Brian Rasel knows how the Pennsylvania General Assembly operates.
He served as the chief of staff to state Rep. George Dunbar (R-Westmoreland), who represented the 56th District for 14 years and was a member of Republican leadership in the state House.
In Dec. 2023, Dunbar announced that he would not seek reelection and Rasel, a Penn Township resident, decided to step up and run for the office.
“I’m a very community focused guy,” Rasel told the Capital-Star, “and I want everybody to have the same opportunities that I did growing up in Pennsylvania and kind of stop the population bleed that we’ve had over the last many decades.”
Rasel’s campaign website touted his support for several common GOP issues, including reducing government spending, border security, school choice, and gun rights, along with his opposition to abortion.
Rasel was the only candidate to file for the seat in the primary and general elections, guaranteeing his victory for the western Pennsylvania seat.
“I’m really honored and excited to have the opportunity to be a voice for my neighbors in Harrisburg,” he said. “I don’t take that lightly, and I’m already getting to work and ready to do further work in what I think is going to be their best interest going forward.”
Rasel thinks one area of compromise between Republicans and Democrats in the General Assembly — although he emphasized “could be” — is education.
“We hear about the historic investment in funding for education, we have never heard about the historic results,” Rasel said. “And I’d like to get to a place where we’re talking about our historic results and returns on those investments.”
This interview was lightly edited for length and clarity.
Capital-Star: What makes your district unique?
Rasel: It’s a nice district, I’ve had the opportunity to serve under the previous representative, George Dunbar. I was with him for 10 years as a staffer. So they’re communities that I’m familiar with number one, and like everywhere else, trying to create opportunities for entrepreneurship, which we have a lot of small local businesses and creating a good environment for them.
We have very active communities. We have a lot of people who care a lot, and I just happen to be one of those trying to be their voice in Harrisburg.
Capital-Star: Can you tell me what’s unique about the district?
Rasel: We are a blend of [areas that] used to be rural and now are very suburban. Penn Township in particular, was one of only two places in Westmoreland County over the last census to have growth in population. I can’t think of anything off my head that makes them so much different than the rest of Pennsylvania.
Capital-Star: What is the most pressing issue facing your district?
Rasel: We certainly have some infrastructure issues that are actually getting addressed, one of them being the Route 30 corridor. I would say that is a major one, and then really taking advantage of what we have here in order to produce more jobs and kind of reinvigorate manufacturing.
Capital-Star: Was there a particular issue when you were knocking on doors and talking to people as you were seeking their vote?
Rasel: A good deal of it was based around more national issues than state issues, to be very fair, whether that be first amendment rights, Second Amendment rights, infringement on those. Locally, best uses of tax dollars, of course, and try to keep taxes as low as possible.
Capital-Star: What would you say is your top legislative priority once you are sworn in?
Rasel: Reining in our budget of spending. If we go from the founding of our Commonwealth to the turn of the century, we never crossed that $20 billion [budget] threshold, yet we’ve far surpassed that, and don’t seem like we’re slowing down. That’s a legislative priority of mine is to stop that bleed of tax dollars.
Capital-Star: Can you talk about some bills you plan to introduce or that you would like to support?
Rasel: One of them is (state Rep.) Ryan Warner’s reaffirmation of Title IX to keep girls sports a safe place for girls. That is certainly one that I intend on supporting, and I have some things in the works, but I’ll send you a release when I do it.