ST. MARYS – Lifelong resident and local businessman Frank Straub today announced his candidacy for Representative in the 75th district currently held by incumbent Matt Gabler. With a group of family and friends, Straub discussed the need for a representative who would work for the people of Elk and Clearfield counties, not Harrisburg insiders.
Straub said his main priorities in Harrisburg will be job creation, property-tax reform and cleaning up state government. “Last year’s 101-day budget impasse was inexcusable,” Straub said. “Harrisburg is a mess, and Matt Gabler’s solution was to walk away from the bargaining table. He should have done what he was sent there to do – fight for the interests of the people of Elk and Clearfield counties.”
If elected, Straub promised to put the concerns of local people above the wishes of party leaders in Harrisburg. “Matt Gabler ran as a reformer,” Straub said, “but it looks like Harrisburg reformed him. Instead of working toward real solutions that help local residents, Gabler acts like he is still on the payroll of the Republican Party.”
Straub said he opposes the proposed tolling of Interstate 80. “We need to fix our roads and bridges, but tolls are the wrong solution,” he said. “It’s not enough to hope that the federal government will turn down Pennsylvania’s application to toll I-80. Instead, we need to offer solutions to our infrastructure problems that won’t hurt local commerce.”
As a former manager of SMP Home Medical, Straub understands the issues facing the unemployed and local seniors living on fixed incomes. “At a time when more and more people are facing hard times, what we need are lawmakers who work together for the good of the region,” Straub said. “We need to bring jobs to the region without overtaxing our hardworking citizens.”
About Frank Straub
Straub, 28, is a lifelong resident of Saint Marys and former manager of SMP Home Medical, a local medical equipment company. He attended local Catholic schools before graduating from Saint Marys Area High School in 1999. Straub currently attends the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, where he is pursuing a degree in History and Political Science.
About the 75th District
The 75th State House District includes all of Elk County and the city of Dubois, the townships of Brady, Huston, Sandy and Union and the borough of Troutville in Clearfield County.