Erie at Large: Wertz for Senate

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The Erie Reader's Contributing Editor Jim Wertz will be hanging up his Erie At Large hat as he launches his campaign for Pennsylvania's 49th Senate District. With his strong ties to the Erie community and his stalwart democratic values, he hopes to secure your vote in 2024.

When I wrote my first article for the Erie Reader in 2014, I had no idea about the path on which it would lead me. I was invited to start this column a year later. Since then, the topics and people who've entered this column have led to numerous opportunities, and a range of new experiences. I've met and interviewed some of the world's finest musicians, political figures and analysts, and local folks working to bring change to our Erie.

From those experiences, the stories we've encountered and shared, and the friends made, we start a new chapter today.

On Tuesday, Dec. 5, I announced my candidacy for the 49th District Pennsylvania Senate seat here in Erie County. With my candidacy comes a new chapter and some new rules, not the least of which require me to hit the pause button on Erie At Large. While I have no plans to leave the broader conversation for our community, I'll now engage it as a candidate instead of a contributing editor.

The following are my complete remarks to the audience that attended my announcement at Ember + Forge on Dec. 5. 

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It is entirely appropriate and absolutely humbling that we begin our campaign here at 4th and State Streets. The journey that brought us here tonight, in many ways, began in this very room seven years ago.

I was part of a small group who believed we had something to contribute – a new vision for the City of Erie. So, we chose to engage in the conversation – to join the party so to speak – and to stand alongside fellow democrats who cared about our community. That vision comes further into view tonight with this larger, more diverse, and unequivocally committed group of people, all invested in the future of Erie County.

But today, we continue that conversation differently, because from this day on, I am in this conversation as a candidate for the Pennsylvania State Senate.

I am proud to declare my candidacy for State Senate right here in the beating heart of the large and sprawling 49th district nestled along the shores of Lake Erie – our region's greatest asset – where I am proud to call home. The decision to run never comes easily – that's for sure. I'd like to thank my wife Kim and our three children, Eleanor, Madeleine, and August for their willingness to walk down this exciting road with me. At its core, politics is about family – we all become involved in politics because we want a better world for our family to call home.

When I arrived in Erie County 25 years ago. I was a young college student, working my way through school as a cameraman and director for our local television stations. That experience allowed me a unique opportunity to get the lay of the land and to learn about Erie – it's rich history and boundless potential. I quickly developed a profound respect for Erie and what it means to be an erieite. I was all in.

In fact, I was right at home because Erie wasn't all that different from the places I grew up. It was full of honest, hard-working people who remembered better days but remained optimistic about their future. It was a place of immigrants, old and new, protestant and catholic, Muslim and Jewish – Irish, polish, Italian, African, Latino, and Eastern European – and like them, I had an immigrant's love of this town.

I loved how Erie is all things to everyone – sort of like that classic song says, we are little bit country and a little bit rock and roll – in Erie, we love a good time, we love the peaceful feeling of being outdoors, we know we're going to feel alright no matter where we go, and no one is afraid of a little hard work. I love raising a family here, the easy way we all make new friends and how everyone seems to be just two degrees of separation. And how, we never run out of energy for what's next, but continue fighting to keep that real Erie thing alive.

And today, here we are together, Erieites connected by the friends we call family and the family we call friends. I am so touched to see you all standing here today, willing to take this giant leap forward together – optimistic about the future of Erie County. With you and for the Erie we love, I'm proud to start this race tonight for the Pennsylvania State Senate.

I'm running for State Senate because I believe that the people of Erie deserve a senator who will embrace democracy and jealously guard our right to vote, not someone who would trade it for personal power or the whims of their party. Pennsylvania is the cradle of democracy and Erie is its last line of defense.

I'm running for State Senate because I believe that healthcare is a right, not a privilege, and that a person's right to choose is only as valuable they have in front of them. That's why I support a constitutional amendment to protect abortion in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, no matter the party in power.

I'm running for State Senate because I believe in the children of Erie. And like all children of Pennsylvania, our children deserve equal opportunities to succeed – access to health care, access to high quality childcare and pre-k, access to an excellent and inclusive public education – a public education imagined by our founders when they conceived of a thorough and efficient education for all. Education is the great equalizer – if it's done right!

I want (and, we require) an educational system that will prepare our students to face a future we have yet to imagine. Preparing tomorrow's leaders to remain curious and to work together solving the challenges of their time. I want schools that are fairly and fully funded, and communities, like ours, that honor and respect education from the kitchen to the classroom, from pre-k through college or career and technical training and union apprenticeships – and every opportunity to learn about living a life rooted in equity, inclusion, and empathy in between. And by the way - we can choose both, but first we must re-engage learning and education as our greatest asset. We cannot go backward, burning books we don't understand – and banning ideas we don't agree with.

And I'm running for State senate because working people like you and me, and folks all across Erie County deserve to be respected for the work they do.

We are at a precipice in Erie County. It's a once-in-a-generation chance to define our future – a transitional economy does not mean a compromised workforce. Erieites deserves jobs reflective of the generational workforce known worldwide for it skill and endurance; where the union is not the enemy of profits – they are the people who produce them.

A good salary is just one piece of having a good job. But what good is it when the pursuits of happiness leave no time for the people and activities we hold most dear; when respect in the workplace runs short, and when pursuits of corporate profits outmaneuvers the price of a skilled workforce, we must stand up for and with one another and make sure the right to form and join a union and bargain collectively is a right protected in Pennsylvania.

And, let's be clear, this is not just about manufacturing jobs – nurses, doctors, plumber and painters, educators and engineers – all workers deserve the benefits that come with union membership – and I'll work hard to protect those rights fought and won on the backs of children and the women and men who stood up for those rights a century ago.

So, tonight, as we embark on this journey together, I'm asking for your help to take this campaign into every community in Erie county.

From union city to North East, Edinboro to Girard, in every community center and social club in between, tell your friends and family that this campaign holds the promise of action, not just words. That this campaign of the people and for the people comes from the people – we are a family of Erieites above all.

Tell your friends that you know my values – they are the same as the democratic ideals that helped build Erie County. Tell them I won't bend to fit a political mold no matter the audience or the issue. Tell them I am all in and ready to improve our collective future and I will engage in a healthy and constructive debate to get us there – elevating Erie and its people who deserve respect and investment.

Tell them I believe in democracy – and in our citizens who select leaders to represent them in Harrisburg and beyond. Tell them I am ready to walk with them – together - toward a more prosperous future rooted in our Erie values.

And tell them I need their help – and yours. Donating time or your money will help amplify this campaign and will ensure that our message, one that speaks to and for all the people of Erie county, will be heard by the voters. The end of 2024 will be the start of a new era – an era when Erie is at the forefront of policy and politics in Pennsylvania.

So, wear a button, take a sign, and join our team at jimwertz.org. Tonight, I ask for your support, I ask for your vote, and together we will walk toward the prosperous future that waits on the path ahead.

Jim Wertz is now a candidate for Pennsylvania's 49th Senate District in Erie County. You can find him online and join the campaign at JimWertz.org.