Dear Friends,
A little over two years ago, we began a journey together against a broken political system. It started in January of 2010 when I began to knock on doors throughout the 131st District. Day after day, each person told me they were tired of an ever-growing bureaucracy in Harrisburg that wasn’t working for every taxpayer. Of course, if you are being represented by a huge lobby in Harrisburg, chances are the system is working for you. But the fact is that the vast majority of taxpayers in our district don’t have a lobby to represent them in Harrisburg.
That is what my service to this district is all about. I am serving every hard-working taxpayer of the 131st District. It is not about me, nor will it ever be. It is about every taxpayer in the 131st District.
Look what we were able to do together in such a short time:
- We defeated an entrenched incumbent in the primary who outspent us with special-interest contributions by a factor of 2-1. We won by 10 points and she was the only incumbent to lose a primary in Pennsylvania, showing the power of your voice.
- We defeated a Democratic candidate in the general election by 14 points who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars against us.
After the improbable electoral victories, many people doubted that we could truly make a difference in Harrisburg. With the power of your voice, we were able to accomplish many great things in the first year, such as:
- Enacting tort reform to control medical malpractice costs that drive up the price of healthcare.
- Protecting your 2nd Amendment rights by passing the Castle Doctrine.
- Repealing a costly mandate to require every new home built in the Commonwealth to have a fire sprinkler installed.
- Giving every taxpayer access to a database online that shows how their tax dollars are being spent.
- Passing the first on time budget in over eight years that matched revenue with expenses, without raising taxes.
- Giving taxpayers more control over school property tax increases.
- Leading the effort to get legislators to contribute toward their healthcare plans, just like you do.
- Passing legislation reducing the size of the legislature.
On a personal note, it’s been a big year for the Simmons family. This past December, I married the love of my life, Erica. We recently purchased a home in Upper Saucon Township, which is the township that I have grown up in during the last 15 years. I continue to lead by example in Harrisburg by refusing a taxpayer-paid car, per diems, cell phone, pension, and automatic salary increases.
It is hard to believe, but I am up for re-election this November. These two years have gone by at an incredibly fast pace, and I have loved every minute of it. Getting to know everyone in this community has been the experience of my life. Seeing the yard signs pop up already, and hearing the encouraging comments from people that watched me grow up, truly inspires me.
I will never forget where I came from. As we move forward, I hope I can continue to count on your support in this journey that we’ve started together.
God Bless,
Justin