Written by Randy Wells, Gazette Staff Writer Tuesday, 22 January 2008

Citing successes in securing millions of dollars in state funding for Indiana County projects, and pledging to continue promoting economic development opportunities, state Sen. Don White, R-Indiana, this morning asked the voters of the 41st District to return him to Harrisburg for a third term. White said that while significant accomplishments have been achieved during his first seven years as a senator, much work remains to be done, and he wants to continue playing a leadership role in moving the district forward.

"Regardless of what the pundits say, public service isn't a bed of roses," White told supporters who gathered this morning in the Jimmy Stewart Museum in Indiana for his announcement. "If you're truly committed to public service, it can be all-consuming and full of setbacks, disappointments and missed precious moments with family. However, the successes we've achieved over the past seven years have been profound and are an inspiration for me to continue on. We've made positive strides in many respects. Yet, more can be accomplished and I will ask the people of the 41st District to allow me to work toward that goal over the next four years."

Indiana attorney Jonathan Mack, who served as White's campaign chairman in his previous two elections and will take that role again in the 2008 campaign, highlighted some of White's achievements during his first two terms.

White has secured more than $5 million in funding for Indiana County projects, Mack said. And Indiana County is home to the only Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone in southwestern Pennsylvania. Legislation sponsored by White in 2002 granted KOIZ status, and its incentives for new employers, to the Corporate Campus in Burrell Township.

Mack also noted that White also secured an additional $20 million in highway funding to keep the Route 22 widening project on track, and just a few months into his first term White obtained $5 million in discretionary spending to make major improvements to Route 422 between Indiana and Shelocta.

Mack said White was also instrumental in securing the continuing commitment of Gov. Ed Rendell for the $20 million to build the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex, and he obtained the additional commitment of $5 million to purchase the Kovalchick Salvage Company property as the site for the KCAC.

As a member of the PENNVEST board of directors, White also helped secure funding for local municipalities to build or expand public water and sewage projects, and he has been a strong supporter of volunteer fire departments and ambulance companies, Mack said.

One of the White's first legislative accomplishments was an initiative to protect college students from meningitis by creating awareness of the availability of vaccinations and ensuring they are available to students living in campus housing, Mack said.

The two-term senator has also promoted legislation to enhance the death benefit for military servicemen and -women killed in the line of duty and ensuring that college students who leave for military service have health care when they return.

White said that while the unemployment rate in Indiana County is relatively low, "We face severe underemployment," and he pledged to continue working for economic development opportunities.

"Health care remains a top priority for me in Harrisburg," he said. "We must ensure every citizen and employer has access to quality and affordable health care. I am very worried about the uninsured, but I'm equally concerned about those who are insured and find their premiums increasingly unaffordable."

"We're in an upswing" in the 41st District, White said. "And I want to be a part of it. … Your faith and trust in me is an asset I don't take lightly. I will never dishonor you or this office."

White was born in 1950 in Kittanning, lived for several years in Jefferson County and moved to Indiana in 1958. He graduated from Indiana Area High School, attended Juniata College before serving with the U.S. Army in Germany, and then was a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania after his discharge.

Before running for the Senate for the first time he was an independent insurance broker for 23 years.

He was first elected to the Senate in 2000 and assumed the seat of Sen. Patrick Stapleton, a Democrat, who retired that year after 30 years as a senator. White was unopposed in his re-election bid in 2004.

The 41st Senatorial District includes all of Indiana County and parts of Armstrong, Butler, Clearfield and Westmoreland counties, and has nearly 240,000 residents.