A Lehigh Valley lawmaker is one of two members of the state government who have modified their political affiliation.
Democratic State Sen. Lisa Boscola of Northampton County has agreed to a become an affiliate of the new, centrist Forward Party.
This political party was founded by Andrew Yang, a former Democratic candidate for president and New York City Mayor. According to the party’s website, Forward intends to appeal to Democrats, Republicans and independents, and seeks to decrease political polarization.
Boscola joined Yang for a news conference in Harrisburg Wednesday, along with State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, D-Philadelphia.
Boscola said that during her time in government, political discourse has deteriorated. She called it “disturbing” and “alarming,” and said it is damaging the system.
“Most people I represent, they don’t care if I’m a Democrat or a Rpeublican when I talk to them. They want to know what I’m doing, am I looking out for them, working on policies that matter to them, make their lives better,” Boscola said.
“The sad reality, we can’t solve big problems or major policy because we are electing people who are beholden to party ideals and less worried about finding that middle ground.
She said the Forward Party’s movement aligns with a number of her beliefs, specifically listing common sense, tolerance, consensus building, and problem solving.
She also noted that she has broken with her Democratic colleagues on votes in the past.
Williams said his political positions do not align entirely with one side of the political spectrum.
“If you look at my record, I’m left on this. I’m right on this. I’m straight up the middle on that. I don’t deserve to be required to be anything other than what my constituents require me to be on any given day,” he said.
“I refuse to be bullied or intimidated by an ideology that frankly doesn’t represent the interests of my people,” Williams added. “I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or not. You will not override the will of the people.”
Boscola and Williams signed pledges to govern according to the Forward Party’s values, though will retain their party registration.
Also in attendance at the event were Republican State Reps. Valerie Gaydos of Allegheny County and Marla Brown of Lawrence County, though neither representative spoke nor signed an affiliation pledge.
During his speech, Williams also said the more Americans are choosing to identify as independent voters because they are tired of the politics of the two major parties.
In April, Boscola and State Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie introduced legislation that would repeal Pennsylvania’s closed primary system and allow independent and unaffiliated voters to cast a ballot.
Pennsylvania is one of nine states which do not allow independent voters to participate in primaries. According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, over 1.2 million voters are not registered with the Democratic or Republican parties.
The number of unaffiliated voters rose by 51,816 between 2015 and 2021.
(Original air-date: 6/23/23)
