Lawyer and educator Marc Friedenberg announced Monday that he is running for the Democratic nomination in 2018 to represent Pennsylvania’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In announcing his candidacy, Friedenberg, of Ferguson Township, said he wants to see residents throughout the district’s 16 counties have resources and opportunities to succeed and that he envisions ‘a future where businesses can take root, rural health care systems are protected, and education is fairly funded.’
Incumbent Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Howard Township, has held the seat since first being elected in 2008. He was elected to a fifth term last November when he defeated Democratic challenger Kerith Strano Taylor.
The 5th Congressional District is Pennsylvania’s largest geographically and represents Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Venango and Warren counties, and parts of Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Huntingdon and Tioga counties.
“We need to do a better job of helping businesses reach the many smart, hard-working people throughout our district,’ Friedenberg said. ‘We have outstanding universities, natural resources, and communities across central and western Pennsylvania, but the opportunity to succeed economically has been concentrated in just a few small areas, with many of us left behind.
‘I want everybody in the 5th Congressional District to have equal opportunities to get a job, to get an education, and to receive outstanding healthcare. We need to make sure residents are given the chance to succeed.”
He will conduct a ‘listening tour’ through each county in the district, beginning at 2 p.m. on Dec. 9 at Neverending Stories in Franklin, Venango County.
His platform includes improving rural infrastructure, making college affordable for working class families, affordable health care coverage for all, fair pay, protecting clean air and water, lawmaker and government accountability, and defending seniors.
Friedenberg has previously been part of a group of 5th District constituents who led calls this year for Thompson to hold town halls to listen to voter concerns, and who have taken Thompson to task for his positions on issues such as Republican efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
‘Friedenberg values the ideas of the voters in the 5th Congressional District and knows that this position directly impacts the lives of many in our community,’ his campaign announcement said. ‘For too long, they have put more into Washington than they’ve gotten out of it; Marc will fight to make sure that district residents, and not Washington interests, will be the ones to decide their future.’
An assistant professor in Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology, Friedenberg previously practiced intellectual property and securities litigation. He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in information sciences and technology from Penn State in 2006 and a law degree from Columbia Law School in 2009.
Friedenberg and his wife, Becky, are the parents of two daughters.
