The 41st District: a rematch with a hometown twist

COLUMBIA — Columbia voters head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 3, and one of the races closest to home is for state representative in the 41st District, which includes all of Columbia Borough.

It’s a rematch. Republican Brett Miller, who has held the seat since 2014, faces Democrat Brad Chambers of Columbia for the second time. Miller won in 2024 with about 56% of the vote. This year looks closer: a September poll by State Navigate gave Chambers a one-point edge, well within the margin of error.

Both men want the job for good reasons. Here is the best case for each, in their own terms.

Brett Miller (R)

• Experience. Miller, 65, of East Hempfield Township, has served six terms in Harrisburg. Before that he spent 26 years as a public school guidance counselor and nine years as a township supervisor.
• Taxes. He says he has never voted to raise taxes. Affordability and property taxes top his list of priorities.
• Data centers. He says he voted for a data center moratorium, to end secrecy agreements and tax breaks for data centers, and to require them to provide their own power.
• Schools. He supports bipartisan school budgets and giving families more choices, including school choice.
• Energy and safety. He backs an “all of the above” energy approach and lists public safety and responsible growth among his priorities.

Brad Chambers (D)

• A Columbia native son. Chambers, 35, lives in Columbia Borough. He is a Millersville University graduate and works as a labor administrator.
• Property taxes and schools. He wants to fix the state’s school funding formula so schools lean less on local property taxes.
• Data centers. He wants data centers to pay their own electricity and water costs and wants communities to have a say. He opposed a plan to turn the McGinness Airfield into a data center.
• Paychecks and health care. He wants to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, which he says hasn’t gone up in 17 years. He supports single-payer health care and a board to review prescription drug prices.
• Housing. He lists housing costs among his top concerns.

The two agree on more than you might think. Both say property taxes are too high. Both want data centers to stop passing their costs on to the rest of us. They differ on how to get there, and on the size of government’s role.

The Chronicle is not endorsing in this race. We think Columbia is lucky to have two candidates who show up and care about this community. Read up, talk to your neighbors, and vote. May the best man win.

Also on Columbia ballots: governor and lieutenant governor, U.S. House (11th District), state Senate (36th District) and the countywide library tax question.

Our view: Vote no on the library tax

This section is the opinion of The Columbia Chronicle.

We love our libraries, including the Columbia Public Library on South Sixth Street. But on Tuesday we’re voting no on the countywide library tax, and we urge Columbia property owners to think hard before voting yes.

The question on the ballot reads: “Shall the County of Lancaster establish a dedicated Library tax to provide for the maintenance of, and aid to, public Libraries in Lancaster County at the rate of .55 mills on the dollar on all taxable real estate within the County of Lancaster?”

Who pays. This is a property tax. The bill goes to the people who own property: homeowners, landlords, businesses and farms. Renters won’t get a bill, though landlords may pass the cost along in rent. But it’s Columbia’s homeowners who will see this new line on their tax bill every year, with no end date.

What it costs. At 0.55 mills, it’s $55 a year for every $100,000 of assessed value. That’s $110 on a $200,000 home, based on organizers’ figures. The rate may be adjusted after the county’s reassessment, but the tax itself would be permanent.

Columbia is already being asked for more. At its Oct. 21 budget workshop, Borough Council reviewed a draft 2027 budget that would collect 10% more in borough property taxes. That comes on top of a 25% borough tax increase in 2025. Many Columbia homeowners will also see their bills shift after this year’s reassessment. Adding a brand-new countywide tax on top of all that is too much, too soon.

Too many unanswered questions. Organizers have not said how the money would be split among the county’s libraries. Columbia voters would approve the tax first and find out their library’s share later. Organizers also expect towns and the county to stop their yearly library donations, but nothing in the ballot question requires anyone to lower their own taxes to match.

It’s not a party issue. Both state Senate candidates in the 36th District, Republican Tom Jones and Democrat James Malone, have said they will vote no. Voters turned down a smaller library tax in 2005.

The other side. Supporters, led by the Vote Yes 4 Libraries campaign, say most county libraries are nonprofits that have to raise a quarter to more than two-thirds of their own budgets each year. A dedicated tax would give them steady funding for longer hours, better staff pay, more programs and more books. Cumberland, Dauphin and York counties already fund libraries this way. Those are fair points, and readers should weigh them.

We think there are better ways to support our libraries than a permanent new tax on Columbia homeowners in a year when their bills are already going up. That’s why we’re voting no.

Where and when to vote in Columbia

Polls are open Tuesday, Nov. 3, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to the county’s official election notice.

Not sure where you vote? Look it up at pa.gov/agencies/vote.