Q&A With PA Legislative District 25 Candidate Mike Doyle

Three people will run in the for two places on the November ballot for the Pennsylvania Legislative District 25 seat.

Republicans Mike Doyle of Plum and John Yakim of Monroeville will face off for the party nomination in the primary. The winner will run against Democrat Joe Markosek, a 30-year incumbent from Monroeville, in November.

Legislative District 25 covers , Monroeville, Pitcairn, Murrysville, North Versailles, Trafford and Wall. For a full map of the areas in the 25th District, click here.

Below is a Q&A with candidate Mike Doyle, a Plum Councilman. This is his second time running for state rep—he lost to Markosek in the 2010 general election. For an article about .

Patch: Take us up to speed on your background.
 
I am the Vice President at Excalibur Insurance Management Services in Pittsburgh. I have been there for 21 years. I have been a Plum Borough Councilman since 2005, and have been president for the last three years. I am a member of Church in Plum and various other professional organizations.

I have been married to my wife, Susan, for 16 years. We have two children, Alyssa, 14, and Aidan, 9.

Patch: Why are you interested in running?
 
For me, its about serving your community and giving something back.  Further, I do not like what has been coming out of Harrisburg.  We can—and must—do better. It's time Harrisburg politicians start running the government like you and I run our households. In Plum, we've actually shrunk the size of our budget. It's time for Harrisburg to do the same.
 
Patch: There are many people who are comfortable with Rep. Joe Markosek having been in office for almost 30 years. What do you want to tell those people?
 
I've knocked on thousand of doors over the last few years.  When I tell people that Joe has been in office now for 30 years, the overwhelming majority, Republican and Democrat, agree with me—it's time for new blood, it's time for a change and it's time for new ideas.
 
Patch: What makes you a qualified candidate?
 
I have more than 23 years of work experience in the real world—balancing budgets, managing staffs and running an insurance company branch office.  Also, my experience as a Plum Borough Councilman has been an invaluable resource. Since 2007, Plum's budget has only increased by 4.8 percent. When you factor in Union CBA's with their annual increases and capital purchases (such as plow trucks, police cars, etc.) this is unheard of, and I will challenge anyone to find a community of our size that can make the same claim. By the way, we also hired more police officers in that same time period.  That is the kind of fiscal discipline we need in Harrisburg.  It can be done!
 
Patch: What are some of the issues affecting this congressional district that you'd like to address?
 
The single largest issue not only affects PA-25, but also our entire state, is jobs. PA has one of the highest corporate taxes in the United States. This must be addressed. Waste and fraud are high on my list as well. Not to mention the need the to look into serious solutions to our state's crumbling infrastructure and the easing of strangling regulations. It's time to open our State up for business.
 
Patch: What changes would you like to see if you take office? How would you take steps to implement those changes?

I will work with legislators to eliminate per diems and to move from state pension to 401K plans.  It's time for our elected officials to lead by example and actually do the right thing for a change. Joe [Markosek] accepted almost $27,000 in per diems last year alone on top of his $100,000 salary. I will not take per diems!
 
Patch: Have you received any big endorsements? If so, who?
 
The Plum Borough Republican Committee and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette have endorsed me.

For more information about Doyle's campaign, see www.pa4mikedoyle.com, his Twitter page or Facebook.

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