CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – With the 2022 election in full swing, Senate hopeful Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman (D) visited Clarion on Saturday to discuss his vision for rural Pennsylvania.
(Pictured above: Fetterman along with his wife, Second Lady of Pennsylvania Gisele Barreto Fetterman. Photos and video by Leon Aristeguieta)
“Donald Trump carried this county with 75%,” said Fetterman. “I’m not the type of Democrat that comes in and says I can turn this county blue because that’s not what this is about. It’s not the color on the map. It’s the margin, and it’s engaging, and it’s refusing to concede any county of Pennsylvania to the Republicans.”
Fetterman said a large part of his campaign is focused on small, “forgotten communities” like Clarion.
“I’m never going to turn my back on forgotten communities,” he said. “I’m a four-term, small-town mayor of a ‘forgotten place.’ Even though Braddock looks radically different than Clarion, the demographics are different. That’s where Gisele (Fetterman’s wife) and I lived our lives.”
Fetterman contrasted himself to West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (D), a more moderate member of his party, and said he would be a more progressive voice in the Senate if elected.
“We find ourselves in a position as a party now where we are confronting a kind of gut-check moment where Democrats need to vote like Democrats,” he said. “If Joe Manchin is your kind of Democratic Senator, I wouldn’t be that kind of Senator. You can count I’m going to be the Democrat that leans in, joins with our majority, and delivers the transformative legislation that we need to push back against what’s going on in our nation.”
Fetterman listed issues such as raising the minimum wage, universal healthcare, ending the war on drugs, legalizing marijuana, and protecting voting rights as some of the “transformative” policies he wants to enact.
On energy, Fetterman said he does not support the Green New Deal, instead, he is advocating for more gradual adoption of climate-friendly policies. He recognizes that communities such as Clarion depend on extractive industries (businesses that take raw materials from the earth), such as natural gas.
“We have to make sure that we’re honest as Democrats, and I’ve never taken any money from the energy industry, so all of my views are going to be consistent with what I actually believe,” he said.
“We have to honor jobs in the communities that rely on those kinds of industries. I do believe in climate change, and I do believe we have to transition to a clean, green economy, but we have to do it in a way that’s honest and in a way that takes care of those communities and those types of workers who depend on those types of industries. This is something we Democrats need to realize these industries and these jobs are important to the Commonwealth.”
Regarding the local forestry industry, Fetterman said he was against tariffs which would hurt the industry. He added want he wants to see is more American products.
“Forestry is important, and we need to create an environment where our timber and our products can compete, so I don’t think we would want any crippling tariffs or anything. We want them to have the best possible circumstances for them to fully compete in any market.”
Fetterman stressed he wanted to foster more American manufacturing and stated trade agreements need to be looked at through a more inward-looking lens which would protect American workers.
“I think we need to be more fundamentally pro-American when it comes to our trade agreements. We need to be more pro-American where we make our items. We need to be more pro-American with the kinds of policies we implement,” he said. “A lot of working-class voters walked away from the Democratic Party, and I would say it wasn’t without good reason with some of the trade deals and some of the policies of the past.”
On the proposed PennDOT tolling program of bridges, which would affect the Canoe Creek bridges in Clarion County and the North Fork bridges in Jefferson County, Fetterman said the bipartisan infrastructure bill has provided additional revenue for projects like this, but added that Pennsylvanians need to be open to alternative revenue sources.
He specifically mentioned the legalization of recreational marijuana as a policy that could bring billions in funds to the state.
“That’s an issue that has to be worked out at the state level and the municipal level, but I’ve always been about generating new revenue through other sources. Legalizing recreational marijuana, which a majority of Pennsylvanians want, would generate conservatively $2.5 billion over the next 20 years. I say to your voters here, if you’re upset about the idea of tolling on bridges, you really should support alternative revenue sources like legalizing marijuana because we all need to have good infrastructure.”
According to Fetterman, the way to bring economic development and opportunity begins with discussion at the local level.
Because he comes from a small, economically depressed town, he would ensure those places are a priority for him.
“First, I would make sure I hear from the local leaders themselves,” he said. “It all comes down to policies and resources, and I know that as well as anyone because how do you get things happening in a community that’s suffering from a lot of issues as mine was? It’s conversations with people to change the policy and deliver the resources that are necessary. If you come at it with a focus on ‘forgotten places,’ communities that have been left behind, to me that’s the kind of Senator I would be, and I would make that a priority.”
The visit to Clarion was organized by Clarion Area School Board member and Clarion Democrats committee member Braxton White and was hosted at Mechanistic Brewing Co. It was part of a five-county trip on Saturday for Fetterman, who also visited the AFSCME’s Hall (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees’ Hall) in Franklin in the afternoon.
Fetterman is the incumbent lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, having been elected to the position in 2018. Fetterman previously ran for Senate in 2016, though he did not make it out of his party’s primary.
A Pennsylvania native who grew up in York, Fetterman holds degrees from Albright College and Harvard University. He was the long-time mayor of Braddock, from 2006 to 2019.
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