Candidate Name: Michael Schroeder
Candidate’s Preferred Pronouns
He/Him/His
What office are you running for?
PA State Senate – District 48
With which party are you running for office?
Democratic Party
Election Date
SPECIAL ELECTION: January 14, 2020
Why are you running for office?
I’m running for office because we stand at a pivotal moment here in Pennsylvania, as across the USA and around the world, and I feel I can make a bigger difference in Harrisburg as state senator than I can as a college history professor and local community & environmental advocate. My life experiences have prepared me well for this office, and I am ready and eager to serve the public with transparency and integrity. In my view, collective action is the only effective way to combat the current threats to our constitutional form of government and the habitability of our planet. I aim to give voice to the people of South Central Pennsylvania by exercising a vote in the PA Senate to improve the quality of life for all.
What is the biggest issue facing your community and how do you propose helping?
In addition to making health care and prescription drugs more affordable for all Pennsylvanians, and the need for more state funding for education at all levels, I believe that the biggest issue facing the world today is human-caused global climate disruption. We need to begin our transition to 100% clean energy sources—especially solar, wind, and geothermal. This will involve ending subsidies for carbon-intensive energy sources that hide the real cost of our bad energy habits and reward environmental degradation. These extremely profitable companies do not need taxpayer-funded handouts, which cost us in Pennsylvania $2.9 billion last year alone.
How do we fix the partisan divide in our country and start working together again?
That is a great question to which I do not have a ready answer. As an educator and firm believer in the transformative power of education, I cannot help but think and believe that more effective education at all levels likely has the greatest potential to help us to bridge the bitter partisan divide that currently separates us and help us focus on that which binds us together as a nation and a people. In the longer-term, as the reality and consequences of global climate disruption become more and more apparent, I suspect that the need to preserve a habitable planet for our children and grandchildren, and for the web of life on which we all depend, will become the overarching imperative that binds us together in common purpose.
Who is your hero?
Impossible to pick one. Nelson Mandela. Frederick Douglass. Harriet Tubman. The Dalai Lama. Socrates.
What are your hobbies?
Cleaning up the plastic trash from the banks of our local creek, to collect “artifacts” for my award-winning Quittapahilla Creek Garbage Museum (winner of the 2017 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence). Woodworking. Gardening. Reading.
What is the most recent book you read?
Isabel Wilkerson, “The Warmth of Other Suns”. A beautifully written and magnificently rendered history of the Great Migration of African Americans in the 20th century.
Do you have any kids/pets/talking houseplants?
I have two grown children and three adorable grandchildren. I have no pets but a houseful of houseplants, none of which talk to me, but all of which let me know when they’re getting thirsty.
How can our readers get involved in your campaign?
Readers can participate in virtual phone banks, travel to the district to knock doors, or donate money for end-of-campaign investments in getting out the vote.
What question do you wish we’d asked, and what is your answer?
What do you consider your most important virtues?
Response: Honesty and integrity.
Candidate Social Media:
Website | Facebook | Twitter
Post created from answers submitted by candidate to our Meet the Candidate survey.
