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House candidates answer why they want to be in congress

The 12th Congressional seat pits Democratic Party nominee Mark Friedenberg against the Republican nominee, state Rep. Fred Keller, R-Kreamer.

That district encompasses all or parts of Lycoming, Bradford, Centre, Clinton, Juniata, Mifflin, Northumberland, Perry, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union and Wyoming counties.

Question: Why do you want to be in Congress?

FRIEDENBERG: “My legal career has been standing up for honest people, fighting corruption. Wall Street and big banks took advantage of people. They lied to people about how valuable investments were. They gave them loans they could never repay. They messed with their life savings. They did that knowing they wouldn’t be left holding the bag. They were too big to fail and they knew it. I got to see how pervasive the corruption was. In my work as a health care advocate I see how the Affordable Care Act helped people in the region. Those are things worth standing up for, worth fighting for. My opponent led charges against Medicare expansion and health care exchanges. As a father, I see how important it is to fund our schools. We need to address that. We need to make sure our kids our prepared, whether it’s for college or the workforce. My background in cyberlaw makes me understand the threats to the nation. I am afraid our 12th District will fall behind if we don’t address things such as broadband expansion. This is holding back business development. It’s worsening our brain drain. It’s also a safety issue. Students graduating from high school aren’t using the web-based technology that students are from other areas of the state.”

KELLER: “If you look at my background and you look at what the founders of nation outlined. It’s government of the people by the people, for the people. I have lived the American dream. I grew up poor. Our parents instilled in us the work ethic and the value of education. I put that to work. I managed a factory. I started my own business. I contributed to my community. That is what you are supposed to do. Many people need a voice. This is my way of giving back. It’s possible in American to do that. I want to take the values of the 12th Congressional District to Washington D.C.”

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