Pat Ritchie

Party: Democrat

Office: PA House ( District: 63 )

Pat Ritchie is originally from Pocono Lake, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Pocono Mountain West High School in 2019, then moved to Clarion. She graduated from Clarion University with an undergraduate degree in Library Science, with minors in both Political Science and Law, and a Certificate of Paralegal Studies. Ritchie will finish her Masters' in Library and Information Science in May of 2024. She started a business called Clarion Carrier LLC, in December of 2021 after discovering a lack of viable transportation options for a huge percentage of the residents of Clarion County. The business is also working in partnership with various organizations to get food products delivered to people who need them.

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Interviews

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On the Issues

See Pat Ritchie's stance on the issues.

What are your positions on economic policies (ex: inflation, taxes, regulations, etc.)?
Inflation is less of an issue than most people are led to believe. The higher prices people are experiencing every day are almost entirely due to corporate greed. We must pass windfall profits tax policies to ease price pain for normal, everyday consumers
What is your position on addressing the cost of housing?
Rent control works in 100% of the areas it has been implemented in, from NYC to Sacramento. I know Clarion and Kittanning aren't very big cities. Why should anyone here be allowed to charge $1,500 per month for a 1-bed, 1-bath apartment? Those are like...
What is your position on healthcare access?
32 of the world's 33 developed countries have been able to make national, single-payer (i.e. FREE to people having what is likely the worst day of their lives) healthcare work. I wonder why we haven't. Jokes aside, we need to abolish the very *concept*...
What is your position on immigration policy?
We're a nation of immigrants. We should be welcoming people who want a better life, not putting them in cages (like Republicans have been doing for decades now).
What is your position on abortion policy?
To quote the great Governor Tim Walz, "mind your own d*** business". The decision to abort a pregnancy is often one of, if not the single hardest decision for a person with a uterus to make in their life. It is not the job of a legislator to interfere...
What is your position on gun ownership policy?
No one needs to privately own an assault rifle. Period. (Note how my opponent proudly boasts about his NRA endorsement.) No one needs to be able to kill your children in a school without notice or consequence. We must fix this. Gun control legislation...
What is your position on environmental policy? (ex: addressing climate change, clean water, clean air, etc.)
I firmly believe we need to take drastic measures to curb the effects of climate change that we are already seeing every day. It is NOT supposed to be 70 degrees in OCTOBER in a place like Clarion. "It's the coldest summer of the rest of our lives."...
What is your position on LGBTQ rights? (ex: marriage, adoption, gender-affirming care, sports participation, etc.)
Live and let live. As an LGBT person myself (I am trans), I would not want a legislator telling me who I'm allowed to have in my bedroom or what healthcare I am allowed to receive. As a note, it's extremely weird that Republicans care what genitals...
What is your position on addressing lowering the cost of higher education in Pennsylvania?
Why lower what should be free? May I direct you to the UN Declaration on International Human RIghts, Article 26: "Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education...
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Please feel free to contact me if you need more information. patforpa63@gmail.com. If you'd like to learn more about me, visit patforpa.com.

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