Meet the Candidate

ZVALAREN, MICHAEL

Running For:

REPRESENTATIVE IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

District:

123

Political Affiliation:

DEM

Age:

Occupation:

Kitchen Designer

Education: (click to expand)

Biographical Info: (click to expand)

Michael Zvalaren was born in Ridgewood, NJ, and lived in West Paterson, NJ until the age of five. He and his family then moved to Hopatcong, NJ, where he spent the rest of his childhood. In spite of a chronic case of asthma that precluded more strenuous activities, he was involved in numerous extracurricular activities, from drama to music to academic bowl. He lettered in three different sports, sat First Seat All County as a trumpeter, and was the Vice President of the Chess Club. He began working at McDonals's at 15 and had held at least one job continuously ever since. After graduating high school, Michael went on to Seton Hall University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in only three years. There he continued to pursue his interest in music, playing in the Pirates Pep Band and singing in the university choir, all while working full time. He then attended Rutgers University in Newark, NJ, where he finished his MA in History three weeks before his 23rd birthday, still working a full-time job. After taking a few couple off from school to begin teaching as an Adjunct Professor, Michael began his Ph. D. Studies at Lehigh University in 2008. He continued to piece together a living for himself and his growing family while working toward his degree, adjuncting at multiple schools and working part-time as a kitchen designer. Three children, two advisors, and a pandemic later, Michael received his doctoral degree in History in May 2021. Michael came to live in Pennsylvania while attending Lehigh, and moved to Schuylkill Haven in 2019 to move closer to his work as a kitchen designer at MRD Lumber in Bethel. He has since made it his business to become as involved in the community as his busy schedule would allow, joining the Schuylkill County Historical Society, taking an active part in his three boys' extracurricular endeavors, and entering the world of politics through the Schuylkill County Democrats. He is a member of both the Pine Grove and the South Schuylkill Democrat Clubs, works with the Outreach and Young Democrat committees, and serves as the Secretary of the Schuylkill County Democrats' Executive Committee. It is Michael's great hope that his education, experience, and energy can be of use to the community as their next representative in Harrisburg.

Why are you running for office? (click to expand)

Survey

Response Legend

YYes
NNo
UUndecided
−Declined to Respond / Position Unknown / Unclear
*Comment
†Declined to respond, Position based on citation

Question	Response	Comments/Notes
1. Should education funding be available directly to families through a grant, scholarship, or education savings account so that parents can send their children to the school of their choice, including religious schools?	N*	Federal, state, and local funding should be earmarked for public schools that serve every child in the community.
2. Should marijuana be legalized and sold commercially for recreational use?	Y*	The only state bordering Pennsylvania to not have legalized recreational marijuana is West Virginia, meaning millions of Pennsylvanians are no more than a short drive from acquiring marijuana legally as it is. The Commonwealth is leaving hundreds of millions of tax dollars uncollected through refusing to do what nearly half the nation has already done. The lack of regulation of the industry means there is no control over potency, purity, and where and to whom marijuana is sold. Decriminalization of marijuana would also go a long way toward achieving social justice, ensuring marijuana offenses are no longer used to persecute the working class and people of color. Study after study has concluded marijauna to be a less dangerous substance than alcohol, which is available in every state in the Union and in everything from state stores to grocery stores to convenience stores in Pennsylvania. It is long past time for Pennsylvania to join the surrounding states in doing what is right for its people.
3. Should the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act be amended to include "sexual orientation" and "gender identity," which would require public schools and other public facilities to open up restrooms and locker rooms to members of the opposite sex?	Y*	Nearly every family in Pennsylvania lives in a home with one or more unisex bathrooms. Discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation is wrong, plain and simple. People should be able to use the bathroom of the gender with which they identify. There are vanishingly few instances of anyone abusing the law in states where discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation is illegal. Pennsylvania should be a leader in treating all human beings with the respect they deserve.
4. Should Pennsylvania enter into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which would include a new carbon tax on electricity producers?	Y*	Pennsylvania is a leader in both fossil fuel production and consumption, and needs to transition to a cleaner, greener future. The RGGI forces a reduction of emissions, and the carbon tax levied until those emissions are lessened can be allocated toward creating new, good-paying jobs in the clean energy sector, making it a true win-win for the Commonwealth.
5. Should increases in state government spending be limited to the rate of inflation plus population growth?	N*	State government spending should be limited by what the people of Pennsylvania need and nothing else. There will be lean years, and there will be bountiful years, but artificial austerity does no one any favors. The government's very function demands that it provides for its people, and the needs of the people are ever-changing in the modern world. The state budget must therefore be nimble enough to meet these changing times.
6. Should state taxpayer funding be allowed for elective abortions?	Y*	Abortion is medical care, elective or otherwise. As long as taxpayer funding is allowed for medical procedures, there is no reason to limit taxpayer funding for abortions.
7. Should all voters be required to show identification before voting?	N*	Voter ID laws are written to discriminate against people of color and working class people. There are vanishingly few cases of election fraud. Voter ID laws are a solution in search of a problem, and are simply not worth our attention when there are real concerns beating down our doors.
8. Should striking union members have access to unemployment compensation?	Y*	Collective action is a cornerstone of workers' rights, and limiting access to unemployment compensation for striking workers is simply a way for large corporations to wait them out and never address the systemic issues that brought on the strike in the first place.
9. Should public schools be prohibited from allowing males who identify as females to compete in girls’ sports?	N*	There are simply no cases of males pretending to be females so as to enter and dominate sports with "lesser" competition. Males who identify as females should be allowed to compete in girls' sports. Females who identify as males should also be allowed to compete in boys' sports.
10. Should schools have to post curriculum online for review by parents and taxpayers?	N*	A complete and diverse education is necessary to produce intelligent and functional members of society. The curricula taught in Pennsylvania's schools needs to introduce students to new ideas, challenge their preconceived notions, and teach them to be critical thinkers. Forcing schools to post curricula online for review by parents and taxpayers is culture war nonsense meant to grind the education system to a halt. Educators have spent their life learning their subjects, practicing their craft, and shaping young minds. They set the curricula because they are most qualified to do so.
11. Should funding for public and state-related universities follow the student rather than go directly to the institution?	N*	Funding "following the student" leads to layoffs when enrollment losses happen (as during the pandemic), prioritize attendance-taking over educating, and does not account for students in foster care, low-income students, migrants, or even homeless students, not to mention those that move and change districts during the year. Funding our school systems is paramount, and funding "following the student" is simply another way to take money from the public school system and funnel it to private schools and their wealthy clients.