Updated 9:14 p.m. Feb. 9.
A Bellefonte native and U.S. Air Force veteran is running in this year’s election to represent Pennsylvania’s 15th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Democrat Ray Bilger plans to launch his bid during an event at 3 p.m. Thursday at the Bellefonte Art Museum, according to a release from his campaign.
Bilger’s campaign platform is centered on affordability, safety and opportunity.
“I am running to represent the people of the 15th District because they are struggling to put food on their tables and face no health care in their communities,” he said in a statement. “I grew up in Bellefonte but had to leave the area to find real opportunities. I returned three years ago and found nothing has changed for many residents, especially over the past 16 years.”
The 15th district is currently represented by nine-term Republican incumbent Glenn “GT” Thompson, of Howard Township. The district, which is the geographically largest in Pennsylvania, includes all of Centre, Armstrong, Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Snyder, Tioga, Union and Warren counties and parts of Indiana, Lycoming and Venango counties.
Raised in Pleasant Gap, Bilger is a graduate of Bellefonte Area High School who said he attended Penn State before realizing he could not afford to complete his education and joining the military.
During a career spanning 35 years, Bilger served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm as a military intelligence specialist, and as a security officer and intelligence analyst he led teams for the Air Force, National Security Agency and State Department, he said.
Bilger was Balkans Special Operations Team Lead for the NSA in the late 1990s and was awarded the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service, according to biographical information provided by his campaign. From 2015-2017, he worked as NSA technical director for cyber analysis.
He met his wife, Danuta, while serving in Poland and they raised their son, Alex, overseas and in the United States, traveling to Centre County often for visits and to renovate the home Bilger and his wife have now lived in for several years.
Bilger said he is running for Congress because he sees life becoming harder across central Pennsylvania, the American dream more difficult to attain and younger generations leaving the area.
“I wake up every day seeing more and more bad news for our nation and local communities,” Bilger said. “I simply can’t walk away from this. I am just hard-wired to care.”
He added the he wants to help restore opportunities “so that families can thrive” within the 15th District.
“I’m a combat veteran. The United States government for the past 40 years entrusted me to make the hard decisions and to solve hard problems,” he said. “We need real leadership. I’m going to put my expertise to work here. That is the mission. We solve hard problems. We work for the people, not ourselves.”
Primary Election Day in Pennsylvania is May 19. Candidates can begin to circulate and file nomination petitions on Feb. 17. The last day to register to vote before the primary is May 4.
The General Election is Nov. 3.
