Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 178 candidate surveys, 2022

Elections in Pennsylvania, 2022

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On the ballot: U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • Local ballot measures • Municipal

This article shows responses from candidates in the 2022 election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 178 who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

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• Click here to see Candidate Connection survey responses.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 178

Kristin Marcell defeated Ilya Breyman in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 178 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kristin Marcell (R)	56.6	20,075
		Ilya Breyman (D)	43.4	15,410

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 35,485
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Brittany Kosin (L)

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

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Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Ilya Breyman (D)

We must start mending divisions caused by political polarization and partisan bickering.

We must invest in people by improving our education system, leveling the playing field for Pennsylvanian workers and small businesses, and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to realize their American dream

We must protect the rights that previous generations of Americans have fought for with their blood, sweat, and tears

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Ilya Breyman (D)

Education quality and access

Smart community-driven investments in infrastructure Election reform - ending partisan gerrymandering, repealing closed primaries and introducing ranked choice voting Child care access and affordability Supporting small business and innovation

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Ilya Breyman (D)

My mother. She came to the US when she was 39, bringing me and my sister in search of the American dream. She spoke very little English and worked as a substitute teacher in the mornings and afternoons and as a child care assistant in the evenings so that we could afford to live in one of the best school districts in PA. While working full time she started her own early education business at home which grew into two early education centers serving 500 children. Her hard work, enterprising spirit, and desire to serve the community are incredibly inspiring and epitomize the Promise of America that attracted so many immigrants before her and will continue to attract in the future making America truly great.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Ilya Breyman (D)

Empathy, transparency, and openness to new ideas

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Ilya Breyman (D)

As an entrepreneur, I constantly have to think outside the box and look for innovative solutions. I am not afraid of hard problems because doing what’s right is never easy. I am open-minded and am always looking for opportunities to collaborate and pursue shared goals. These qualities would allow me to break outside of the political binary and work with anyone who is willing to find solutions that benefit all Pennsylvanians

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Ilya Breyman (D)

The core responsibilities are to ensure that Pennsylvanians’ hard-earned tax dollars are spent in the most responsible way and to serve as a liaison between my constituents and state government agencies in matters that are important to them.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Ilya Breyman (D)

I would like to be remembered as someone who helped promote unity and bridge the partisan divide.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Ilya Breyman (D)

The collapse of the Soviet Union. I was 6 and I was still living in Leningrad. It was a moment of hope when I felt that freedom and democracy might endure after the fall of authoritarianism

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Ilya Breyman (D)

My first job was when I just started college. One of the upperclassmen in the Jewish Student Association introduced me to the college Rabbi who was looking for a secretary. I did the job for a year as a freshman, was paid $6.5/hour and had the opportunity to learn from one of the wisest people I've known - Rabbi Harold White - the first Jewish chaplain at a Jesuit university in the US

What is your favorite book? Why?

Ilya Breyman (D)

The Three Musketeers by Dumas. Ever since I was a kid, I loved reading historical fiction and non-fiction and I always loved the Dumas’ trilogy because its characters are portrayed as regular human beings with all their flaws, but at the same time they show how one can love, be patriotic, courageous, and do what is right no matter the cost.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Ilya Breyman (D)

Jamie Fraser from Outlander - he can be strong and vulnerable at the same time, he is open-minded, loyal to his family and to his country, and ready to sacrifice so much to fight for what is right

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Ilya Breyman (D)

Believer by Imagine Dragons

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Ilya Breyman (D)

I came to the US when I was 16 and I still have an accent.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

Ilya Breyman (D)

They should collaborate in the best interest of all Pennsylvanians setting aside their political agenda when decisions have to be made.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Ilya Breyman (D)

Our greatest challenge will be overcoming the partisan divide and deep-rooted distrust in our institutions and career politicians, who would need to earn back people’s respect and trust by putting aside their differences and working together to benefit all people in the Commonwealth

What are the benefits and drawbacks of a unicameral state legislature, in your opinion?

Ilya Breyman (D)

Unicameral state legislatures cost less to taxpayers and can pass bills more rapidly. It’s also much more difficult for them to avoid responsibility because passing the buck to the upper or lower chamber isn’t an option. It does guarantee that, in a two-party system one party will always control the legislature, whereas in a bicameral system it is possible that the two chambers can be controlled by different parties which forces them to find common ground.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Ilya Breyman (D)

It can be useful because this way state legislators don’t need to learn how the government works on the job. At the same time, those state legislators who have experience in government or politics may have too many conflicting ties and relationships which would limit their ability to represent their constituents. Having real life experience and knowing their constituents’ needs is much more important, in my opinion, than having experience in government or politics

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Ilya Breyman (D)

It’s not just beneficial - it’s mandatory. Lawmaking is a collaborative effort and the best laws take multiple points of view into consideration. Other legislators have different personal experiences and different constituencies and can offer a different perspective. These relationships would allow me to learn from them and become a better legislator myself. They would also allow me to overcome the partisan gridlock that, unfortunately, many legislators find themselves in

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Ilya Breyman (D)

I believe that politicians should never be in charge of the process of redistricting. If one person, one vote to actually be operable for all Americans, we must remove the ability of any majority party to rig an election in its favor. When politicians choose the boundaries of political districts, they are, in effect, choosing their voters, rather than the voters choosing them. I believe that the best way to accomplish this is by placing the powers of the decennial redistricting process in the hands of non-partisan commissions of experts in the field, with their work being appealable only to the courts, and not “correctable” by the legislature, no matter the size of the their majority. Partisan elected politicians have shown time and again that if you give them an inch, they will take a mile, and if a redistricting commission allows for the legislature to place its thumbs on the scales, the legislature will, almost invariably, do exactly that, eventually to such an extent that the redistricting commissions work becomes functionally meaningless. I believe that the act of partisan gerrymandering is an existential threat to the survival of the Republic. For any democracy, it is important that citizens feel that their government is actually responsive to their interests—and not the interests of career politicians willing to use any tool at their disposal to maintain their positions of power in perpetuity.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Ilya Breyman (D)

Children and Youth

Education Environmental Resources and Energy Local Government

Appropriations

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Ilya Breyman (D)

Franklin Kury who was ahead of his times when he introduced the constitutional amendment guaranteeing that all Pennsylvanians have the right to enjoy clean air and water

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

Ilya Breyman (D)

Maybe. But I would like to earn that privilege by serving my constituents as their State Representative first

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

Ilya Breyman (D)

It should be able to provide checks and balances to any executive powers to prevent their abuse.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Ilya Breyman (D)

Absolutely

See also

More about these elections:

• Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2022

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