Democratic candidates for US Congress and the Pennsylvania State Senate appeared Wednesday evening in the community room at the Gettysburg YWCA. They included Beth Farnham, a candidate for the 13th Congressional District currently occupied by Republican John Joyce and Cameron Schroy who is running to replace State Senator Doug Mastriano in the 33rd District. The host for the evening was Gettysburg Democracy for America (DFA). Jeff Colvin, co-chair of DFA, welcomed the audience and introduced the candidates. A lively discussion with the audience of about thirty followed brief presentations by the candidates.
Beth Farnham is married with two children and has served as a school board member in the Conewago Valley School System. She began her remarks by reciting from memory a list of the twelve counties that make up the 13th Congressional District and promised the audience a quiz at the end of the evening. Her top priority, she said, is a “restoration of Congress” to it proper role in government. In a normal year, she continued, the US Congress passes some 200 separate pieces of legislation, but last year they managed only twenty-seven.
Congressman Joyce, she said, has played a role in this failure to deliver necessary legislation. “He has simply not shown up for the people of the 13th District.”
Other top issues for Farnham include support for public education, affordable access to healthcare for all, and protecting democracy and voting rights. But gun safety measures and access to reproductive healthcare are also central to her campaign. “Gun violence,” she said, “is the number one killer of Pennsylvania children. Not car accidents, not cancer. Sensible gun safety measure are essential.”
As a symbol of women’s rights and reproductive freedom Farnham held up a “pink pussy” hat, the woven cap that has been an important symbol for the women’s movement. This hat, she said, is based on the Phrygian Caps, the soft conical caps worn by patriots during the American Revolution, and is a symbol we should all considering embracing.
Cameron Schroy, a ninth grade civics teacher in Waynesboro and life-long resident of Franklin County, said is a running as a candidate concerned with real issues and finding solutions to problems facing residents of the 33rd District. His opponent Doug Mastriano, he said, “would rather yell at Josh Shapiro on Facebook Live.” As soon as he was elected as a state senator, he began running for governor. In contrast, Schroy said “I will concentrate on providing the constituent services the people of Adams and Franklin counties deserve.”
“As a ninth-grade teacher I have worked with difficult children for many years,” he continued. “I can probably work with Republicans in Harrisburg just as well.” Schroy concluded by mentioning his many ties to Adams County including a relative—Jacob Potter—listed on the Pennsylvania Monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield. “He fought that battle because Black lives matter, and we need to continue that struggle today.”
Featured Image Caption: Gettysburg DFA Co-chair Jeff Colvin, Cameron Schroy and Beth Farnham
Will Lane, a founding member of Green Gettysburg and the Green Gettysburg Book Club, is a Lecturer in English and Affiliated Faculty Member with Environmental Studies at Gettysburg College.
For anyone unable to attend last night’s Gettysburg DFA meeting, here is the text of my speech. Hello, my name is Beth Farnham and I am running for US Representative of Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District. The 13th District Includes the counties of Adams, Franklin, Fulton, Bedford, Cambria, Blair, Huntingdon, Mifflin, Juniata, and Perry as well as pieces of Cumberland County and Somerset County. If you don’t know me already, I am a resident of Adams County, a married mother of two children who attend the Conewago Valley School District where I served as a board member in the past year.… Read more »