134th DISTRICT

Small businessman and Lower Macungie Township Commissioner Ronald W. Beitler recently announced his decision to enter the race to succeed State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in the 134th State House district.

Mackenzie will run for the seat of Charlie Dent who will not seek an eighth term in the 15th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“By now, it’s no secret that Harrisburg is a mess. What has been a well-kept secret is that the problems can be fixed by honesty, integrity and common sense,” Beitler said in his official press release announcing his candidacy.

Beitler has promised to term limit himself to a total of eight years in office. “If you can’t get the job done in that time, then you shouldn’t be there.”

Beitler also has signed a pledge to reject a government pension stating, “Service is a calling, not a career path – my small business is my career, and when I get the job done in Harrisburg I’ll come home to that.”

A fiscal hawk who reduced spending, opposed debt, lowered tax bills and worked to block waste while serving in Lower Macungie, Beitler has said he will support an amendment to the state constitution limiting spending increases.

“Government needs to live within the same constraints that we do,” Beitler commented in his press release.

Beitler launched his own small business a decade ago. The business now employs eight people.

Though his business is successful, one year ago he took on a second job tending bar to cover the rising cost of health insurance premiums in the wake of Obamacare. “I understand the struggles of middle class Pennsylvanians, because I am one,” Beitler said.

“As someone who built a business from the ground up, I know that you can’t spend more than you bring in and then borrow to fill the gaps. This simply passes debt along to our children, which is irresponsible,” Beitler said. “It’s time that the laws of economics applied to government as well.”

Born and raised in the district, Beitler is a graduate of Emmaus High School and Slippery Rock State University. He resides in Lower Macungie with his wife, Amanda, their nine-month-old daughter, Cecilia Adeline and their family dog Ellie Mae.