For many county Republicans, the halcyon days of the ’80s and ’90s were the heyday of GOP achievement. The good old days. The days of John Barley and Jere Schuler, of Marv Miller, Jr. and Kenny Brandt. Senate prominence of Gib Armstrong, Richard Snyder and Noah Wenger. Seniority propelled them into chamber leadership or committee chairmanships. The sole Democrat came from the city. Ah, the good old days….
Welcome to the good new days. Lancaster County’s current legislators are on track to equal or exceed their predecessors. Consider that Senator Ryan Aument now chairs the Communications and Technology Committee after two years in the chamber. His colleague, Senator Scott Martin, has just begun his legislative term but is likely to ascend to one of the 22 committees in a chamber dominated (34-16) by Republicans in the next two years as well.
Dean of the House Republican delegation, Rep. Dave Hickernell, now chairs the important House Education Committee, the committee which establishes educational policy and impacts state funding for PA schools. (See our re-post of the announcement of Rep. Hickernell’s new position.) His colleague, Rep. Bryan Cutler, returns as the House majority whip, third highest office in that chamber. Three other state representatives, Steve Mentzer, Mindy Fee and Keith Greiner have significant committee assignments and could be in line for chairmanships within the next five years. Also, if we can keep electing state representatives Dave Zimmerman and Brett Miller, they will not be far behind either.
The lone county Democrat in the legislature, Mike Sturla, was a rookie politician with little clout when he entered; he remains a veteran politician with little clout 24 years later in a chamber increasingly dominated by the GOP… Republican voters have chosen well and trusted their judgment to continue returning conservative House and Senate legislators. It is paying off. Welcome to the “good new days.”
