Politicians With Business Backgrounds Square Off In 141st Legislative District Race

Republican Drew Kreiling and incumbent Democratic State Rep. Tina Davis are running for the 141st Legislative District.

Both Davis and Kreiling have experience running local governments, listening to constituents and working in private industry.

The two said during separate interviews that recovery homes and the economy are two issues voters in the district deeply care about.

Davis, who has served in the state House of Representatives for six years, said one of her first actions if elected another term would be to continue her efforts to get legislation to govern recovery homes. It’s something she has worked to get signed into law over the past year.

The incumbent state lawmaker from Bristol Township’s Croydon section said her previous bill laid out a set of regulations to govern recovery homes. The bill featured a similar set of guidelines than those proposed by a volunteer task force in Harrisburg.

“It’s a waste of money if [those in recovery] go to a house that doesn’t help,” she said, adding regulations enforced by legislation will insure homes are helping residents and respecting the community.

Kreiling, who lives in Middletown, said he would add to the regulations the task force proposed and work to add regulations to make sure the regulations protect residents and the surrounding community. He suggested requiring recovery homes to be placed in commercial zoned areas and creating a rule that assigns each home at least one counselor.

“If it’s going to be a business, let’s treat it like a business and they should pay taxes like it is a business,” he said.

“The owners of some of these homes are hoarding people in these homes like cattle and we need to fix that.”

Davis and Kreiling, both of whom are 56, said they will work to bring more businesses and jobs to the district while keeping state budgets in check.

Davis said she voted against the state budget and following revenue proposal this year against the wishes of members of her party out of respect for her constituents.

“I got beat up by very important people on both parties and stuck to my guns because I know it wasn’t right for the people in my district,” she said.

The incumbent lawmaker said she is currently in talks with a company in a fast-growing market looking to bring jobs with a fair wage and health insurance to the area.

Kreiling, who served of the Middletown Board of Supervisors for six years, explained that he wants to look at options for a flat property tax of 4 percent. He also said he wants to run the state like a business.

“When I was working, I had a list of ‘need to have’ and ‘like to have,” he said, adding that is how he would look at the state’s budget.

Kreiling expanded on his idea to improve the local economy by promising to explore developing the Delaware River waterfront. He said he could see the waterfront being a great opportunity to bring mixed-use developments and jobs to the area.

When asked, Davis said she had looked into waterfront development in Bristol Township when she was on the municipality’s council but options were limited because much of the undeveloped land was already privately owned or had roadblocks stopping development attached.

“That’s a great idea – which I’ve had – but I’m glad he’s stealing it,” she said.

On the topic of school tax relief, the two candidates both pledged to look at proposals to help area residents.

Davis said she voted for House Bill 76 and is for hearing all options.

“I feel the current proposals need some work, but I support any kind of bill that gives tax relief,” she said, adding that looking to expanding tax rebate offers to more income levels could be one option.

Kreiling said he wants to look at options that would help lessen the tax burden on residents, especially those on a fixed income.

In addition, Kreiling said he supports making changes to the Sterling Act, a state law that gives Philadelphia to place a Great Depression-era wage tax on those who work in the city and live in the suburbs. He noted that repealing the Sterling Act would bring in close to $1 million extra per a year to Bristol Township and Middletown.

While Davis said she was in favor of local towns getting more tax revenue, she was concerned repealing the Sterling Act would hurt city schools and only force suburban residents pay another tax to help the city make up from the lost Sterling Act revenue.

When asked, Kreiling explained that during his time as a supervisor in Middletown the much criticized Earned Income Tax (EIT) he voted for was part of a plan that would have corrected a budget imbalance. If he was reelected, he said, the goal was to cut property taxes. The EIT was heavily debated in the township and drew large crowds against it when it was implemented in 2013.

One issue that Davis said she plans to continue to work on is the FEMA floodplain maps that have expanded to include large areas far from waterways. She said the floodplain reconfiguration has forced many residents on fixed incomes to pay thousands for flood insurance that they will likely never need.

Davis worked as a realtor for years before running for state office six year ago. She juggled a career while raising a child. Her husband, Jim, runs a small business.

“I know how tough it is out there. I know what it is like,” said Davis, explaining that her family hit a rough patch in 2008 and she had to work three part-time jobs.

Kreiling is retired from a major manufacturer of heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems and is divorced with children. The former township supervisor previously has served as president of the Middletown Athletic Association in Levittown.

Kreiling won his spot on the general election ballot after an unopposed primary write-in campaign.

The district serves the borough of Hulmeville and Penndel along with portions of Bristol Township and Middletown.