By Marcella Peyre-Ferry
Contributing Writer

Residents of the 13th Legislative District have a choice at the polls this November between incumbent Republican State Representative John Lawrence and Democrat challenger Cristian Luna. Here’s a look at the two candidates:

Candidate backgrounds

Lawrence was first elected to the State House of Representatives in 2011. A lifelong resident of southern Chester County, he is the son of a small business owner and grandson of a dairy farmer, giving him an awareness of the challenges faced by family-run businesses. 

Lawrence worked in the private sector as an account officer for J.P. Morgan Chase. He is a graduate of Penn State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business. He is currently pursuing a juris doctor degree through the Syracuse University JDinteractive Program.

Luna is a West Grove native and Avon Grove High School graduate. A first-generation Mexican American, Cristian’s grandmother left Mexico after his grandfather, a police officer, was killed in the line of duty. She came to Chester County for her family’s safety, and the opportunities available on Pennsylvania mushroom farms.  

After graduating college, Cristian served as a bilingual legal advocate, helping survivors of domestic violence through the legal process. He then joined the Chester County Prothonotary's office and currently serves as the Deputy Prothonotary. 

Priorities

Both candidates have expressed support for quality agriculture education and protecting the Chester Water Authority from privatization. 

An advocate of the agricultural community, Lawrence has introduced bipartisan legislation to support dairy farmers, the equine industry, and to combat the invasive spotted lanternfly and the phorid fly. He has supported critical funding to the New Bolton Center for veterinary medicine.

Luna wants to protect small, local farms from threats including climate change. As a previous mushroom farm worker, Luna would use his experience to support the local farms. According to a statement on his website, “The impacts of climate change are wreaking havoc on our farms” and Luna would be a representative that would seek solutions to address the problems. Luna understands the necessity of preserving open spaces and protecting the vulnerable animal population. Luna would take meaningful action to save small community farms. 

A former trustee of Lincoln University, Lawrence is a strong supporter of K-12 education and Pennsylvania’s institutions of higher learning. He has consistently voted to increase state financial support for Avon Grove, Oxford, and Octorara school districts. 

According to his website, Lawrence believes parents should be in charge of their children’s education, not the government. He authored and moved bipartisan legislation giving parents the ability to opt-out of the Keystone Exams for their children and has consistently supported expanded efforts on school choice and the Education Improvement Tax Credit program.  

According to the bio on his website, Lawrence “brings a common sense, reform-minded approach toward governing.” He has authored legislation to consolidate redundant government services, eliminate waste and require legislators to submit to drug testing. He has declined a state pension, state car, per diems and other legislative perks.

Lawrence chaired the Speaker’s Debt Commission, leading to passage of Act 43 of 2019 to reform how Pennsylvania issues debt, paying down principal faster and saving taxpayer dollars by significantly reducing the amount spent on interest. He also drafted legislation increasing oversight of “lease-backed” debt, a practice by which over $700 million in state-backed debt has been issued without approval of the General Assembly.

For Luna, service to his community has always been the priority.

According to his website, Luna “is running to fight for the middle class and working class, protect our democracy, and bring a new generation’s perspective in service to his neighbors in Southern Chester County.”

“The choices being made at the state level not only impact our current residents but their children and grandchildren. Now is the time for new leadership that is not only thinking about the present but bringing innovative solutions for a strong future in Southern Chester County,” Luna said. “I’m running to protect the community that we call home and ensure that it is safe, vibrant, accessible, and affordable now and for generations to come.”

Some of Luna’s other priorities include fully and fairly funding public education for students, defending the freedom to vote, protecting abortion rights, and expanding health care access.

Chester County Press asked: What is your main goal for the next four years and what would you most like voters to know about you?

Luna replied, ”If elected to represent HD-13, I hope to provide relief to families in my district by advocating for and supporting public education funding, raising the minimum wage and protecting abortion access. These are issues my team and I have heard extensively when meeting voters at their doors. I want voters to know that I am a family man. Coming from a large family, many of whom live in the district, I understand the importance of community and being there for one another. This is a huge reason why I’ve wanted to meet voters where they’re at.”

Lawrence replied, “There are three major issues facing our area. First would be to continue to work with Christiana Care to bring emergency hospital services back to Jennersville. Working across the aisle together we have been able to attract over $5 million in grant money to help make that a reality– it is slated to open next year. The second thing is that I’m going to take every opportunity to block the sale of Chester Water Authority, and the third would be preserving Big Elk Creek State park as a critical link between White Clay Creek Preserve and Fair Hill Natural Resources in Maryland. During my time in office, I’ve tried to focus on issues that matter to everyone in our community from fixing the Red Rose Inn intersection in Jennersville to addressing the generational parking problem in Oxford and getting the parking deck built to just this week bringing millions of dollars in grant funding to renovate the Penn London Elementary School, and finish the new sports park in Penn Township and dramatically improve the parks in Oxford that the Oxford Area Recreation Authority runs. For many years, our area sent a lot of tax dollars to Harrisburg and saw very little in return, and I’m trying to address some of these long-term infrastructure issues for the benefit of our entire community. I think people  are fed up with politicians who shout and scream and fail to deliver. I’m trying to lead by example. Most of the legislation I have proposed in Harrisburg has passed unanimously or with broad bipartisan support.”

The 13th Legislative District includes East Nottingham, Elk, Franklin, Highland, Londonderry, London Britain, London Grove, Lower Oxford, New London, Penn, Upper Oxford, West Fallowfield, and West Nottingham townships, and the boroughs of Oxford and West Grove.

Much of the information for this article is derived from the candidates’ websites. Further information is available for Lawrence at replawrence.com and for Luna at lunaforpa.com.