Remember Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Mike Turzai, who denounced public schools as a “monopoly, and expressed his contempt for public school teachers as a “special interest group”?
He will have a Democratic challenger in the next election. Emily Skopov is the daughter of a public school teacher and an activist. Read her biography and learn about her project called “No Crayon Left Behind.”
Emily Skopov will challenge Pa. House Speaker Mike Turzai again in 2020
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE localnews@post-gazette.com AUG 1, 2019
After losing by almost 9 percentage points in 2018, Marshall Democrat Emily Skopov said today that she will again challenge Pennsylvania State House Speaker Mike Turzai for the 28th Legislative District seat. Mr. Turzai, a Republican, has held the seat since 2001 and been the House speaker since 2015. Democrats have challenged him six times, but Ms. Skopov, riding a wave of Democratic energy following President Donald Trump’s election in 2016, was the first to get within 10 points. The 28th District is located entirely within Allegheny County, and includes Pine, Bradford Woods, McCandless, Franklin Park and Marshall. In a press release announcing her run, Ms. Skopov argued she could win because of “demographic and ideological shifts” in the district. “This district is one of the few in Pennsylvania to be currently experiencing unprecedented growth. Mr. Turzai has demonstrated an inability to recognize, let alone understand, these changes and the changing needs and priorities of the residents that he purports to represent,” she said.
Everyone who loves their public schools and respects teachers as dedicated professionals should support Emily Skopov. Every parent of public school children in the 28th District should support her. Turzai will be funded by Betsy DeVos. Emily Skopov needs our help.
District 28 needs a leader, not a DeVos puppet.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Pennsylvania desperately needs change in the legislature. The disinvestment in public education and reckless spending on privatization have downgraded the Commonwealth to investors. Ms Skopov sounds like a much needed antidote to privatization poison in the legislature.
Turzai, the privatizing politician, is featured in a 10-22-2019 article by Spotlight PA, powered by The Inquirer, “Penn. State Lawmakers are Hiding Millions in Campaign Spending. And, It’s Legal.”
Penn state law requires about the least campaign spending information of any state.
You can read more about Emily (and make a donation if you’d like) on her website: https://www.electemily4pa.com/ Thank you so much!