On Wednesday, January 25th, I was able to sit down with and interview Nick Lovell, a Republican candidate for State House in the 91st district. Lovell opened with his reason for running, citing his Christian faith, service to his community, and experience on the Littlestown School Board.
“I am a very devout Christian and I believe that everybody has a calling from God to serve him in one way or another. I believe that my calling is to serve my community through public service. I ran for school board when I was 18 and I ran in a field of 11 people for five spots, and I was the top vote getter of the 11. So I’ve served in that capacity. I have seen the impact that state government and state decisions have here at the local level with local schools, municipalities, and then at the kitchen table for families, how those decisions impact people here in Adams County.”
After discussing his conservative credentials, we spoke about the events that he had been doing in the district. This included two successful meet and greet style events with constituents, as well as meeting with community leaders, business people, and knocking on doors to hear from voters.
The conversation then turned to policy, as I questioned him on the legislation he is looking to promote if elected. He emphasized freezing property taxes for eligible seniors, as well as making it easier for young families and first-time homebuyers to afford a home. He also went on to mention cutting unnecessary regulations as a means of lowering prices.
“I know that Adams County doesn’t necessarily want to see tons of new housing developments and things like that. We like to stay fairly rural. So I’ve kind of been trying to balance that and see. There do seem to be some regulations that if they were to be rolled back, could lower some new housing costs and make things a little bit better.”
I also was interested in his perspective of the primary. Dan Moul, being the longtime incumbent, hasn’t made a public announcement on running, so I wanted to see what Lovell’s view was on the race.
“I was the first declared candidate in the field. I don’t know what Dan’s doing. I know he’s talked about retiring for years, so we’re waiting to see what he does. But my decision was made irrespective of Dan. I have tons of respect for Dan, but as with many other things in life, change can be a good thing.”
On experience, I also inquired about his time on the Littlestown School Board, and as its president. His focus was on passing a budget without a tax increase.
“We’ve had a period of significant transition and with transition, there’s always challenges that come along with that. Over time, I had been the vice president, I’ve been a committee chair, and I’ve been the board president now. And so we’re working hard to get the board on a positive track of, as a whole, just being very student focused and focused on education and doing the right things. We passed a budget without a tax increase for the first time in two decades. That was a big accomplishment.”
Lastly, I wanted to ask him about data centers, after the governor’s recent push for them across the state, as well as controversial developments in the surrounding counties. Lovell seemed to take a very balanced approach to the issue.
“I think that they should be in more industrial settings, not rural and residential Adams County. If data centers can be located in places where they are not a detriment to the surrounding area or the community, and where there is local support, then they can be appropriate. I don’t think that we should just generalize and say that rural Pennsylvania is a great place. Site selection matters, and not every place is the right place. Adams County doesn’t want to be overrun with data centers.”
Featured image: Lovell
