Spencer Finley

B/S Editor

sjf5814@psu.edu

On September 14th, the Republican candidate for the Erie County Executive Office, Brenton Davis, held an event in the Burke Building in an event hosted by the College Republicans.

Aside from talking about his policy platform, Davis told those at the rally about his background and what led him into politics. Davis is a 21-year veteran of the military who was formerly active duty and who is currently a captain in the reserves. He is also the owner of a local construction company and an alumnus of Penn State who graduated with a master’s degree in economic development.

Davis spoke for about an hour and 45 minutes and covered various topics ranging from the significance of local government to the significance of networking in college to his vision for Erie County. Although he offered views on many matters, he came across as being extremely light on policy. However, this may have been intentional, as Davis baldly stated that he didn’t want to “bore” meeting attendees with an extensive look at matters of policy.

When addressing the key policy positions, Davis said that they could be summed up using the acronym NICE, which he said stands for “No new taxes, Innovation and infrastructure, Collaboration and Education.”

One issue which cropped up at several points throughout the event was the need for bipartisan cooperation; one example of this was his repeated assertions that he is willing and able to work with a County Council unfriendly to his agenda for the good of the people of Erie County. He also expounded on the importance of education in the community and committed to supporting education in the community if elected.

In addition to talking about matters of policy, Davis lectured the audience on the importance of community and listening to people. In addition, he admonished the audience that every vote is important and cited a 212-vote loss for the same office he is currently running for back in 2017. 

When a member of the audience asked why he decided to run for office, Davis said that he had never envisioned himself running for any kind of political office. “[I had] reached this threshold of, how long can I watch this happen to my community? And I’d had enough,” Davis said.

Davis also brought up his feeling of obligation to his community and his desire to “give back to the next person,” and leave Erie a better place for future generations.