Gibson E. Armstrong has wielded a great deal of influence in the Pennsylvania Legislature since he arrived in the Senate in 1984, taking the helm of the appropriations committee and directing state money to the county.
But with the announcement of Armstrong's retirement in December from his seat in the 13th District, the opportunity for a new guard to step in and take over was opened. And in stepped three businessmen from vastly different backgrounds.
Republican Lloyd Smucker, Democrat Jose Urdaneta and write-in candidate Bill Neff will face off Tuesday in a race that has the potential to be very close.
Smucker has banked his campaign on his success as a businessman — running Smucker Co. for 25 years before selling off his interest in 2006 — and as a supervisor in West Lampeter Township.
"I'm not sure the climate for Republicans is as good as I'd like to see at the moment in the state," Smucker said. "Obviously, there's going to be some impact here as well."
Smucker pointed to his ability to build consensus in his business.
He said the organizational structure of his business was an "open book style management," where they shared the economics of the company with all of their employees, and was a key to its success.
Consensus is going to be necessary to deal with looming problems for the state," Smucker said, including a billion-dollar shortfall in the budget, finding funding for roads and the end of rate caps on electricity.
Smucker also discussed building a consensus to look at legislative reforms, such as term limits. He said term limits are "worth looking at."
However, Smucker said he wouldn't set a specific term limit if he is elected to the Senate, saying it doesn't make sense for an individual to put a term limit on himself or herself because seniority plays a great role in the influence of a legislator.
"I like the idea of a legislature that has real-world experience and isn't there necessarily to make a career out of serving in the Legislature," Smucker said.
On the Democratic ticket Urdaneta, the owner of a city photography business and a City Council member, has focused his candidacy on the issues of education, health care and job creation.
Urdaneta discussed lowering property taxes for education funding, but called it "disingenuous" to believe that property taxes could be eliminated. He said he would never lose sight of what property taxes pay for — schools.
"I will not put children's education at risk because of getting this blue ribbon on my chest about eliminating property taxes," Urdaneta said.
Urdaneta said in May there wasn't a single door he knocked on that didn't ask questions about health care, usually coming within the first 30 seconds.
But today with the current economic climate he said the health care issue has slipped in importance, becoming usually one of the last things people ask about.
He said the idea in the Legislature is to keep sights set on goals and work through economic issues.
"It went from 'how the heck am I going to heat my house and how am I going to buy Christmas gifts,' and then slowly now where it is, 'I don't know if I'm going to have a job,' " Urdaneta said.
Neff, who owns three locksmith and security businesses headquartered in Lancaster, finished fourth in the GOP field in the primary, behind Smucker, county Recorder of Deeds Steve McDonald and former county Commissioner Paul Thibault.
Neff has focused his campaign on safety and security issues in the state and health care, saying he supports Gov. Ed Rendell's plan for health care reform.
The 13th Senate District includes all of the southern end, Lancaster city, Manheim and Lancaster townships and eastern York County.
E-mail: myoder@lnpnews.com