What’s at stake: Democrat Ashlee Caul is challenging incumbent Republican state Rep. Josh Kail in the 15th state House District. Hunting and agriculture are big in the 15th; it’s also home to the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station and the embattled Shell ethylene cracker plant. The collapse of the steel industry has driven down the population districtwide during the past several decades; communities also grapple with pollution remaining from coal mining. The district encompasses communities in both Beaver County (townships include Brighton and Independence plus several boroughs including Beaver) and Washington County (11 townships including Smith and the boroughs of Burgettstown, Claysville, Midway and West Middletown).
District map:
Ashlee Caul
Ashlee Caul says she decided to run for office because “things that I view as important … aren’t going anywhere” after years of working locally on state issues such as election reform. She co-chaired the Beaver County chapter of Fair Districts PA, a statewide effort to amend Pennsylvania’s controversial process for mapping voting districts that she says left her well-versed in reading and creating state legislation. If elected, Caul would poll her constituents on key issues through emails and phone calls. She also says she would hope to serve on the Consumer Protection, Education and Agriculture & Rural Affairs committees.
Party: Democratic
Place of residence: Independence Township, Beaver County
Education BFA, New York University
Current occupation: Computer programmer/analyst
Related experience: Beaver County Democratic Committee (2017–present); Co-chair, Fair Districts PA, Beaver County (2018–2020)
Supporters/endorsements: Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, Steel City Stonewall Democrats, Clean Air Action Fund, Contest Every Race
Links: Website | Facebook | LinkedIn
Total fundraising (reported as of 9/30/24):
Total raised (2024): $4,194.00
Total spent (2024): $814.78
WESA Candidate Survey
State policies can help determine the health of the local economy — by adjusting tax rates, imposing or relaxing regulations, and so on. What policies do you think Harrisburg should pursue to improve the state's economic performance?
The Keystone Fresh Act (HB2420) sets up a framework for PA school districts to purchase more local food from local farms. This bill passed the PA House and has not moved in the PA Senate. Some legislators expressed concern that the bill specifically excluded "liquid milk." There are a lot of dairy farms in House District 15, and I share that concern. Changing the system for funding Pennsylvania public schools will also help to improve local economies for all property owners, especially farmers, who tend to own a lot of land.
Pennsylvania’s approach to education funding, which relies heavily on local property taxes, has long been criticized for burdening homeowners and for creating gaps between rich and poor communities. What should the legislature do to address those concerns, and are there other reforms you think are needed to improve the education students receive?
In 2023, the PA Commonwealth Court ruled that the PA school funding system is unconstitutional. I favor shifting some of the burden to the state budget and calculating a viable amount for each district to contribute based on the local economy. According to a report by WESA, "As of October 2023, school districts across Pennsylvania reported 2,000 teacher vacancies and another 6,500 are teaching on emergency certificates. An added concern is that the teacher attrition rate is 6%." I support setting a minimum salary for public school teachers at $60,000 to attract new professionals to the field.
Nearby states have legalized the adult recreational use of marijuana, and there have been proposals to do so in Pennsylvania, possibly through new distributors or through existing state stores or medical marijuana dispensaries. Do you support legalization, and if so, who should be allowed to sell the product?
I could support legalization depending on the terms. I believe that the sellers of recreational use marijuana should be required to be trained on marijuana use and on safety precautions and emergency care for known side effects. As such, pharmacies might be a good first step in licensing distributors with pharmacists serving the role of educated dispenser, even if the use is over-the-counter and not by prescription. Other types of distributors might become licensed after a trial run with pharmacies.
Arguments over voting provisions — such as mail-in balloting, "drop boxes" and voter verification requirements — have become a part of the electoral landscape. How well do you think our election systems work now, and what if any changes to our state voting laws would you support?
Voting is one of the most important tools that individual voters and the citizenry as a whole have to choose and to manage our government. It is the duty of the government to make voting as easy, thorough, and secure as possible. I favor requiring county election offices to notify mail voters directly when a returned ballot is invalid. I favor requiring the United States Postal Service to prioritize delivering ballots to voters and delivering returned ballots to the county elections office. I favor providing multiple secured drop boxes for voters to drop returned mail ballots 24 hours per day.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022, there have been discussions in state capitals across the country about whether to limit abortion access or expand it. What changes, if any, would you favor to the state's current abortion laws?
I favor changing the law to include clear and specific language defining that naturally occurring fetal or newborn death, such as a miscarriage or stillbirth, is not the same as abortion. I favor changing the law to include clear and specific language defining that a hospital, facility, medical facility, or medical personnel that would otherwise be required to provide emergency medical care shall not prohibit or deny medical care to a woman who is experiencing a miscarriage or stillbirth even if such care includes one or more procedures that are or could be considered abortive.
Josh Kail
Josh Kail, serving his third term in Harrisburg, is the state House Republican Policy Committee Chair and sits on the Rules Committee. Kail is co-sponsoring legislation this session that would let small businesses carry over net operating losses within federal limits when filing state taxes (as permitted in all but two states). He’s also backing bills that would cut the corporate net income tax rate to 4 percent (from 8.99 percent). Kail was among three Republican lawmakers leading the effort to impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner (which did not happen). During college, Kail interned for the late U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter while Specter was affiliated with the GOP (he’d switched from Democrat to Republican and back again during his long career in politics).
Party: Republican
Place of residence: Beaver
Education: B.A., Geneva College; J.D., Regent University School of Law
Current occupation: Pennsylvania House of Representatives (2018–present); attorney
Related experience: Attorney in private practice focused on representing small businesses and municipalities (2013–present); law clerk, Beaver County Court of Common Pleas (2012–2013)
Supporters/endorsements: None provided by candidate
Links: Website | Facebook
Total fundraising (reported as of 9/30/24):
Total raised (2024): $193,239.85 (2023 ending cash balance: $11,857.05)
Total spent (2024): $61,160.96
Further reading: “Lawmakers accepted trips from lobbyists, others seeking to influence state” (Stephen Caruso, Spotlight PA)
WESA Candidate Survey
Kail did not respond to the WESA Candidate Survey.
