Letter to the Editor:

I recently received a campaign flyer in my mailbox stating that John Lawrence is a independent voice for us as State Representative. Seems these days that a lot of elected officials say things like that, so I wanted to know: Did Lawrence actually stand up for our community instead of cozying up with the political bosses?

Turns out John Lawrence really has been an independent voice for us. Just last week, John was one of only 19 state representatives out of 203 to vote against House Bill 2478, a billion dollar pork barrel spending bill loaded up with hundreds of special interest projects. John was one of only 27 of 203 representatives to say "no" to House Bill 2355, which passed back in July authorizing a billion dollars in new state debt to fund similar special projects.

Its not just voting "no." John was one of only 59 out of 203 representatives to vote "yes" to eliminate school property taxes. And John was one of 105 to vote "yes" to abolish the state store system and get Pennsylvania out of the business of selling alcohol.

John has shown that he is willing to put community over politics for four years. Plus, he's standing up against the old guard system set up to reward elected officials with outrageous perks. John has declined a taxpayer funded state pension, a state car, state cell phone, per-diem payments, etc.

John has shown he is willing to make the tough calls to stand up for what's right. That's why I will be voting for him for State Representative on Nov. 4.

 

James Boyes

Elk Township