LANCASTER TWP — A Butler County Democratic committeeman from Lancaster Township is launching a write-in campaign in the April 26 primary as he seeks to get his name on the November general election ballot.

David Kerr, 67, of Southview Drive said he is running because he is “disgusted” with Republican obstructionism in both the federal and state government.

Kerr needs to get 500 votes to be the Democratic party’s nominee. If he succeeds, he would face incumbent Rep. Jim Marshall, R-14th, in the November election.

“We need some Democrats in the state Legislature who will work with Governor Wolf to accomplish goals that the electorate endorsed when they elected him,” Kerr said in a news release. “I would not be running unless I knew that I could make a difference.”

Kerr worked for 25 years as a business executive, as well as being self-employed. He was a truck driver for five years and served as a community organizer in Baltimore.

He attended the University of Pittsburgh, but dropped out his senior year after majoring in history and political science.

He is a past board member of the Pittsburgh Urban League, and served “many years” as a board member of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, where he was board president.

Kerr also is affiliated with Teamsters Local 636 in Pittsburgh and the International Longshoreman’s Association Local 333 in Baltimore.

In his announcement, Kerr advocates raising Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, reforming the state’s criminal justice system, and cutting the size of the state legislature. Kerr also said that he wants to impose term limits on state lawmakers, cut their pay and benefits, and stop unconventional drilling, called fracking, entirely.

He called himself a “self-avowed liberal.”

Kerr and his wife, Georgiann, have three adult children.