West Chester University graduate Carolyn Comitta, is currently the State Representative for the 156th Legislative District and is running for the State Senate seat for the 19th District. She talked with “The Golden Word” podcast this week.
Rep. Comitta explained that she was recruited to run for State Senate when current Senator Dinniman decided to retire from his position.
“I believe that I will be able to be more impactful in the Senate, or at least as impactful as I have been in the House,” Comitta said.
Rep. Comitta’s background includes serving two terms as the mayor of West Chester, PA. She was also a member of Borough Council and The National League of Cities and Municipal League.
Although Rep. Comitta has plenty of government and public policy background, she has also been hands-on in the West Chester community. She is a member of the NAACP and has partnered with the West Chester University chapter for a voting engagement program. With a professional background in education, she also continues to mentor students.
With Election Day approaching, Rep. Comitta addressed the 2020 Presidential Election.
She described the trauma with COVID, police brutality and the economic crisis as some of the key issues in the United States. According to her, these are the issues that the American people want the presidential candidates to address.
Rep. Comitta expressed that it is very important for everyone to vote. She recalled the importance of the student vote when she was running for the State House of Representatives in 2016 against a three-term Republican incumbent, in a district with mostly Republican and moderate voters.
“It was the West Chester community students that put me over the top to win this seat,” she said.
There were over 400 overseas absentee ballots from Chester County, and 200 of those absentee ballots were from her district. West Chester University study abroad students made up the bulk of those voters and contributed to Rep. Comitta winning the election.
Similar to the 2016 Presidential Election, there are some voters who are still undecided on who they should vote for, while others do not know what reliable sources will inform them on what the candidates stand for.
“No one should sit home this year. Everyone should vote and work together to move the policies forward that matter the most to us. We’re shaping your future, and we want to shape a healthy future,” said Rep. Comitta.
Rep. Comitta also suggested that voters look up the candidates websites to see what they are in support of or search the League of Women Voters website, which has a good outline of what the candidates stand for and determines if the candidates’ beliefs align with their own.
The results of the Presidential Election are projected to take longer than usual due to more time needed to properly count, and recount, all of the mail-in ballots. However, Rep. Comitta does not believe that that should be a deterrent for voters from making their voices heard.
Chikayla Bariner is a fourth-year Political Science Major with Minors in Women’s & Gender Studies and Journalism. CB898616@wcupa.edu