After winning the special election last April, Jeff Olsommer was sworn into office as PA state representative for the 139th district on May 21.  

As one of his constituents, I have received no fewer than four “official” mailings since then.  The most recent, an oversized postcard, featured 10 photographs with Rep. Olsommer in each one.

I appreciate communicating with constituents, but there is a limit. The taxpayers shouldn’t be funding—directly or indirectly—Rep. Olsommer’s election campaign.

Today I got an email from Rep. Olsommer’s office, a less costly way to communicate.  But the email wasn’t “official”—it was promoting a campaign event.  Donations were to be sent to the campaign address in Scranton.  Scranton isn’t in the 139th district. It is where the lobbying and campaign consulting firm running Rep. Olsommer’s campaign is located.

Rep. Olsommer does not support a woman’s right to control her own body, nor does he support the right to love and marry whom one chooses.  Just a few days ago, he voted to reduce funding for education by an astonishing 23 percent, citing his concerns about “fiscal responsibility” (which apparently does not extend to the cost of his promotional mailings).  

Like former Pike County Sheriff Phil Bueki, I’m supporting Robin Skibber’s bipartisan campaign for the 139th district. She is a native Pike Countian, was the longtime head of Pike County’s Area Agency on Aging and supports individual freedoms.

Sean Strub
Mayor, Milford Borough