Words by Danielle Manning
Over the years, I have connected with so many young people who are discontent and frustrated with the state of politics, but so few that are willing to do anything about it. In the last few years, I’ve met a student at my university who is going as far as to campaign for a position in office: Brian Doyle. This election season, Doyle is running for State Representative for Indiana County. As a Her Campus writer, I couldn’t help but be passionate about his platform and all he aims to do for women’s rights and the LGBTQIA+ community.
Not only is Brian Doyle a supporter of civil rights and reproductive rights, but he is also a young person with passion for the issues he campaigns for. Unlike many politicians, he belongs to an age group that is not often considered in public policy, but possesses strong voting power. For such a young politician, Doyle’s ambitions are huge and focused on investment in the Indiana community. The American public education system is drastically underfunded, and Doyle has noted that this funding is only increasing in issue, while decreasing in funds. He is dedicated to fighting for educators to earn a living wage, as well as advocating for public school funding to support students as well. Aside from strengthening public education, Brian Doyle has an ambition for bolstering the government with support of domestic abuse shelters and increasing demand for social workers. Doyle’s campaign is greatly concerned with protecting, supporting, and advocating for underrepresented and vulnerable populations.
Words by Tatiana Cleffi
I was given the opportunity to speak at IUP Democrats’ “Rally for Rights” last month, in which Brian Doyle also spoke, discussing the importance of reproductive rights in legislation and his plans to fight for these rights if elected to office. Brian is a senior history major at IUP; he is set to graduate this December. His dedication to the Indiana community can be seen through his involvement in community programs, such as organizing a clothing drive for the local area. Brian Doyle will be on the ballot this Tuesday, a candidate for State Representative of PA’s 62nd legislative district.
I had the opportunity to interview Doyle about his plans if elected to office. It is my sincerest hope you read his words and discover that he truly cares for his community, which is why he will fight for the legislation Pennsylvanians need.
Interview with Brian Doyle
By Tatiana Cleffi
Q: You are a current college student, set to graduate in December. The entirety of your campaign has been balanced with your academics and other commitments. What made you choose to run for state representative?
“That’s a great question. At the beginning of this year, what we saw in our community was people going without healthcare or food or the ability to pay rent because they lost their jobs from the pandemic or any other reason. One of those examples is here at IUP: we saw one in five faculty get laid off because of the restructuring of our state school system. We saw a lot of valued members of our community be left behind and it’s moments like these when the government should step in and send an olive branch to its people because we can only succeed together. We are already so fragmented and to leave valued community members behind is just not fair and I was heartbroken. I thought if I can give a fresh face, a fresh voice, someone to represent the struggles that I have seen personally, in Harrisburg, we can make some change.”
Q: What are your plans in office in regards to reproductive rights?
“Right now, what we are seeing this election, is that abortion rights and reproductive rights are on the ballot; it’s as simple as, over the summer, the Supreme Court repealed Roe v. Wade and, as of right now, it’s up to state legislatures to decide. Thankfully right now we have a Democratic governor who upholds these rights, but we may not after November 8th. As state representative, I would do everything in my power to block any bill that would intend to ban abortions or limit the access to reproductive care such as abortion, such as contraceptives, from being banned from our commonwealth. To go a step further, I believe we need to equip our citizens with proper sex education, expand access to contraceptives so we can equip our people with the proper tools they need to make safe decisions, to be informed, and to protect themselves and others.”
Q: How do you plan to unite Indiana county if elected?
“That’s definitely an important issue. A lot of people see our community, our current politics, as fractured, and I think that a big step is passing what is common sense legislature that a lot of people can agree on, on both sides of the aisle. One of the first events I held with my campaign was for the passing of legal recreational marijuana in our state, which is a very popular policy on both sides of the aisle. When you see something like that where people of both political thought can agree on that, and say, yeah let’s do that, well, why aren’t we doing that? That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to run, because there is so much gridlock, so much corruption, and we need someone calm and clear headed to speak up for what is the middleground in Harrisburg, and that is what I intend to do if elected state representative.”
Q: Which of your plans for office are you most passionate about, and why?
“I think one that is most personal to me is fighting for expanding access to healthcare and bringing Medicare for all people of Pennsylvania. When the pandemic first hit, my father was out of a job and my family was uninsured for a good number of months. That was a really scary place to be, especially when there is a global pandemic going on. Also, Medicare for all is one of the wedge issues that first got me interested in politics during the 2016 election. During the democratic primary, that was a big debate between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. So healthcare policy is one [policy] that I have read about a lot, and then to see it firsthand during the COVID-19 pandemic, I don’t know if that is my first priority, but it is definitely the one I am most passionate about and think would help the greatest number of people in our district just because we see people get laid off and then what was once provided by their work is all of a sudden gone. The application processes can be long and the quality of healthcare you get, if you get accepted, isn’t always assured. Sometimes you still end up having to pay and that can affect paying for groceries, paying for school supplies, paying your rent, so healthcare legislation regarding easier access is one topic that is very personal to me.”
Q: As you know, I am a nursing major and healthcare access is a very pertinent topic. How do you plan to ensure equitable healthcare access to Pennsylvanians?
“It is super important and one of the biggest issues that the Pennsylvanian government can do right now is put price caps on prescription drugs. A lot of people that get care and then go to the pharmacy find out they cannot afford the medicine that they need because it is so overinflated, not because of inflation we are seeing happening at the grocery store or at the gas pump. It is artificially marked up because these companies know they can get away with it. The government needs to put price caps on these [prescription drugs] so that people do not have to pay so much out of pocket expense just to get what they need to live their day-to-day lives. We need to also put accountability for these companies that try to get away with these practices. So many of the big businesses in Pennsylvania have been getting away with so much for too long, from this to union-busting, to overinflation, to disregard for their workers, it is completely unfair to the average person here in our commonwealth because they are constantly getting the short end of the stick and it is just not fair. By providing guaranteed healthcare through our government, by, at the very least, putting price caps on this care so people can afford it, that can make a huge difference in so many peoples’ lives because it is one less thing to worry about, and boy, wouldn’t we all love one less things to worry about at this time?”
Q: How do you intend to address the issue of domestic violence?
“That is a very big problem facing a lot of victims in our commonwealth right now, and I think we have a fundamental issue on how we tackle it. Right now, we expect the police to be a one-size-fits-all solution to domestic violence when, in reality, police are already overstretched as it is. They are not a one-size-fits-all; they have very specific training that doesn’t apply necessarily to all domestic violence cases. What the state needs to do is hire more social workers who have the equipment and training to handle these specific scenarios. The state also needs to fund and create shelters so victims of domestic abuse and violence can have somewhere to go so they aren’t necessarily trapped and so they have someone and somewhere to reach out to, so they can learn what they can do because I can only imagine the feeling of helplessness some people must feel. I think it is our responsibility as a community to give them the help they need.”
If you are registered to vote in Indiana County, I highly encourage you to consider Doyle for state representative when you vote at Zink Hall this Tuesday. Our rights truly do depend on it.