A rematch in the 130th state House District race turned into a repeat as Republican David Maloney defeated Democratic challenger David Kessler.
The two first met in 2010 when Kessler held the eastern Berks County seat. An incumbent this time, Maloney won comfortably over Kessler, 10,968 votes to 6,723, according the unofficial vote tally on Berks County’s elections website.
“It’s very humbling to have those people who you serve come to your aid and volunteer their resources and their time and their vote,” Maloney said Tuesday, Nov. 4 night.
For his third term, Maloney, 54, hopes to continue work on property tax and pension reform.
He supported House Bill 76 (HB 76) which called for the removal of property taxes and replacing them with a higher sales and income tax to fund schools.
“Property tax is always number one” as an issue, Maloney told the Mercury last month.
Maloney also hopes to work on making “the job climate more conducive for our young people” and endorses expanding tax credits for vocational-technical schools as well as making apprentice-style training more available.
“Fifty percent of our college graduates are unemployed or underemployed but also in debt,” Maloney said in October. “If we can bring our high school graduates into a program where they can get a certification or apprenticeship, they could be trained as they’re needed, then already have a job in what arena they may pick.”
He also said he was in favor of expanding Marcellus Shale drilling in the state.
Kessler only entered the race in August after Russell Diesinger dropped out earlier in the summer due to concerns over funding for his campaign.
He also ran on a property tax reform platform but focused on narrowing property tax elimination to primary residences.
Maloney said he wasn’t surprised by any voting results Tuesday but wasn’t sure how some areas recently added back into the 130th district would vote.
“Because people know me from my past … I think some of the new district did really well,” Maloney said. “That wasn’t necessarily surprising but you never know it till you see the results.”
