Continuing with our “Focus on the House” series, we bring you the story of Democrat Christina Hartman, running in Pennsylvania’s 16th District. Her latest internal poll has her within three points of her opponent and President Obama endorsed her Monday.
Raised in Lancaster County, I am proud of my family’s Pennsylvania roots. My mother, Julia Hartman, is a first grade teacher at Sacred Heart School, and my dad, Bob Hartman, worked as a store manager. My grandparents were small business owners who taught me the value of hard work, volunteering, and the benefit that entrepreneurship brings to a community.
I credit the Manheim Township public schools and St. John Neumann Catholic Church for showing me firsthand the importance of helping neighbors, organizing fundraisers for those in need, and giving back to the community.
These lessons about community took hold, and I knew I wanted to make a career of sharing them around the world. Here at home, I have continued to focus on community development initiatives. I worked with the Joyful Heart Foundation, a national organization pursuing justice for sexual assault and domestic violence survivors. Today, I bring my expertise to organizations in Lancaster such as Church World Service, the Non-Profit Resource Network at Millersville University, and the Parish Resource Center, providing leadership in strategic planning, fundraising, and communications to enhance the services that these organizations provide to the county and beyond.
Kerry Eleveld: What about your biography makes you uniquely suited to represent your district?
Christina Hartman: I have built a career negotiating and advocating for human rights around the globe often in politically toxic environments and across the table from people who often disagreed with me. I believe that experience makes me uniquely qualified to tackle the partisanship in Congress and to work with people from different perspectives to strengthen Social Security for future generations, expand access to affordable higher education and job training, and create tax breaks that help small businesses add local jobs.
Will you pitch in $3 to help Christina Hartman win this swing district and help turn the House blue?
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KE: What are the two biggest problems your district faces and how will you fix them?
Hartman: Infrastructure and job training are two of our biggest issues. Around the country we are seeing a breakdown of our bridges, roads and railways and this district is no different. Business owners have told me that our failing infrastructure is harming their productivity and bottom-line. We need to make sure we provide adequate funding, not just because we can add thousands of construction jobs and get people back to work, but for our safety, security and productivity.
There are plenty of good jobs waiting to be filled—we must make sure our high school, college and grad school graduates have all the tools they need in their tool box to fill those positions and that we are creating public-private partnerships to make sure our schools are meeting the demand of companies in the area. We want to see more two-year programs and apprenticeship programs to support our businesses who need everything from web developers to welders.
We need to make sure we are making higher education accessible and affordable to everyone who wants it. We should be funding job training programs, encouraging community college as a viable option, and allowing folks with crushing student loan debt to refinance their loans.
KE: What do you see as the key to your electoral victory?
Hartman: Electoral victory starts with strong organizational foundation and a strategy for winning and ends with having the people behind you. We are a people-powered, grassroots campaign. Together, with our amazing interns, volunteers and supporters all over our district, we will turn this seat blue!
KE: What's your opponent's biggest Achilles Heel?
Hartman: Aside from a questionable legislative voting record and flip-flopping on every issue, my opponent’s biggest Achilles Heel is his endorsement of Donald J. Trump. He supports Trump’s reckless rhetoric and dangerous policies because he agrees with Trump and will be a rubber-stamp for him if elected. Voters in this district are not only rejecting Trump, but also rejecting my opponent. Their values do not represent the values of Pennsylvania’s 16th District.
KE: How is the presidential race impacting your district?
Hartman: Presidential years always matter in races like mine, but especially this year. Trump’s values don't reflect the values of our district. He denigrates women, mocks the disabled, and pits one group of Americans against another for personal gain—that’s not who we are. Add to that the fact that Trump is temperamentally unfit and completely unqualified to be our commander-in-chief. While the voters in this district may be at times frustrated with Hillary Clinton, they know that the choice for president is crystal clear: they will choose Hillary Clinton to move this country forward.