PORTERSVILLE — Republican gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Scott Wagner on Saturday told the breakfast crowd at Brown’s County Kitchen that he would eliminate school district property taxes if he is elected governor.

“If you vote for me and I become governor, I’m going to eliminate the school taxes on your home,” said Wagner, who represents the 28th District in the state Senate.

Wagner spent a couple hours at the restaurant meeting people and helping the staff bus tables and wash dishes before visiting Adams Manufacturing for a tour of the facility.

In his campaign to unseat Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, Wagner said people tell him they are concerned about the heroin and opioid crises, jobs, education, mental health services, veteran services, education, jobs and school safety.

The day after the election, if he wins, he said he will announce plans to provide metal detection scanners to schools.

Wagner said he would “reinvent” the education system to train students to be able to fill the 200,000 to 400,000 open skilled labor jobs in the state, but added drug use is part of the reason those jobs have gone unfilled.

“Everybody says (applicants) can’t pass a drug test,” Wagner said. “This drug testing situation is really bad.”

The owner of a sanitation company, Wagner said he employees 250 truck drivers.

If elected, he said he would hold a summit before he takes office to announce his plan to address the heroin and opioid crisis.

“We’re bringing the hammer down on this crisis,” Wagner said.

Bea Turner of Worth Township came to the restaurant to show support for Wagner.

“He is the epitome of what we want in a governor. He’s fiscally conservative and won’t waste money,” Turner said. “As a governor he would turn this state around the same way (President Donald) Trump is. He’s what I’ve been looking for since (Gov.) Dick Thornburgh.”

Bill Adams, owner of Adams Manufacturing, also said Wagner’s conservative approach to spending is needed to avoid future debt.

“We’re driving our children and grandchildren into debt,” Adams said.

He said people don’t get enough in return for the taxes they pay and property taxes should be reduced.

Joe Shaffer of McKeesport, Allegheny County, and his family stopped for breakfast on their way to Erie.

He said he hasn’t decided who he will vote for in the gubernatorial election, but he liked what Wagner said.

“He said all the right things. He has a lot of work to do (to defeat Wolf),” Shaffer said.

Bob Craig, the Central District chairman for the Butler County Republican Party, said he appreciated Wagner’s visit.

“It’s wonderful. He gets deep in the trenches. There’s a lot of work to do, but he’s up to it,” Craig said.

Wil Matheny and his brother, Jake Matheny, got some help washing dishes from Wagner.

“That was very nice of him. Very kind,” Wil Matheny said.

Restaurant owner Harold Brown said Wagner’s visit added some excitement to breakfast, which draws a big crowd every Saturday.

He said it wasn’t the first time elected officials have made campaign stops in his eatery. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-3rd, have visited the restaurant in the past.