Murrysville’s former mayor is headed to Harrisburg.
Republican Bob Brooks won Tuesday’s election for Pennsylvania’s 54th House district, defeating Democrat Jon McCabe by a roughly 20-point margin. The district includes parts of Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.
Brooks, 74, served in Murrysville’s government for 26 years, both as a council member and as mayor. He also worked as chief financial officer for Wabtec and as director of Brooks Sports Group.
He said he would reduce regulations in Harrisburg that slow economic growth, and he would resist tax increases. He also advocated for limiting the growth of state government, saying that he would not take a pension, he would donate his salary to charity and he would focus on eliminating gifts from lobbyists.
McCabe, 22, studied psychology at Penn State New Kensington.
On his campaign website, he says he has seen how the opioid crisis has hurt his community, and he wanted to focus on that in the statehouse.
State Rep. Eli Evankovich, R-Murrysville, has held this seat since 2011. He announced in June that he intended to resign by the end of the summer to take a job at a manufacturing company.
