Harold Hayes Brings Governor and Attorney General To Bensalem Rally
by Alex Lloyd Gross
The last time a democrat held the seat for state rep in Bensalem was in the 1970’s. Harold Hayes, a democrat is running and he thinks it is time he took over. He thinks he is able to do this job. A special election is going to be held on March 17, 2020 in Bensalem, to see who gets the job. Gene Digiralamo, the former state rep quit to become a commissioner in Bucks County. Part of the reason he left was the politics was too polarizing.
So, if Hayes gets the job, how will he handle that? “It’s talking with people. I can talk with people and relate to people. I did that for years when I had my own business,” Hayes said. He is a master plumber. It is a trade that is valuable. He found that out when he was door knocking for votes. “I knocked on this lady’s door and I was wearing my plumbers local jacket. She was having a problem with her garbage disposal and I took a look at it for her.” Hayes said. That’s one sure vote in his corner but it will take more.
Some of the issues facing Bensalem and Pennsylvania is the opioid crisis and Hayes wants to be front and center on that fight. Another fight is taxing the fracking industry. “We are one of the few states that allow these companies to come in, tear up our land while they make billions of dollars. That has to stop. We could get so much money for education and to keep our schools safe,” Hayes said in an interview. He blames lobbyist for keeping the taxman away from the fracking industry.
He is in favor of raising the state minimum wage to $15/hr. Just not all at once. “We should be paying people a livable wage and it should go up in increments, not holding them back. $7.25/hr is not a livable wage. You should only have to work one job, ” Hayes said. He called it “disgraceful” that bills to raise the wage sit in the labor and industry committee and no action is done.
Shootings are an everyday occurrence. Hayes is a supporter of the Second Amendment but is for increased background checks on people that want to own one. “I am not for a total ban at all, I need to keep people safe. That is done with sensible gun laws. I don’t know why a person needs to purchase 20,000 rounds of ammunition at a time. A member of my family, Former Philadelphia Police Officer Robert Hayes was shot and killed so I know first hand about gun violence,” Hayes said.
At the Trifecta sporting club in Trevose, Big name democrats such as Governor Tom Wolf showed up and he brought Attorney General Josh Shapiro with him. They told the crowd it was important to keep door knocking and touched on the same issues Hayes talked about. They are disgusted about hearing from people all over the state who need help because the minimum wage is stuck at $7.25/hr.. “:By putting in Howie Hayes, that’s just one more vote to take bills like this out of committee and bring it to reality. I will always support womens rights and a women’s right to choose,” Wolf said when talking about abortion.
The special election in Bensalem is March 17, 2020. April 26 is the state primary.