Downingtown mayor joins crowded field for new state rep. district
By Mike McGann, Editor, CoatesvilleTimes.com
Downingtown Mayor Josh Maxwell announces Tuesday night that he will run for State Representative in the 45th District.
DOWNINGTOWN — In what might have been the worst-kept secret since Mitt Romney announced his current run for president, borough Mayor Josh Maxwell threw his hat into an increasingly crowded ring for the new 45th State House seat.
The mayor, just two years into his first term, made his formal announcement Tuesday night in front of a packed room of family, friends and supporters in Borough Hall.
Maxwell, 28, faces competition from Caln Commissioner Joshua Young as well as Barry Cassidy in the Democratic primary; meanwhile Republicans Harry Lewis — a popular former Coatesville High School principal — Chruck Kramer, also a Caln Commissioner, and Doug Castaldi, a state constable from Downingtown are also running.
The new 45th, comprised of Caln, Coatesville, Downingtown, East Caln, East Fallowfield, Modena, Parkesburg, Sadsbury, South Coatesville and Valley, is a newly created district moved to the area from the western side of the state — and is seen a Democratic-leaning district.
Although Maxwell trumpeted his “reform” credentials — wanting to talk term limits and declining the perks of office if elected — he was forced to address what could be his biggest hurdle in terms of the April 24 primary: his August arrest on charges of driving under the influence. His charges were diverted, as a first offender, and could be expunged if he meets all of the requirements through the Chester County Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition Program.
“I made a mistake,” Maxwell said immediately after his announcement. “Through hard work, I believe I’ve overcome it. It’s something that I can learn from — and maybe be a lesson for others.”
When asked, Maxwell said the arrest has not been an issue in the borough — not one constituent, he said, has mentioned it to him. He pointed to the election of Alex Rakoff — a Borough Council candidate he supported in last year’s election — that the arrest hasn’t hurt his ability to lead, either operationally or politically. Maxwell hasn’t been shy about being willing to talk about the incident, hitting the local airwaves of late to talk about it, among other things.
Moving past that, Maxwell, wanted to talk about how he would differentiate himself from Young and Cassidy — all of whom are talking about school funding, jobs and other policy issues and seem to be on much the same page. The Mayor said he would only serve two terms if elected — in part to avoid being put into the state pension system. He said he would take the train to Harrisburg to avoid taking per diem, not take a state car and decline any pay raises.
“I’m not interested in being a career representative,” he said.
He said he thinks his experience as mayor with a Republican-controlled Borough Council gives him experience in working across the aisle without the acrimony seen currently in the state legislature.
That having been said, he made it clear he has deep issues with the Corbett Administration and its move last year to slash spending on public schools and state universities, all while declining to collect taxes on natural gas extracted from the Marcellus Shale region.
“Texas has an extraction tax, it doesn’t seem to be a problem (there), so why can’t we do it?” he asked. He also called for taxes on smokeless tobacco.
“We’re 38th in funding education out of 50 states,” he said. “There are things we can do (the extraction tax and smokeless tobacco) to improve that without hurting the middle class.”
With just under three months before the primary, Maxwell acknowledges that Young and Cassidy have some advantage in fund raising and organizing by announcing late last year, but he felt he had to go a process before deciding to run. Just jumping into the race, he suggested, without carefully considering it would have been a mistake.
“I wanted to talk to people in the party to see what kind of support I had,” he said.
And while he feels he has solid support, he acknowledges that he might not get the official party endorsement when the party gathers next Wednesday. Endorsement or not, Maxwell said he expected to stay in the race through the primary, but pledged to support the eventual Democratic nominee.
