning, business formation and tax law for more than 20 years. A volunteer organizer, she also has served on the boards of several corporations and non-profit organizations and has lobbied on behalf of Wolf PAC to overturn Citizens United, Sierra Club and other environmental groups. Fleck has a bachelor’s degree from Penn State and a law degree from Temple. She ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
THE ISSUES
In their CNET interviews, Benninghoff and Fleck address steps to take on the heroin and opioid crisis; job creation; public education; income, corporate and natural gas taxes; state pension funding; state gun and drug laws; and bipartisan budgets.
Watch the interviews with Benninghoff and Fleck below.
