ARTICLE
Democratic candidates for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional district are jockeying for position. It used to be the 15th district before several court rulings, but Democrats see an opening because of redistricting and the retirement of incumbent Charlie Dent. There are six Democrats hoping to represent the party. Here is a quick look at three of them and why they think they are the best person for the job. We start our look at the Democratic candidates for the 7th congressional district with Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli, who has served as DA for 25 years. "I personally prosecuted 25 murder cases taking off our street some of the most dangerous people in Pennsylvania," Morganelli said. Also out of Northampton County is Easton City Councilman and Lafayette Professor Roger Ruggles, who says he's devoted his life to service locally, nationally and internationally. "My main commitment here is a commitment to the people," Ruggles said. Candidate Rick Daugherty is the past chair for the Lehigh County Democratic Committee and District Administrator for retired Congressman Paul McHale. He is now the Executive Director for Lehigh Valley Active Life, a senior center. "I have been working with seniors for over two decades. The social security cost-of-living adjustments have been a cruel joke for the past 10 years it should be at least 70 percent higher," Daugherty said. During the taping of a two part debate for WFMZ's Business Matters, the candidates covered a variety of topics including immigration. "I believe in our laws, I work with immigration officials because I do believe we have borders and that we should have an orderly process of people coming into our country," said Morganelli. "We tend to look at a specific problem immigration, and we say OK how do we control our borders or how do we admit certain people to the country. Let’s look at a more global scale and see why these immigrants are coming here," Ruggles said. "The dreamers should be citizens. They were brought here as children, this is the only country they know. This is their country. For other immigrants who came here and who are undocumented there should be a legal status that could allow them to stay in this country," said Daugherty. Now we hear from the remaining three: A lawyer, a community advocate and a social worker. Among the candidates for the 7th congressional district is Susan Wild, the first female solicitor for the city of Allentown. "As a working mother of two my passion is for families. My campaign is all about fighting for families," she said. Community Activist Greg Edwards is the Founder and Senior Pastor of Resurrected Life Community Church and the President and CEO of Resurrected Community Development Corporation. "I am going to Washington to continue the work I’ve done all my life to advocate for those who have no voice," Edwards said. Retired social worker David Clark says he has literally written the book about how to tackle government issues. The book is called "The Direction of Man" . "I have been working for 40 years studying federal issues," he said. During the taping of a two-part debate for WFMZ's Business Matters, the candidates spoke about a variety of topics including gun control. "Assault weapons and extended clips have no place in a civilized society. I believe in strong background checks that cover all sales," Clark said. "We have had a law in place in the past that worked. The 1994 ban on assault weapons, that worked. Gun violence actually dropped during that period of time unfortunately it was set to expire after 10 years," Wild said. "We need to make sure if you’re purchasing more than one firearm that we have a home safety check just to make sure everything is OK and that’s not a violation of anyone's second amendment and then we also need to monetize it. I am suggesting that we registered every fire arm and ensure that if it’s lost, stolen or involved in a crime or a murder that there is an insurance that caters to the person who has been violated as an act of gun violence," Edwards said. The debates will air on Business Matters April 9 and April 16 at 7:30 right here on WFMZ. The Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce says it is trying to organize a debate for the Republican candidates. Read the original article here.