This letter is in reply to an opinion letter that stated NEPA shouldn’t vote for Paige Cognetti because she didn’t grow up here; went to fancy schools, including Harvard; and is a “West Coast liberal.” 

The fact is, Republicans are afraid of a woman who is well educated and who will do a great job as Congresswoman. They have stooped so low as to publish a homophobic picture of Mayor Cognetti with a drag queen, using words to the effect that she will turn us into drag queens! Ridiculous is an understatement. Paige Cognetti has lived in Northeast PA for over 10 years. Attacking Paige Cognetti for not living here is hypocritical, since Republicans and Bresnahan had no problem telling people how great Sen. McCormick is, even though he voted in another state for 15 years before announcing his candidacy for the Senate. And what about Dr. Oz?

Paige Cognetti has also been attacked for being a millionaire, yet Rob Bresnahan’s net worth is $48 million to $69 million, with stock trades worth $7.24 million from stock trading—something he ran against. Cognetti’s net worth is considerably less.  

Rob Bresnahan ran on a platform of making insider trading illegal and always voting with his constituents’ best interests in mind. He lied, and when he took the oath of office, he immediately started trading stock for himself. All of his votes have been dictated by Trump and have hurt his constituents, particularly the funding bill, which will gut Medicaid, Medicare and SNAP and could result in the closure of our hospitals!  

He also voted to suppress voting rights. Unlike Rob Bresnahan, who is afraid of having a town hall, Paige is always outside meeting with the people of Scranton. Paige Cognetti has turned Scranton around, taken on special interests and corruption, and is doing a great job. 

I have lived in NEPA for 40 years, and I believe we need someone who is really going to represent us and not be a rubber stamp for a president who doesn’t care for the working people of this country. I believe Paige Cognetti is the person we can rely on to represent NEPA in Congress with pride.

Jane Creteau
Lakeville, PA