Libertarian party candidate David Gann, of Cherry Township, is running in the November election to represent the 17th district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Gann is challenging incumbent Republican Tim Bonner. No Democratic Party candidate is in the race.
A restaurant equipment service technician and Army veteran who is from Dallas. Gann said he supports a stronger local government and more local control over law enforcement and education.
“I’m running because I’m unhappy with the way things are going. I want to see more things handled at the local level by townships, boroughs and towns. That way voters have more say so,” Gann said.
He said county sheriffs should have more law enforcement authority, and patrol officers employed by the county could respond to incidents quicker than state police. Sheriffs are accountable to the public, he said.
“Nothing against the state police. They do a good job, but they are spread too thin,” Gann said.
Schools in the county are “not bad,” but school boards should have more authority over how children are educated, he said.
“I’d like to see county commissioners take more of a lead on school boards instead of letting the state and federal government dictate what they do. Schools here are not bad, but school boards should have more say so in how kids are educated.
“I think people at the local level can handle things better. The leaders are your neighbors, so they will try to make things right. Once they go to Harrisburg or Washington, D.C., they lose a lot,” Gann said.
He said he was a member of the Democratic Party in his younger years and later switched to the Republican Party, but joined the Libertarians in 1992 after becoming disillusioned with both mainstream parties.
“They look out for personal responsibility, personal liberty — they’re not trying to tell people what they can and can’t do,” Gann said. “If a guy and another guy want to date – who cares – it’s between two adults. Marijuana — treat it like alcohol — as long as you’re not harming somebody else.”
He said the war on drugs never has been successful.
Gann, who also runs a local campground, said he and his husband have been together for 29 years. He said he moved to Pennsylvania in 2003.
The district consists of Bruin, Cherry Valley, Eau Claire, Fairview, Harrisville, Karns City, Petrolia and Slippery Rock; and Allegheny, Cherry, Concord, Fairview, Marion, Mercer, Parker, Slippery Rock, Venango and Washington townships, and part of Mercer County.
