Gretchen Wisehart
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Gretchen Wisehart (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to represent District 154. She lost in the Democratic primary on June 2, 2020.
Wisehart completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Wisehart was born in Burlington, Vermont. She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in May 1997 and her law degree from Villanova Law School in May 2000. Her professional experience includes working as a public finance attorney, as chief counsel at the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, as special counsel with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, and as an economic analyst. Wisehart has also served as a clerk for Sen. Patrick Leahy (D) on the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and for the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals. She is associated with the Cheltenham Township Economic Development Task Force, the Cheltenham Township Human Rights Commission, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Philadelphia Bar Association, and the American Corporate Counsel Association.[1]
Elections
2020
See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 154
Napoleon Nelson defeated Kathleen Bowers in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 154 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Napoleon Nelson (D) | 77.7 | 30,610 |
 | Kathleen Bowers (R)  | 22.3 | 8,776 | |
| Total votes: 39,386 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 154
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 154 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Napoleon Nelson | 39.2 | 7,101 |
 | Gretchen Wisehart | 20.1 | 3,639 | |
 | Adrienne Redd | 13.4 | 2,435 | |
 | Ray Sosa | 11.0 | 1,994 | |
| Jay Conners | 9.2 | 1,664 | |
| Jennifer Lugar | 7.0 | 1,275 | |
| Total votes: 18,108 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 154
Kathleen Bowers advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 154 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kathleen Bowers | 100.0 | 2,629 |
| Total votes: 2,629 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Gretchen Wisehart completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Wisehart's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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As an attorney I have more than 20 years experience providing public finance counsel to state and local governments, hospitals, museums and universities. I served two governors as the Chief Counsel to the Department of Revenue drafting and negotiating legislation and budgets. I serve my community as a member of the township Economic Development Task Force, on the Human Relations Commission and as Judge of Election. I am a mom of 4 and a grandmother of 2 who has long worked for positive change in my community: for good schools; protecting reproductive rights and access to affordable healthcare; protecting our environment and addressing the devastating effects of climate change; equality, equal pay and ending harassment in the workplace; for investments in infrastructure and mass transit; and for smart economic development and securing grant funding to aid municipalities with capital projects.
- I have the experience, integrity and leadership necessary to be the effective representative in Harrisburg. In order to address the serious issues our community faces, such as inequitable school funding, crumbling infrastructure, devastating effects of climate change, gun violence, and access to affordable healthcare, we need need not only a strong voice in the legislature, but an advocate who knows how to get results.
- Experience, Integrity and Leadership
- I am a mom fighting for a future for my children, grandchildren and my community.
I was born into a community that nurtured every person, rich or poor, and while poor I was given opportunities by a great public school education. That experience informs everything I do - I approach problems from a position of empathy. I am a mom of four and I want a community where we can all live, work and prosper together.
Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a brilliant example of intellect, courage and perseverance in the face of sexism. Her trailblazing in the legal field opened doors for women, minorities and the disabled. Her work before ascending to the bench and while on the bench will have positive impacts on our lives for decades to come. And she did it as a mother, raising her family while raising the living standards for all of us.
I read John Rawles' Theory of Justice when I was a college student at the University of Pennsylvania, and his theory became the foundation of my senior honors thesis. His two fundamental principals of justice would, in theory, guarantee a just and morally acceptable society. The first principle guarantees the right of each person to have the most extensive basic liberty compatible with the liberty of others, the second principle states that social and economic positions are to be to everyone's advantage and open to all.
Rawles proposes that the most reasonable principles of a just and moral society are those that an individual would chose behind a "veil of ignorance" in circumstances in which each person is represented as a moral person, which would result in fair equality of opportunity.
Great political leaders embody learning agility, integrity and compassion. These qualities combine and build on each other to develop policy initiatives that lead to progress. Intellectual flexibility and learning agility are essential to understanding complex issues and impacts and being creative problem solvers; integrity means being honest and showing reliability; compassion informs every action and decision, investing in the personal element of lawmaking. These qualities lead to mission-driving leaders who are effective, maximizing constituent engagement to effect positive change.
I am a pragmatic progressive with a depth of experience in government and policy tempered with compassion and a commitment to results. I have always strived to work collaboratively to understand complex issues and achieve results that are effective and fair. I am goal-oriented and know how to take responsibility to commit to a plan and execute, in the face of obstacles and challenges, to fulfill a goal. I am also a mom who wants the best for my community: a place where we can all live, work and prosper. Where my grandchildren can play, go to school and thrive, and where my parents can retire securely.
State representatives work collaboratively with stakeholders such as municipal governments, constituents, colleagues and executive agencies to create and process bills that become state law. This includes open communication and activity in the district as well as Harrisburg, and engagement with subject matter experts and those impacted by policy initiatives.
I live my life by the Mary Poppins principle: leave things better than you found them. I would like my legacy to be as a leader who helped bring Pennsylvania back from the economic devastation of COVID-19, raising up members of the community with good jobs, affordable healthcare and schools that prepared our children for the next generation.
May 4th, 1970 the Ohio National Guard opened fire on unarmed student protesters, killing four of them. The next day colleges and universities across the country started cancelling exams and closing dorms. Instead of going home, my parents, students at the University of Vermont, chose to protest. With impeccable timing, I chose that time to announce my arrival and was born on May 6th in the hospital across the street from campus. I have always felt my life is inextricably tied to the events that May, I spent my childhood exercising my right to protest for peace, the ERA, and the environment. In my adult years I have continued raising my voice for the environment, against gun violence, and for women's rights.
My first job (outside of babysitting and working on the family farm) was as a Librarian's Assistant in a community library. It was in the summer during high school and was perfect for a bookworm! I worked with some brilliant professionals who reminded me that the quietest among us are often the most impactful. Their gentle tutelage taught me not just the Dewey Decimal System, but to open your mind to new ideas, to reach beyond your comfort zone. Aside from the mundane: emptying dehumidifiers and dusting, there was a world of knowledge, adventure and fantasy at your fingertips. It was a summer of remembering childhood favorites (Paddington Bear), technical manuals (bike repair), and more sophisticated literature (W.D. Auden).
T.S. Elliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" with illustrations by Edward Gorey. It is clever poetry, whimsical language and reminds me to look at things from another perspective and in poetry as opposed to prose. Edward Gorey's illustrations of dancing and dining cats brought the characters to life and brings back fond memories of discovering the characters as a child.
Honestly, I can't wash my hands any more without singing the chorus from "Jolene" which is about 20 seconds.
I was raised by a single-mother in rural poverty, economic insecurity was always present, yet despite this I have persevered to achieve an education that gave me the tools to lift myself out of those circumstances and make a better life for my children. As a single mother myself I again faced economic insecurity when the Great Recession hit in 2008 and I lost my job, the job that was supporting my entire family. Through each challenge I learned to be resourceful and to not take anything for granted. My lived experience informs every decision I make, I know what it is like to worry about how I am going to feed my family and keep a roof over our heads and how very important access to opportunity is to create a better future.
Representing smaller districts, State Representatives have a greater opportunity to represent the issues and citizens of their districts than the Senate. Representatives are closer to the residents and have opportunities for greater collaboration with municipalities and constituents on issues that matter in the community.
Experience in government is important, experience with legislative process is crucial to successfully representing constituent issues. There is no corollary in private business, or even in municipal government, to the legislative process with two chambers. Knowing the rules and the process, and how to build a coalition of support make the difference between a good legislator and a great legislator who gets things done for their constituents.
First and foremost, recovering from the economic devastation that is the result of the COVID-19 crisis is going to impact every decision made at the state level. Helping Pennsylvanians recover from job losses, the loss of benefits, and the impact on revenues will be all-consuming. Balancing the needs of the most vulnerable with impactful action by the state and municipal governments to rebuild our economy and provide needed help to families and small businesses is going to be the greatest challenge since the Great Depression. The state has the opportunity to invest in infrastructure projects to provide good jobs and connectivity while investing in sustainable technologies to have a positive impact on the environment. We will also need to re-think the way we fund schools to make sure there are opportunities for students at every level from pre-k to college. In crisis we have the opportunity to test our assumptions on what is "normal" and improve outcomes.
A governor should work collaboratively with the legislature to advance policy initiatives. As the executive, it is up to the governor to effect the laws that come out of the legislative process, the representatives in the legislature are more connected to their home districts and can bring needed perspective to the governor in that process.
Relationships matter, whether they are close and personal or professional. A collaborative process that brings more people to the table when considering important policy is critical, on both sides of the political divide. I have worked with members of both parties representing policy and legislative initiatives and have found that the best outcomes do not come from a zero-sum negotiation or process, but from an inclusive process that tests the subject matter and allows for greater input.
Judiciary
Appropriations
Education
Allyson Schwartz, she was an innovator in bringing healthcare to the children of Pennsylvania through CHIP.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 27, 2020
