Norristown's Kelly Devine Challenges Vereb for State House Seat

Norristown resident Kelly Devine has announced her campaign for state Representative in the 150th District. The Democrat will be challenging current state Rep. Mike Vereb (R) for his seat in the November election.

According to a release issued by her campaign, Devine is planning to bring change to Harrisburg as the Democratic candidate in the 150th District of the Pennsylvania State Legislature. 

“There are tens of thousands of square feet of empty commercial space in the district. Where is the recovery?," she stated in the release. "We have miles of roads and bridges crumbling under our feet – not just in the district, but all over the state. Where is the investment in our economy?”

According to Devine, the Republican leadership in Harrisburg ran in 2010 on transparency in government and job creation. She believes that they have failed to deliver on their campaign promise, and should be held accountable for their lack of action.

“Instead of focusing on the needs of the people and funding our public education system, they slashed their budgets and put the burden of tax increases on local government. They promised a return to financial stability and instead kicked the can back to our local school boards,” Devine said.

Her campaign promises to put the needs of the people over the needs of special interests and party leadership. According to Devine, while the people of the 150th continue to see small businesses and jobs leave the district, their representatives have been sponsoring bills on wedge issues and divisive politics. Devine believes that a new group of citizen legislators will be able to better govern and get Harrisburg back to caring about the needs of the people they represent.

A lifelong resident of the district, Devine is president of the Montgomery County Young Democrats and works in marketing. After graduating from Penn State University, she returned to her community as a journalist. As a reporter for The Times Herald, Devine reported on multiple township and county issues ranging from land use to annual budgets. She felt that her role as a reporter was to not only inform the people, but to ask questions on their behalf. 

Devine's campaign is holding a kick-off event on Friday, March 30, at 7 p.m. at the in Collegeville. The event is open to the public. For more information, visit www.votedevine.com.