Bucks County’s Clerk of Courts Eileen Hartnett Albillar announced she is running for the Pennsylvania state Senate.
Hartnett Albillar, of Warrington, will run for a spot on the Democratic ticket in May’s primary to challenge Republican incumbent state Senator Frank Farry in the November election. To date, Hartnett Albillar is the only name on the Democratic ticket.
Farry represents Pennsylvania’s 6th senatorial district in Harrisburg.
“We all know Harrisburg isn’t listening to Bucks County, and we are paying the price: costs are going up, SEPTA’s funding is still broken and families are struggling to make ends meet,” Hartnett Albillar said in a statement.
Republicans currently have a 27-23 majority in the chamber. If Hartnett Albillar wins, and Democrats can pick up at least two additional seats while holding onto control of the state House, legislative priorities such as raising the minimum wage, increasing affordable housing, addressing the child care crisis, strengthening reproductive rights and investing in higher education, among other issues, may finally make it to the governor’s desk.
Hartnett Albillar won election in 2023 to become Bucks County Clerk of Courts. In this role, she collects and returns money to victims of crime. The former Warrington Township supervisor has received an early campaign endorsement and financial investment from Represent PA.
“I’ve spent my career listening to people, solving problems, and navigating complex and broken systems. I think we need legislators who understand how the policies they’re making affect real families.”
“With deep public-service experience – from the Bucks County Opportunity Council to serving as Warrington Township supervisor and Bucks County Clerk of Courts – Eileen has the leadership and judgment Pennsylvania needs in the state Senate,” said Gwen Stoltz, executive director of Philadelphia-based Represent PA.
Represent PA is the only organization in the commonwealth that supports the early campaigns of pro-choice women running for state office.
Pennsylvania’s 6th senatorial district includes Bensalem Township, Hulmeville, Ivyland, Langhorne, Langhorne Manor, Lower Southampton Township, Middletown Township, Northampton Township, Penndel, Upper Southampton Township, Warminster Township, Warrington Township, Warwick Township and Wrightstown Township, the press release said.
“The discrepancy of women holding government office” was a tipping point for Hartnett Albillar, and it was a factor in her decision to run for state office.
She said issues like public safety, clean water and preserving open space should not be politically divisive flashpoints.
“From my time [as a supervisor] in Warrington I got to advocate for my neighbors and be a liaison between our local government and my neighbors,” Hartnett Albillar said.
With 25 years as a social worker, and public office holder Hartnett Albillar has a unique lens with which to view communities.
As Bucks County Clerk of Courts, one of Hartnett Albillar’s primary duties is to connect and return money to victims of crime.
“Social workers are trained listeners, problem solvers and advocates,” Hartnett Albillar explained. “The cost of living is rising faster than paychecks, and people are frustrated with the inability to make their budget work.”
She watched with frustration as the most recent state budget impasse stretched to four months of delays, political wrangling and ultimately scuppering a regulation – to placate Republicans – to make fossil fuel-producing state power plants pay for their own greenhouse gas emissions, Bucks County Beacon previously reported.
“I’ve worked with families facing eviction and homelessness, and it was frustrating to see the inability in Harrisburg to pass an [on time] budget,” Hartnett Albillar said.
She said watching school districts consider closing schools because of the budget impasse; the fragile financial state of SEPTA rail services to communities in Bucks County, skyrocketing utility and grocery bills and the ongoing issue of Pennsylvania’s minimum wage being unsustainable or “not a livable wage” are issues Hartnett Albillar said legislators must address.
“I’ve spent my career listening to people, solving problems, and navigating complex and broken systems. I think we need legislators who understand how the policies they’re making affect real families,” Hartnett Albillar said.
