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DALLAS — State Rep. Karen Boback will continue to represent constituents in the 117th District, having received 12,561 votes in her re-election bid, according to Tuesday’s unofficial results.

Boback, the Republican incumbent, was unopposed in the primary.

Her competitors in the general election, the Green Party’s John J. Sweeney, of Falls Township, had 632 votes and the Independent Party’s Louis R. Jasikoff received 807 votes, according to unofficial results.

“I look at elections as a gauge showing how well you serve your constituents,” Boback said. “I am so very grateful.”

Sweeney congratulated Boback on her win and noted running “against an incumbent was a tough road.”

“I hope Boback does a good job,” he said.

Jasikoff could not be reached prior to publication deadline.

The win paves the way for Boback’s sixth two-year term in the state House of Representatives.

Boback, 65, spent Election Day visiting polling places throughout the 117th District, which includes Luzerne, Wyoming and Lackawanna counties.

The high voter turnout had her in awe.

“I watched a 91-year-old woman get out of a car to go cast her ballot,” Boback said. “It (the election) is accelerating.”

She ended the busy day at home with her husband, Bernard, to watch the election results.

Boback has prided herself on being close to her constituents and tuned into the issues affecting them, such as the assessment of property taxes to pay for Pennsylvania’s schools.

The Harveys Lake resident has co-sponsored legislation to replace school property taxes with an alternative tax revenue source created, in part, by increasing the state’s sales tax to 7 percent. The sales tax also would be applied to a wider range of goods and services, including candy and gum, newspapers and magazines, laundry services and haircuts.

The proposed bill, House Bill 76, would require school districts in need of additional revenue to present a referendum to voters within their district.

Sweeney, 63, does not agree with House Bill 76. The legislation passes the burden for funding schools onto the working class by increasing the sales tax on everyday items, he said.

Jasikoff, 65, of Dalton, proposed the concept of capping salaries and pensions of teachers, as well as those of elected officials to prevent further increases in property taxes.

As a 10-year member of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and a member of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, Boback is aware many of the region’s small dairy farmers are in a dire situation as rates for raw milk are at a record low while the costs of processing milk continue to rise.

She hopes to prevent over-regulation of the dairy industry and establish programs and incentives to promote agriculture.

Incumbent state Rep. Karen Boback, (R-Luzerne, Wyoming and Lackawanna counties), left, greets two of her former students, Liz and David Carey, and their newborn son, Levi, at the Harveys Lake Municipal Building on Election Night.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_TTL-11092016-state-117th-1-2.jpg.optimal.jpgIncumbent state Rep. Karen Boback, (R-Luzerne, Wyoming and Lackawanna counties), left, greets two of her former students, Liz and David Carey, and their newborn son, Levi, at the Harveys Lake Municipal Building on Election Night. Charlotte Bartizek | For Times Leader

By Eileen Godin

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Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews.