Speaking to a crowded room of more than 100 people in Middletown on Thursday evening, Democrat Bob Harvie talked about college affordability, healthcare, environmental concerns, the Israel-Palestine conflict, election reform – at his fifth town hall. Harvie is hoping to unseat incumbent Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania’s first congressional district which encompasses all of Bucks County and a sliver of Montgomery County.
Harvie commenced the night by talking about reviving the American dream and why he is best suited to beat Fitzpatrick in November’s midterm election.
“I am excited to run for this seat, but I know it’s going to be a lot of work,” Harvie said. “The fact that I have won county-wide office twice in the past six years makes me a candidate who can win this race. Brian Fitzpatrick has never faced a county-wide elected official before in any of his races.”
Harvie continued by saying the country needs a major change and people who are going to “stand up and lead.”
“We have a president who certainly doesn’t ask what he can do for the country. His question is, what are you going to do for me?” Harvie said, adding “and we have a congressman who says, whatever you want.”
Fitzpatrick has bucked GOP by voting to extend ACA subsidies. Speaking to the Beacon about this, Harvie referenced an instance last Spring when Fitzpatrick skipped a vote on an amendment to Trump’s budget bill to make tax credits permanent. He also pointed to Fitzpatrick voting to advance the president’s budget in its earlier version, and not signing a discharge petition in the fall before healthvcare premiums rose in January.
“He failed on every one of those, so I’m really not interested in him showing up now trying to pretend like he’s trying to keep the animals in the barn. They’re already gone,” Harvie said. “People are already feeling the pain of this. Their premiums have already gone up. They’ve already had to make their decisions about whether or not they’re going to have health care for the next year and how much they’ll pay for it.”
Harvie added he’s “not impressed by him by being some kind of phony moderate.”
“I think he’s scared. He saw the election results in this county. He knows he’s in trouble,” Harvie said. “Now he’s trying too late to position himself as someone who cares about what’s happening in this country.”
In the same vein of affordability, Max Williams from Falls Township asked Harvie if he would help relieve student loan debt, referencing Biden’s failure to do so.
Harvie said he would, and shed light on the increasing price of higher education.
“It’s crippling this generation and they’re having trouble buying houses and moving forward … If we can afford to give billions of dollars in tax cuts, we can afford to help young people get out from under debt,” Harvie said. “I didn’t understand why President Biden was having such a hard time with people in his own party and owning up to that.”
Harvie added more about the increasing cost of higher education.
“In the time that we’ve been telling people, ‘go to college, go to college, go to college,’ it’s obviously become a monster industry in terms of the cost of it now compared to what it was a few decades ago,” Harvie said.
Allison Egan, a ninth grader at Neshaminy High School, told Harvie she wants to become a pediatrician but is worried about the high cost of college, asking for his support to help her and her generation.
Harvie responded with an anecdote about a student he taught at Bucks County Technical High School who became one of the lead electrical engineers on the Philadelphia Comcast Center skyscraper. Harvie said she almost didn’t go to the tech school after pressure from people discouraging her from getting her education there, which Harvie thinks is resemblant of bigger issue involving all levels of education.
“We’ve spent decades telling young people ‘don’t go into the trades,’ and now we’re having a problem,” Harvie said. “We really have to value education at every level.”
Joanne Watkins from Trevose asked Harvie if he would accept money from The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), mentioning that Fitzpatrick has accepted about $600,000 from them.
Harvie said he has had no conversations with anyone at AIPAC.
“I believe every Israeli child has the right to grow up in a peaceful, safe country where they can grow up to be anything they want to be. Every Palestinian child has the same right,” Harvie said.
“Every kid from Bristol Borough, every kid from Riegelsville, from Hatboro, they all have the right to do that.”
Ruthy Rosenbaum from Doylestown expressed concern about the rise of antisemitism, telling Harvie that a local Hanukkah celebration she attended had a police presence to ensure safety. She asked Harvie how he would help the Jewish community feel safe in Bucks.
Harvie spoke about teaching different versions of global studies classes in which he taught the basics of Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Harvie said he prided himself in teaching these subjects and giving Jewish and Buddhist proverbs to students for discussion.
“I had immense respect for everybody,” Harvie said. “I had kids from every background, wealth, nationality, religion. Every kid who walked into that classroom, deserved my best, and I gave them my best. I treated every student the same way.”
Another attendee asked Harvie about the incoming Falls Township hyperscale data center, and if he would work to strengthen the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after what he deemed is Trump’s deterioration of it.
Harvie responded affirmatively, and said he helped to hire the first sustainability director and sustainability plan in Bucks County and led many electric vehicle initiatives. Harvie added that he spoke with the county commissioner in Loudoun County, Virginia recently. Loudoun contains a massive amount of data storage and processing facilities.
“I talked to that commissioner about how they’ve protected the residents, how they’ve modified some of their zoning laws and code enforcement laws to make sure that people are protected,” Harvie said.
Harvie added that he would “stay in touch” with the plans for the Falls township data center as they unfold.
“[We’re] certainly working with our state senators, state reps, and the governor’s office to make sure that we’re going to be shielded as much as we can from the negative impacts of these data centers,” Harvie said.
Mary Johnson from Hulmeville told Harvie she is concerned with Trump’s reduction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the local impacts of this.
Harvie said the Bucks County Emergency Management Agency, which responds to natural disasters and responded to the recent explosion in Bristol, receives much funding through FEMA, which could be concerning. He added that the county is leading in its 911 system.
“[What’s happening at the federal level] is impacting this county and every other county in ways you don’t see, and I think that’s what [Fitzpatrick] likes,” Harvie said. “He likes the fact that you don’t understand and you don’t know the votes he has taken.”
Lisa DeVicaris from Bensalem asked Harvie if he would help end the Citizens United court decision, which allowed corporations to spend unlimited money on elections, and implement campaign finance reform.
Harvie said this would be one of his priorities.
“It is certainly one of my priorities to support a constitutional amendment to allow states and the federal government to institute campaign finance reform and overturn Citizens United,” Harvie said.
In a more cultural question, Jimmy Lamb from Bensalem asked Harvie for his favorite book, movie, poem, and short story.
Harvie said his favorite book is The Fifties by David Halberstam, his favorite movie is the remake of Casino Royale, and his favorite poem is written by the Chinese philosopher Laozi.
“[In The Fifties], there’s actually a whole chapter on Levittown and how it revolutionized housing in the United States. I used to use that chapter in school with the students,” Harvie said. “I probably haven’t read a short story since I was in high school.”
