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State Rep.-elect Eric Weaknecht wants to help small businesses and the agriculture community • Pennsylvania Capital-Star [1]
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Date: 2024-12-16 11:00:37+00:00
Eric Weaknecht is confident his experience in Berks County law enforcement will prove helpful in his new role as a legislator.
In 1984, he started his career as a deputy sheriff in the Berks County Sheriff’s office and was elected Sheriff of Berks County in 2007. He has been re-elected four times and has also been an active member of the Pennsylvania Sh eriffs’ Association, serving as secretary-treasurer since 2012.
State Rep. Barry Jozwiak (R-Berks) has represented the 5th state House District for the past decade, but announced he was not seeking reelection in January.
Weaknecht was the only Republican candidate on the primary ballot and defeated Democrat Heather Hanna in the general election to keep the seat red.
“One of the things that I did as sheriff once I was elected was constituent services,” he said. “Opened up substations, opened up remote locations for people to renew their license to carry permits, I made it a lot easier to deal with us. And I think… I can carry over to the state side with helping the people in the 5th Legislative District.”
He said that since his office also enforced civil laws he will have insight on both criminal and civil legislation.
On his campaign website, Weaknecht lists a number of endorsements including the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, Pennsylvania State Troopers Association (PSTA), the Berks County Chamber PAC, and Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC).
Weaknecht says he has a track record of working with members of both parties on the Berks County Commissioners.
“One of the things that I was very successful at was getting things accomplished as Sheriff, even with the Board of Commissioners, which are both Republican and Democrat here in Berks County,” Weaknecht said. “And I always worked with both to make sure that I would get what I needed as long as I could prove my case.”
“And a lot of people tell me that that could be a lot different in Harrisburg,” he added.
This interview was lightly edited for length and clarity.
Capital-Star: Tell me a bit about your district and what’s unique about it.
Weaknecht: The district is very large. It’s the largest district in Berks County, as far as geographically. It’s very rural, a lot of farming, a lot of small businesses.
And I mean, just good, hard working people that want to be able to deal with a legislator that can help them with state issues, help them with passing laws that would benefit them, as far as regulations and stuff like that for their small businesses.
Capital-Star: What would you say is the most pressing issue facing your district right now?
Weaknecht: I would say the regulations that are being put on small businesses. When I was campaigning, I stopped at most of the small businesses in the district, and they all said the same thing that were like, if they want to expand, there’s so much red tape and regulations that they got to deal with that they’re putting thousands of dollars out before they even get a yes or no on whether they can do an expansion.
Capital-Star: What would you say your top legislative priorities are? And what are the bills you would like to either introduce or support?
Weaknecht: Well, I think obviously the regulation issues would be my top concern. It’s what I heard most on the campaign trail. It’s what the voters asked me to do if I would get to Harrisburg. So that would be my top one.
Capital-Star: Are there other underlying issues that were also on voters’ minds when you talked to them?
Weaknecht: There is a lot of farming, and I know that the Farm Bureau, whenever I would meet with them, they have an actual list of legislative issues that they would like to see. So I would definitely be a voice for the agricultural community as well.
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