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The public is invited to a town hall meeting for District 65 PA State Representative candidate Destiny Howard at the Pleasant Township Social Hall, 40 Fuller Ave., Warren, from 2 to 3 p.m. on Wednesday to discuss her campaign platform, which focuses on economic hardship and advocates for shifting government priorities away from reactive policies toward proactive crisis prevention.
Drawing directly from her own firsthand experiences with poverty and family struggles, Howard aims to connect with voters to address critical community needs.
With October being Domestic Abuse Awareness Month, Howard points out that harassment must be addressed aggressively before it escalates into violence. She characterizes the current system of government as being trapped in “crisis management instead of actual prevention.”
Reflecting on a family member’s recovery, Howard highlights the power of providing necessary resources. She asserts that when individuals receive adequate mental health services and addiction support, they can rebuild their lives and stay out of the justice system, noting, “Most of these people can be rehabilitated if they actually had the help that they need.”
Howard shared poverty shapes every aspect of how she manages her life. She uses her personal background to connect with voters, believing that “people just want to feel that you've been in their shoes” and stating that her goal is to ensure the resources she once needed are readily available to everyone.
Viewing her youth as a key asset rather than a limitation, Howard said fresh energy is useful when connecting directly with the community through active social media engagement in addition to common outreach. This passion for direct communication drew her to a new position with Biz Central, an organization where she can engage directly with local entrepreneurs.
Her motivation for joining was the direct access to local entrepreneurs, stating, “I wanted to be able to talk to all of the business owners here and try to get them the support that they need.”
Prior to getting involved in studying politics, Howard worked as a CNA where she listened to the residents and worked in a short-staffed environment where she and another co-worker provided care for upwards of 20 patients, describing it as heartbreaking.
"I just wanted to be able to make sure that they could get the care that they deserve to have enough nurses, to have enough certified nursing assistants, and have their lives be treated like they were actually worth more than just a dollar amount."
Howard recognizes first hand how tough housing is in the area, let alone the cost of childcare being equivalent to a paycheck. When speaking about minimum wage, she believes even with the increase upon us for January, it's not enough. "I believe that the wages should simply rise with productivity. It should be able to cover transportation, housing, food, etc. Your bare necessities should be able to be met with one paycheck. I believe that the way in which we could raise the minimum wage is by having a five-year plan where we have the large corporations take on the main burden of raising it to whatever the determined wage would likely be."
Howard wants to reduce the Pennsylvania gas tax, and tackle monopolies in the area. "In Warren County specifically, we end up paying a lot more than the surrounding areas, because most of us have no other choice but to buy our gas here."
She spoke of a price match system for necessary goods like gas, she stated, "So having a system where the prices across Pennsylvania within a certain percentage are matching. I also want to encourage more competition in the area. Try to get more people here selling gas so that they are not the only ones making the price, and actually have to, you know, compete to have a lower price with other people."
She believes the gas tax can be easily reduced and the income could be replaced by placing a tax on shale extraction. Saying that it would have no effect on anyone locally but rather, by people that are coming from out of state, using land yet not paying taxes here. "If they had to pay taxes here, we would be able to replace a lot of that income rather than having consumers pay for it."
Legalizing marijuana is another way Howard believes would replace some of the income. She said, "We are losing a lot of money to our neighbors because people are leaving and purchasing marijuana and traveling back across state lines, and we would be able to keep that money here. We would be able to have new businesses, more jobs, and we could also put a tax on the sale of marijuana and generate even more money."
Mentioning the positive use for those with mental health struggles as well as those with chronic pain, Howard has spoken with many Jamestown area residents who have wanted to come and work in Pennsylvania, even specifically Warren. "We’re also losing people that could be joining our workforce because of this." Putting a tax on the sale of marijuana would also generate more money, said Howard.
Howard does not hold back when it comes to being transparent when talking about issues that have affected her personal life because she feels it is important and will also transfer into her campaign's transparency. "You should know the people who are trying to represent you, and they should know you."
An idea came to her about issuing an individualized tax form where people get to see where their money specifically went. Open to new ideas, Howard recognizes the need to make changes along the way by saying that "failure is just success in progress." Stating that she's another person in the community trying to help, Howard also said, "Nobody should ever be a leader and claim to know everything. At the end of the day, we are a community. We all live together. We all have to listen to one another, and that’s the only way we’re going to be able to grow together."
Being that it has been 34 years of Republican control for District 65, Howard was asked what her strategy is to shift the dynamic. "I am big on term limits. I would like to have the state house pass a legislature where people can only serve for eight years, the same amount of time as the presidency. I believe that’s enough time to make your mark in your community. Keeping those seats open, keeping new minds flowing is very important," she said.
Howard mentioned her top three priorities for the first year in office include housing, childcare and healthcare. Criminal justice and business development are also high on her list.
She stated she has regular attendance at the monthly meetings held by the Democratic party in Warren, and that she is the vice president for the Warren County Young Dems. One of the reasons she chose to be in the Democratic party is that she believes it is wise to invest in renewable energy, saying that it could create more jobs in the area and begin moving things forward. She feels it's important to do what can be done now as opposed to playing catch up later on. "We can't be as reliant on it (gasoline)."
Howard advocates for strict regulation and transparency regarding artificial intelligence (AI) and technology centers. She emphasizes that the government must investigate the socioeconomic impacts of these tech hubs, specifically requiring large corporations to report on job displacement. She believes that tech companies should be mandated to track and disclose how many positions are eliminated, how many workers are reallocated within the company, and how many displaced individuals successfully find employment elsewhere.
Howard also highlighted a distinct contrast in community awareness regarding homelessness, noting that while residents in Jamestown are highly aware of the crisis, those in Warren remain largely unaware. She emphasized that homelessness frequently affects employed individuals as well, pointing out the growing reality of the “working homeless.” To bridge this gap, Howard argues that public education is essential both to raise community awareness and to secure the necessary support and resources for those in need.
By fostering a better understanding of the modern faces of poverty and housing insecurity, Howard believes neighbors can come together to support the most vulnerable. Ultimately, she views this combination of public education and direct community action as the vital next step toward ensuring that vital aid reaches those who need it most.