PENNSYLVANIA — Earlier today, ahead of President Trump’s visit to Erie, Erie County Democratic Party Chair Jim Wertz, Representative Bob Merski (D-Erie), PA SD-49 Candidate Julie Slomski, and first time voter Lena Surzhko-Harned held a virtual press conference to discuss how President Trump and Harrisburg Republicans’ economic policies, COVID-19 response and attacks on health care have left working families in the region behind.
A recording of the virtual press conference can be found here, and an audio clip is available here. Check out some of the highlights below:
Jim Wertz, Erie County Democratic Committee Chair:
“We hear a lot about the gains made on Wall Street in the past three and a half years. But we also know that the United States economy experienced two cycles of recession in that same period. The recession was a result of the fact that that while Wall Street continued to flourish Main Street continued to have the final nails put in its coffin because the mom and pop shops couldn’t go on because the high paying jobs, the good paying jobs, the family sustaining jobs in our communities, not only didn’t expand, but in many cases went by the wayside under this administration.”
Rep. Bob Merski (D-Erie), PA House Of Representatives:
“As we build back better, we have to make sure that we elect Joe Biden, because the Biden plan builds on the people of this community, not Wall Street, but on Main Street… When the stock market’s doing well and it’s disconnected from the everyday lives of Americans — we have a huge problem. And this is a modern problem that we haven’t seen. Usually, the stock market has gone up when jobs have gone up and we’re not seeing that right now in places like Erie, Pennsylvania…. Independent researchers [have] said that Joe Biden’s plan creates more jobs than Donald Trump.”
Julie Slomski, State Senate Candidate for PA SD-49:
“The Biden-Harris ticket is the answer because it respects the fact that health care is a human right and that’s something we can’t lose sight of. On the state level the job is to be the backstop to preserve the Affordable Care Act and that’s what I plan to do. I don’t want to push 700,000 Pennsylvanians off their insurance, especially when we’re in the middle of a pandemic… We don’t need a state senator in Harrisburg, that’s going to prevent access to telemedicine, we need a Senator in Harrisburg and a leader in Washington that is going to make sure we have healthcare that is affordable, accessible for all Pennsylvanians. And for all Americans. That’s what matters most.”
Lena Surzhko-Harned, Ph.D. (Erie County), First time voter:
“When Joe Biden speaks about this election being for the heart and the soul of America, that resonates with me [on] a very personal level….In the last four years, I’ve seen a deterioration of that. I see populist and personalistic politics taking place. And as someone who has witnessed what that kind of rhetoric and that kind of politics can do to societies, I’m very concerned about what I see as a first time voter. So I would like to see again, building back better in a way that human life and dignity again have not just empty words but foundational principles. Where Liberty under law is absolutely there for everyone. So I look forward to that kind of America.”
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