Lee Heffner for Pennsylvania State House of Representatives 37th

Background:

Lee Heffner is a small businessman in the 37th State House district in Pennsylvania. Lee and his family owned and operated Lee Heffner Ford for over fifty years and now Lee is the owner of Lee Heffner Auto Sales in Adamstown. In addition to being a businessman, Lee is also a family man--not a career politician. He will bring our values to Harrisburg, not the other way around. He was active in the Jaycees, Boy Scouts, and now volunteers for the Sons of the American Legion, Save the Bay, and the Casey Cares foundation.

After the July 7th pay grab for the state legislators, Lee decided to throw his hat into the race for state representative against Representative Creighton. While Mr. Creighton spends your tax dollars on cars and pay raises, Lee Heffner is new leadership you can trust to find solutions to the energy crisis, set our educational priorities straight, and support working families.

Lee has developed a circle of knowledgeable people to guide him through the election and invites you to join the team! Lee offers voters a chance to be represented by some one who has always worked for a living in Pennsylvania. He wants to live and work in a better Pennsylvania where working families can get out of living paycheck to paycheck and to afford quality medical care; where energy costs are reasonable; and where young people in our district can thrive with a quality education and achieve their potential in continuing education.

Lee is married to Barbara, and their grown children are: stepdaughters Brandi and Arin, daughter Andrea, son Lee III, and grandchild Lee IV. In his spare time he enjoys NASCAR , football, boating, and spending time with his grandson. Lee and Barbara live in Reinholds

Goals:

In the aftermath of the legislative pay raise, I decided to challenge Representative Creighton in the 37th state house district. While Creighton prioritizes pay raises and using tax dollars to pay for his
truck, my campaign is about new leadership.
- Leadership you can trust to find solutions for sky-rocketing energy costs.
- Leadership that will create an environment where all of our young people get a good education and the opportunity to attend higher education.
- Leadership that supports working families.

As the owner of Lee Heffner Auto Sales in Adamstown, I am concerned about the cost of fuel. I strongly support alternative energy and
energy efficient products.

In the 37th state house district, there are seven school districts
representing institutions that are on the wrong track. We need to
provide a valuable education for all the students in our district and give them the opportunity to go onto higher education.

In addition, supporting working families means fighting to alleviate the health care crisis in Pennsylvania and supporting an increase in the minimum wage.

The legislative pay raise is an important issue. I am running for
office to right the wrong concerning the legislative pay raise. I am also running to bring our values to Harrisburg and not the other way around! As the 37th district's representative, I'll fight to make real changes with the energy, education, and daily issues that affect us all.

Issues:

Lee on Education

Tom Creighton has vowed to "greatly decrease" funds for all public education--both K-12 and higher education. I will fight to create an environment where all of our young people get a good education and the opportunity to attend higher education by making it more affordable. I support giving public schools the resources they need and making them more accountable. By giving schools and students the tools they need to succeed and quality standards of schools, we will be providing a better education for our future leaders, citizens, and workers. There is a problem with the source of funding and its distribution and appropriation. Pennsylvania needs to do something to distribute funding more equitably and work with local schools to ensure that they are making progress in adequately preparing our young people in reading and math.

Our teachers are the springboard for the future. Instead of pushing our best teachers away with inadequate salaries and benefits, school boards should be given incentives for finding creative solutions to keep education efficient.

Lee on Working Families

A minimum wage increase is long overdue in Pennsylvania. It's wrong that a person working 50 hours a week and earning the minimum wage lives below the poverty line, earning just over $13,000 a year. We need to raise the minimum wage so that people who work hard and play by the rules don't live in poverty. Four states around Pennsylvania have increased their minimum wages, while our lawmakers have done nothing. Raising the minimum wage would take working families off of government assistance reducing the cost of the state's social programs and would infuse the economy with cash to help local businesses.

About 1 in 10 Pennsylvanians are without healthcare. This is unacceptable. We need affordable programs that are available to all Pennsylvanians. Pennsylvania has the second largest senior population in the country, behind Florida, and not for our weather! Some older Pennsylvanians have to choose between their medication and bills. Seniors in the 37th state house district deserve better from their lawmakers. I will work to alleviate the spiraling costs of healthcare and prescription drugs that are burdening the seniors of our state.

Lee on Energy

I am devoted to finding new solutions for sky-rocketing energy costs and encourage the use and exploration of alternative fuel sources. We should give individuals and pioneering companies tax deductions to expand the development of wind, solar, and biofuel technologies. Promoting the use of ethanol and biodiesel has the added benefit of supporting our county's agricultural heritage.

I also believe that big oil companies should be held accountable for price gouging. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, we all were asked to donate funds and help our country in any way possible while the oil companies recorded record profits. We all feel the effects of price gouging at the gas pump--I will enact legislation to minimize the impact of big oil companies' price gouging on Pennsylvanians.

Grassroots Support:

The Howard Dean 2004 presidency campaign opened the doors for a new grassroots movement. The Heffner campaign is building on Dean's
model of energizing the grassroots in his own campaign because Heffner wants to work for the people of the 37th state house district. He knows that committing himself to his district and assembling strong
grassroots support is crucial to improving the lives of Pennsylvanians in the 37th district.

Lee Heffner has relationships with many local political groups. He has had a candidate forum with the Democracy for Lancaster, and he looks
forward to partnering with them for future events. Also, there is a
strong grassroots group that is supporting Heffner campaign and
working to get him into office. "As a member of the grassroots,
Lee Heffner has made an impression on me. His commitment to the welfare of the people in the 37th district, his fresh approach to state legislation, and his concern for the future of Pennsylvania make
him a great state representative candidate," commented Lauren
Gleason, active grassroots member.

DFA Values:

Lee Heffner cares about fiscal responsibility and if there is any state in need of reform it's the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Last year the state legislature voted to raise their own pay thousands of dollars when they are already the second highest paid state legislature in the nation. In the wake of the pay raise, groups like PA Clean Sweep formed in response to elected officials' greed.

For Lee Heffner the pay raise was the last straw for sitting back and watching Pennsylvania's legislators mismanage the Commonwealth's finances for wrong priorities and without regard for fiscal responsibility. Heffner got involved with PA Clean Sweep and then decided to run for state house of representatives in the 37th state house district facing an opponent who voted for the pay raise and who's idea of fiscal responsibility is to gut education, deprive working families of a raise in the minimum wage and advocating for drastic tax cuts on all forms of taxes.

The incumbent Represenative Creighton is also a vocal supporter of Pennsylvania's Marriage Amendment limiting not only gay marriage but civil unions as well and supports a pro-life agenda without any exceptions. Lee Heffner is a strong supporter of emergency contraception while his opponent opposes EC and Heffner has criticized Rep. Creighton for playing politics with marriage by supporting a politically motivated wedge issue.

Pennsylvania needs a new fiscally conservative socially progressive voice in Harrisburg. Lee Heffner is new leadership that you can trust in Harrisburg for energy, education, and working families.