C-NET hosted candidates in the 2022 election for interviews conducted by StateCollege.com editor Geoff Rushton. We’ll be sharing the interviews with candidates for the 77th, 82nd and 171st state house districts.
THE RACE
The new Pennsylvania House of Representatives 82nd District was created through the redrawn legislative maps approved earlier this year and has no incumbent. It includes State College (partial), Howard, Milesburg, Snow Shoe and Unionville boroughs, and Benner, Boggs, Burnside, College, Curtin, Harris, Howard, Liberty, Marion, Snow Shoe and Union townships.
THE CANDIDATES
Democrat Paul Takac, of Lemont, has been an elected member of College Township Council since 2019 and worked in education technology for three decades. He chairs the Spring Creek Watershed Commission and Centre Region Council of Governments Public Safety Committee.
Campaign website: paultakac.com
Republican Justin Behrens, of State College, is a social worker, U.S. Army veteran, CEO of Keystone Mission, a faith-based nonprofit in northeastern Pennsylvania, and the former chair of the Luzerne County Republican Party. He previously ran for the state House twice in Luzerne County.
Campaign website: behrensforcentrecounty.com
THE ISSUES
In their C-NET interviews, Behrens and Takac discussed their views on abortion rights, inflation and the economy, vote-by-mail, public school funding, a ban on lobbyist gifts to legislators, use of state constitutional amendment, environmental protection, marijuana legalization, nondiscrimination protections, gun laws, challenges facing the district and their top priorities.
Paul Takac
Justin Behrens
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8. For information on polling locations, returning mail ballots and sample ballots, visit centrecountyvotes.gov.
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