Borowicz Town Hall Held; Ads, Debates Discussed

By Scott Johnson

(Editor’s Note: Given candidate Stephanie Borowicz’s unwillingness to participate in any pre-election debates with her opponent, Mike Hanna, Jr., The Record and therecord-online elected to cover her “town meeting” on Wednesday of this week in an attempt to ascertain her views on issues. In fairness, The Record/therecord-online is asking candidate Hanna to offer his views on the same topics. The Hanna views will be posted in an online story upon receipt. These views of both opponents will be carried in The Record’s print edition of Nov. 1.)

LAMAR – About 50 constituents attended a “Town Hall Meeting” for Stephanie Borowicz at the Nittany Valley Fire Co. Wednesday night, as the Republican seeks for a second time to capture the 76th District State House seat in the General Election in less than two weeks.

Two years ago, she lost to long-time Rep. Mike Hanna, D-Lock Haven. This year, she is taking on Democratic challenger, Mike Hanna Jr.

The event – first of three scheduled for the region in the next 10 days along with a meet-and-greet – comes as many, including Hanna Jr., the Democratic Party and several media outlets have criticized Borowicz for her unwillingness to participate in debates in Clinton and Centre counties.
She addressed those accusations head-on, without the need for a question from the public on the subject.

Borowicz said she was “set-up” for failure from the Clinton County Christian Coalition debate two years ago, when, she said, the participants were not allowed to bring any notes.

“My opponent (Hanna Sr.) had a binder full of notes that we were told not to bring,” she said. “Here I was with no experience and had to handle a two-hour debate… It was biased and I was set up.”

Borowicz added the “bias” included the media, which is from both the national and local levels.

“That’s why I went to the town halls to have direct contact with you and to meet with you,” she said. “Just Google ‘Trump’ and you will see about the fake news and how it is so biased… If I wasn’t afraid to debate Senior, I, certainly, wasn’t afraid to debate Junior.”

The Republican candidate also, without provoking from the audience, addressed flyers being mailed in the region from the Pennsylvania Democratic Committee and from Hanna Jr. concerning non-payment of taxes for a nonprofit in Florida and on the endorsement of Hanna Jr. by the Firearm Owners Against Crime.

Regarding the Florida nonprofit organization, Borowicz said it was for Make A Stand USA, an organization she and her sister created to get prayer gatherings at schools in 2010. She said it was her sister who paid for it and no money was made for the one event it sponsored. Two years later, she said, it was disbanded.

“This is politics at its worst,” Borowicz said. “It was two stay-at-home moms trying to get a prayer event in our schools.”

Regarding the endorsements, she said the Firearm Owners Against Crime Pennsylvania president told her the organization thought it was for Hanna Sr. “He said it was their fault and I wasn’t trying to deceive them. I just wanted to ask them why,” Borowicz said. “(Hanna Jr.) never turned in a survey… I am now equally endorsed by them.”

She opened up the gathering stating her platform: fully-fund education, improve the economy through less taxes and regulations, improving health care by getting government out of the system and to protect the lives of unborn children, and protect the First and Second Amendments.
“Meeting all of you guys in this district is why I run for office,” Borowicz said. “Politics is ugly.”

On Education: She said she would like to get education back to reading, writing and arithmetic, and get rid of Common Core, which costs $600 million, and away from PSSA testing, which costs $1.2 billion. “I’m not for not having any standardized testing, but we have to look into other ways to test our children,” she said.

That money savings can go back, Borowicz said, to more safety measures, including metal detectors in all schools, and allow trained teachers and security officers carry guns.

“We would not want that for our children?” she asked. “I want to take schools away from being a gun-free zone. Time and time again, it is proven a good guy with a gun will take out a bad guy with a gun. It has been proven time and time again.”

She added in the question-and-answer session that students should have a well-rounded education with career technology, sports and arts and school boards should live within their means.

Home-schooling, Borowicz added, if the parents have the time and resources to do it. If not, she advocates vouchers for pupils to go to a school of their choice. “It is a good way to let kids go to different schools if they want to and give them the opportunity for the parents to choose where their kids go to school,” she said.

On Economy: Borowicz said less taxes would bring more money in the hands of the people in the district. She further advocated drug testing for those receiving Welfare benefits.

She also wants for rid the government from micro-managing small businesses. “It’s all about less taxes, less spending and less regulations,” she said, before recounting her days working on her father’s seed farm while growing up. “My dad didn’t give me a job as my opponent.

“It’s all about limiting the size of government and let Americans do what we do best,” Borowicz said, adding companies have pension obligations of $80 billion. “I don’t want to take away the guaranteed pensions, but for new hires have them in a 401K or a private retirement system. Again, I don’t want to take away the guarantee.”

The reduction in government spending, she said, could begin with the state, cutting in half the pay for the “part-time legislators.”

On health care: Key in her health care plan would be to be pro-life and protect the lives of the unborn by defunding Planned Parenthood, which, Borowicz said, is funded by Pennsylvania at $1.5 million a year. To do that, she lends support to the “Heartbeat Bill,” which would outlaw abortions to embryos when they have a heartbeat (normally six weeks after conception).

Borowicz also supports fighting the opium epidemic by having more resources going toward treatment programs, noting it normally takes 120 days to break that addiction.

On First and Second Amendment protections: Borowicz said she fully supports the rights to freedom of speech, religion and to own and bear arms, in addition to term limits for legislators in all levels. “For us (State House), I would say eight to 10 years. (U.S. Rep.) Tom Marino (R-Williamsport) is limiting himself to 12 years,” she said, invoking the thoughts of Pres. George Washington on term limits.”

Regarding guns, Borowicz said she is against a person “wrongly accused” of a domestic incident to get rid of their guns within 24 hours “or spend six months in jail.

“I will abide with our constitution and laws,” she said. “There is a bill to have it illegal for people to ride in a car with a gun loaded. That is preposterous, especially in this area. The assault on the Second Amendment is very real threat and has consequences in a real way.”

She also supported the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, noting she toured the medicinal marijuana facility in South Avis about six months ago. However, Bororwicz added she does not support recreational use of marijuana even if could reduce property taxes.

Borowicz will hold a meet and greet event on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Clinton County Republican Headquarters at the former Santander Bank in downtown Lock Haven. Future town halls are set for Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. at the Bald Eagle Area High School Auditorium and at Yesterday’s Restaurant in Renovo on Nov. 3 at 6 p.m.

(Editor’s Note: This version of the story corrects an earlier version in which the Fraternal Order of Police was referenced; it should have been Firearm Owners Against Crime. Therecord-online apologizes for the error).