Cherri Rogers
DemocraticQ1 PFAS chemicals are widely used in consumer products but have raised health concerns due to their persistence in the environment and humans, and some Pennsylvanian legislators are considering restrictions on its use, such as in House Bill 2145. Should Pennsylvania restrict PFAS in consumer products? What scientific evidence would you use to inform your decision?
It is critical to public health and environmental stability that Pennsylvania places strong restrictions on “forever chemicals” (PFAS). To inform my decision on House Bill 2145 and future legislation, I will rely heavily on robust, peer-reviewed scientific research, epidemiological studies, and environmental data.
Your highly convenient and vital resource for an evidence-based vote is the Scientsit Network for Advancing Policy (SNAP) website, which bridges the gap between early-career researchers nd policy solutions. However, beyond curated platforms, I am fully educated in how to independently locate, evaluate, and synthesize primary scientific literature.
My decisions will be guided by toxicological data from agencies like the EPA and CDC, tracking PFAS bioaccumulation in human tissue and its links to adverse health outcomes, including metabolic disruption and immune system suppression. Furthermore, I will utilize hydrological and soil testing data specific to Pennsylvania’s waterways to identify contamination hotspots. By balancing cutting-edge peer-reviewed research with community-level environmental monitoring, I will support policies that protect Pennsylvanians from cumulative chemical exposure while ensuring our regulatory frameworks are grounded in definitive, non-partisan science.
KEYWORDS: forever-chemicals, serum concentration kinetics, PFAS maternal-fetal transfer, PFAS human biological half-life
Q2 Measles vaccination rates in Pennsylvania have declined in recent years, from 95.5% in 2020 to 92.5% in 2025. At the same time, measles outbreaks have emerged across the state, with 62 confirmed cases in PA in 2026. As a policymaker, how do you approach engaging with communities that have concerns that center on infectious disease outbreaks and vaccine safety, and what policies, if any, would you support related to these issues?
As both a public health expert and a public school nurse, I view declining MMR vaccination rates—now at 92.5%, below the 95% herd immunity threshold—as an urgent student safety crisis. With 66 confirmed cases emerging across Pennsylvania this year, top-down mandates alone fail. My approach centers on high-touch community engagement: holding empathetic, non-judgmental listening sessions in schools and community centers where parents can voice safety anxieties directly to frontline clinicians.
I will counter misinformation not with lectures, but with transparent, accessible, and non-partisan data highlighting the severe risks of measles complications versus proven vaccine safety profiles.
Politically, I support policies that strengthen the authority and funding of school nursing infrastructure, position school health suites as trusted public health hubs, and expand mobile, school-based vaccination clinics to eliminate socioeconomic barriers to access. Furthermore, I advocate for closing non-medical exemption loopholes for school enrollment and implementing standardized, mandatory immunization education for parents seeking exemptions. By leveraging the trusted, everyday relationships between school nurses, local pediatricians, and families, we can rebuild community trust, restore herd immunity, and keep Pennsylvania’s classrooms safe and open.
KEYWORDS: measles immunization and vaccination, coverage trends, Public health interventions, nonmedical exemption policy legal studies
Q3 There have been avian influenza outbreaks in Pennsylvania, with potential impacts on poultry and dairy operations, both industries that provide billions of dollars of economic value to the state. What policies, if any, do you support to strengthen the state’s preparedness and outbreak response? Are there specific strategies you would prioritize to protect farm workers, agricultural communities, and the broader public?
As a community health nurse living alongside the families of House District 58, I know our dairy and poultry farms are the backbone of our economy and identity. Avian influenza is not just an agricultural threat; it is a critical public health vulnerability. If elected, I will champion evidence-based biosecurity and occupational health protocols to protect our community.
I support expanding state-funded, rapid on-farm diagnostic testing to catch outbreaks before they decimate flocks or herds. Crucially, we must protect our frontline agricultural workforce. I advocate for the distribution of stockpiled personal protective equipment (PPE)—such as properly fitted respirators and eye protection—specifically tailored to farm environments, coupled with multilingual health education on zoonotic transmission.
Furthermore, I will push for state-backed “no-fault” economic safety nets. If farmers face financial ruin for reporting sick livestock, containment fails. By guaranteeing fair, rapid compensation and mobile health surveillance vans to monitor worker health right on the farms, we protect both the agricultural supply chain and the broader public from viral mutation. We can secure our food supply and save livelihoods through proactive, trusted public health partnerships.
KEYWORDS: on-farm surveillance, Workforce-Biosecurity No-Fault-Compension
Q4 Pennsylvania is the nation’s second-largest producer of natural gas and nuclear energy, as well as the third-largest producer of coal, per the Energy Information Administration. In contrast, PA currently ranks 45th in the country in terms of wind, solar, and hydropower energy production. How do you think these energy sources should be distributed across PA’s energy production portfolio, and what policies, if any, would you support to facilitate this?
Pennsylvania’s energy strategy must balance our historical strength as a top natural gas and nuclear producer with our 45th-place ranking in renewables. In line with the mission of the AFL-CIO, our energy transition must be worker-centered, family-sustaining, and focused on economic justice.
I support updating the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (AEPS) to aggressively scale up wind, solar, and hydropower production. However, this expansion must incorporate strict prevailing wage requirements and Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) to ensure that new clean energy infrastructure is built by highly skilled, unionized Pennsylvania workers.
Furthermore, we cannot leave traditional energy communities behind. I advocate for policies that invest state resources into a “just transition”—including dedicated union apprenticeship pathways and retraining programs that bridge displaced fossil-fuel workers directly into high-paying clean energy and grid-modernization jobs. By protecting existing baseload nuclear and gas strengths while mandating strong labor standards for renewable expansion, Pennsylvania can modernize its electrical grid, lower consumer costs, and lead the nation in a clean energy economy built by union labor.
KEYWORDS: Clean energy project labor agreements, just-transition, grid modernization
Q5 Pennsylvania has proposed more reporting, utility oversight, and zoning guidance for large data centers, along with shifting some generation, capacity, and reliability costs onto data center developers rather than ordinary ratepayers. How should the costs and benefits of large data center development be divided between developers and the public, and what requirements, if any, would you support on power, water, and public reporting before a project moves forward?
The expansion of large-scale data centers offers economic potential, but Pennsylvania must prioritize ratepayer protection, community health, and high-quality jobs. In alignment with the AFL-CIO mission, I support shifting all infrastructure, generation, and grid-reliability costs entirely onto developers via Project Labor Agreements (PLAs), ensuring this digital infrastructure is built and maintained by highly skilled, unionized local labor without burdening ordinary ratepayers.
To protect public health and local ecosystems, we should replicate the success of Pennsylvania townships that have enacted strict municipal restrictions. I support mandatory zoning guidance, strict power usage effectiveness (PUE) caps, and closed-loop water cooling mandates to prevent the depletion and thermal pollution of local watersheds. Furthermore, comprehensive environmental and grid-impact reporting must be publicly disclosed before any project approval.
By enforcing strict transparency, utility oversight, and resource restrictions, we can prevent data centers from straining our electrical grid or compromising community health. This balanced approach ensures tech developers pay their fair share, local natural resources are legally protected, and the economic benefits of technological innovation directly support working families.
KEYWORDS: Ratepayer-protection, Township-zoning-restrictions, union-labor-infrastructure-data centers