CRANBERRY TWP — State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, now in his 18th year representing the people of the 12th House District, said cutting government spending and fighting for the taxpayer remain his priorities.

As a signer of the Americans For Tax Reform Taxpayer Protection Pledge, Metcalfe has pledged to never vote for a tax increase.

He did not budge from that position as the Legislature battled with Gov. Tom Wolf over the budget.

“The governor demanded tax increases to settle the budget. The Republican House stood strong together in demanding a budget with no tax increase. About two weeks ago we won,” he said.

Metcalfe of Cranberry Township on April 26 will face off against Gordon Marburger of Adams Township in the GOP primary for the party’s nomination in that district.

He is a veteran of the U.S. Army and worked in the private sector for 14 years, including for Dade Behring as a field engineer, before getting elected in 1998.

Metcalfe said he often hears from his constituents that government needs to limit spending and live within its means.

That means making cuts.

“Government budgets are always prime for finding areas to reduce spending because government is not asked to reduce spending like families or businesses are in this economy,” he said.

He said the budgets for welfare programs can be cut, and welfare spending has exceeded the allocation for kindergarten through 12th grade education.

The discretionary spending of the Department of Community and Economic Development also should be cut. By not itemizing projects, some of the money it spends is “hidden” in the budget, he said.

He has kept the costs of operating his 12th District office flat since 1998. Doing that has meant eliminating an office on Route 8, reducing staff from four to three full-time people and, most recently, cutting an eight-hours per week part-time staffer.

Another way to reduce state spending is through reforming the pension systems for municipal and school employees.

Metcalfe, who is chairman of the House State Government Committee, said what needs to happen is for all newly hired employees to go on plans that have a defined contribution instead of a defined benefit, similar to a 401k plan.

The Legislature passed a bill last year implementing a hybrid system hoping to reduce the financial burden of pensions for school districts and the state.

Metcalfe said he is opposed to a proposed bill that would give the task of redistricting legislative districts to an independent citizen’s commission.

An appointed committee would not be directly accountable to voters and it would be impossible to form one that was truly bipartisan, he said.

“I think that’s the wrong direction. I’m elected by my constituents to deal with the issue of redistricting,” he said.

The Republicans in the Legislature rejected Wolf’s proposal for a 5 percent severance tax on the natural gas industry, which he thought was a bad idea.

When it comes to business and industry, he said the state has more than enough regulation and taxation in place.

The permitting process for natural gas wells has also slowed down since Wolf took office, he said.

“They are attempting to impose stricter regulations on an industry that is already heavily regulated, and I think regulated enough,” he said.

Metcalfe opposes increasing the minimum wage. It would hurt job creation and hurt the cost of doing business, he said.

“You can’t dictate a higher wage. It’s not what free markets are about,” he said.

He was against a recently passed bill that would allow medical marijuana.

Marijuana is illegal by federal law and regulating and taxing the industry would be problematic for the state, he said.

“I do not believe it is a legitimate drug of treatment for a lot of the problems that are being advertised,” he said.

The 12th District covers Adams, Clinton, Cranberry, Forward, Middlesex and Penn townships as well as Callery, Mars, Seven Fields and Valencia.

The winner of Republican nomination will face Democratic candidate Christian Rieger of Cranberry Township, who is running unopposed in the primary.

Two years ago, Metcalfe beat Democrat Lisa Zucco in the general election.