A write-in campaign seeks to elect a Libertarian from Bradford County to the U.S. House of Representatives in Pennsylvania’s 12th District.
Liz Terwilliger, an early intervention speech-language pathologist from Warren Center, decided to run for office after attempting to learn more about incumbent Congressman Fred Keller’s position on President Donald Trump’s impeachment.
Terwilliger said she was trying to get “more substance” but only heard “the Republican party line and partisan bickering.”
Unsatisfied, she complained about this response, and her husband challenged her to take action.
“So, challenge accepted,” she said.
Terwilliger tried getting on the ballot for the November election against Keller and Democrat Lee Griffin, but ultimately came up 20 signatures short.
The Libertarian party comes together on a strong belief in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as well as a small, efficient government with minimal involvement, she explained.
“I’m particularly passionate about individual freedoms,” she said.
If elected, Terwilliger wants to “return the power in Washington from politicians back to the people.”
The government needs more turnover and transparency, plus new, diverse ideas, she said. Her other priority would be to bring in more diverse voices on issues, including those who are actually affected, to make sure the same people aren’t always formulating solutions.
Terwilliger also said she wants to see more single-issue legislation at the federal level.
With the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, she said “we needed strong leadership and consistent messaging from the government so people weren’t confused about the truth of the situation.”
“I don’t feel like we need the government telling us in a mandate what to do if we have clear information,” she added.
She called the current situation frustrating and said particularly in Pennsylvania, it seems like Gov. Tom Wolf is using “more of a chainsaw than a scalpel on the problem” at this point.
Terwilliger called for equity in coronavirus restrictions and said when necessary, they should be targeted to areas with significant risk rather than the whole state.
For more information about Terwilliger and her campaign, visit lizterwilligerforcongress.org.