Taylor Picone, a 31 year old, long time Pennsylvania resident, and currently serving Captain with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard announced this month that he will seek to represent the 124th District in Pennsylvania’s General Assembly in 2020 as a democrat.
The district includes parts of Berks, Schuylkill, and Carbon counties and is currently represented by Jerry Knowles (R).
Among his reasons for seeking election, Picone says there is a current lack of proactive leadership and representation for all constituents, as well as the need for a fresh perspective to represent the voices of PA 124.
In addition to his 13 years with the PA ARNG, Taylor spent four years working at the United States Property and Fiscal Office for Pennsylvania and most recently worked for Norfolk Southern Railroad in Harrisburg. Taylor is currently studying for a masters in public administration at Villanova University.
Taylor resides in Windsor Township, Berks County, with his wife, Carrie, who he met and married at Valley Forge Military Academy. The same academy where they both earned their commissions into the United States Army. Taylor has served on assignments that include emergency response for natural disasters in Pennsylvania, Texas, and Florida, special security events such as Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia in 2015, and an overseas deployment in 2012-2013.
Taylor believes it is important that his generation start to get involved in problem solving for our world. Hey says his generation has shouldered incredible burdens including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, rising costs of college and prescription drugs, stagnant wages, and disappearing jobs from small communities. Taylor believes it is his responsibility to start putting his generation into positions where these problems are being debated and solved. He say he recognizes that “age does not determine the value of your voice, but it often influences what your voice is talking about, and if my generation does not get involved, that is nobody’s fault but our own.”
Taylor wants to ensure that Pennsylvania is not left behind. He believes we are at a critical decision point for the future of Pennsylvania’s rural economy. Whether we embark on a proactive approach or not, will matter exponentially in the future. He says he recognizes that we need to find a balance between honoring our heritage and being on the leading front of new industries.
Taylor explains it like this “People are frustrated that they are being left behind as their jobs leave. While we talk about eliminating fossils fuels and growing the renewable energy industry, those new jobs aren’t coming to coal country! I will fight to bring opportunities to the 124th.”
Taylor says he believes we need leadership who is going to fight for those industries, jobs, and opportunities to come to the 124th and take a proactive approach towards the future of our communities and jobs.
Taylor says he knows it is important that elected officials represent all of their constituents and not just the ones who vote for them. “Our job as elected officials is to represent and care for all voices and we can’t do that effectively if we are the ones encouraging partisan divisions.”
Taylor strongly believes that working together is always more productive than standing alone and he recognizes that we have done this to ourselves by rewarding politicians for “being against the other team” instead of being “for the people”.
"We can’t make everyone happy all the time, but we should be working hard to get the best solutions we can and legislate in a way that improves the quality of life for the most Pennsylvanians and communities. That can’t happen if we don’t work together. No party and no politician has the monopoly on good ideas." said Piccone.
Taylor, a former republican, believes that we have more in common than what separates us, namely American values such as the importance of family, love of country, and liberty and justice for all.
When elected Taylor says he plans to focus on eliminating school property tax, supporting law enforcement in combating the opioid crisis and supporting community lead programs that assist recovering addicts reintegrate into the community and maintain sobriety, fighting to bring economic opportunities to the district, capping costs of prescription drugs like insulin, and improving broad band internet access in rural Pennsylvania.