NEW BLOOMFIELD –Wendy Morgan, a 2005 graduate of Indian Valley High School in Lewistown and current resident of New Bloomfield has announced her candidacy for PA House of Representatives, District 86. Morgan is challenging incumbent Perry Staumbaugh by being the first Democratic candidate to the position in eight years. District 86 includes Juniata County towns Mifflin, Mifflintown, Port Royal, Thompsontown and 12 other county townships, as well as all of Perry County.

New to the political landscape, Morgan’s formal education not only includes attending high school in Lewistown but also jumps the Atlantic Ocean to include Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and back to the states where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Cultural Anthropology from West Florida University, and an Associate’s in Veterinary Technology from Platt College in California. She has additionally lived in South Korea and the United Kingdom.

Her traveling experiences have allowed her “to work with people of diverse backgrounds and cultures,” she said. “I believe being able to empathize with others from different backgrounds is a key to being a successful leader.”

While Morgan, 39, admits that running for office pushes her outside her comfort zone, she believes that “sometimes what is needed is someone who is willing to try. Someone who will stand up and say, ‘Hey, something’s not right here! Things have to change.'”

Morgan said she’s running for office because she’s troubled about the future for “her children, family, neighbors, community and country.” Morgan believes that affordability of goods and services is a “huge” concern for most Pennsylvanians these days. “If you work full time,” she said, “you should be able to afford food, housing and electricity. People want to have the ability to go to the doctor’s without worrying about medical debt or to simply be able to heat their homes,” she explained. The current minimum wage in Pennsylvania is $7.25 an hour. One of the answers? According to Morgan, it’s to raise the minimum wage.

As the mother of two toddler boys, Morgan stated daycare is “very important” to her. “Households today need two incomes to survive because of high prices,” she said. “The prohibitive cost of day care takes women out of the workforce. As a developed country, we spend some of the lowest amounts of money on early childhood care and education.”

Other areas of change Morgan said need attention are the economy, healthcare, the environment and renewable energy, agriculture and housing. To know where Morgan stands on these issues visit MorganForPA.com.

“I always stand on the side of the every-day person,” said Morgan.