Business owner and author Elizabeth Moro has announced her candidacy for the Democratic Party for Pennsylvania Representatives District 160, which is currently being represented in Harrisburg by incumbent Republican Craig Williams, who defeated Catherine Spahr in the general election on Nov. 8, 2022 to earn a second term.

Williams is currently running for election to become the next Pennsylvania Attorney General. He declared his candidacy last November and will appear on the Republican in primary voting that will take place on April 23, 2024.

Currently, District 160 represents Birmingham, Pennsbury, Thornbury and Westtown townships in Chester County, and Bethel, Chadds Ford, Concord and Thornbury townships in Delaware County, in addition to Chester Heights. 

Moro’s foray into the political specter will signal a return for the Chadds Ford resident, who ran in 2018 in an effort to represent District 7, but upon the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruling to redraw the districts, that district was absorbed into Districts 5 and 6. She withdrew from the race for the Democratic nomination in March of 2018.

“In our time, we have a duty to protect our democracy, civil rights, and women’s rights,” Moro wrote in a press release to declare her candidacy. “We must stand together to defend the Constitution and the values that build our communities. Legislation that takes away our voice and votes proposed at our state level goes against those values, and we must move forward, not backward. 

“The next generation is looking to us to preserve our liberties, our environment, and the ability to access the American Dream for all.” 

Soon after her candidacy ended, Moro wrote and published The Civil Graces Project: The Pursuit for Common Ground, a personal memoir that chronicled her experiences on the campaign trail, dispels the notion that the U.S. is a country divided, and explores how political discourse can bring people together rather than tear them apart. The book provides a compassionate approach to healing America’s dialogue that respects the country’s robust diversity of ideas and drills down to the root of the U.S.’s presently chaotic political climate.

“We need each other to find solutions to our society’s challenges,” Moro wrote about the book. “The opportunity is to recognize our diversity as a gift and look for areas where we cross over to the field of common ground. There is an undeniable link between responsible policy and economic growth. We need to dispel the myth that they’re mutually exclusive. 

“I will continue to build our community, defend our civil rights, support access to healthcare—including a woman’s right to choose, protect the environment, and promote strong education while developing a strong economy. As a business owner and activist in my community, I know it is possible.” 

In addition to founding the organization Neighbors for Crebilly with her husband, Vince, Moro is the owner of Centreville Place: Café + Market in Centreville, Del., which she and Vince purchased in 2021. The Moros have five children and are restoring a historic farm where they raise sheep and bees. She is a graduate summa cum laude of Western Michigan University in Political Science, Public Policy, and Women’s Studies, served an internship in the Michigan House of Representatives and has her broker’s license practicing in Pennsylvania and Delaware.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].