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Dave Mattei / 137th District
I want to thank Dave Mattei for taking time for the interview. The magazine constantly tries to learn more about candidates / our government / elections. Dave did a great job on providing information about the state level of government in addition to the interview.
Special Thanks to Jennifer Newland for setting up the interview.
Special Thanks to Jennifer Newland for setting up the interview.
Interview
TPart 1 covered a lot of ground, including the towns covered by the 137th district. Part 2 has a few surprises, including one I think Dave was a little caught off guard by.
One of the last issues I want to touch on is gun control. In my opinion, the strictest gun control laws in the universe are useless, unless you get them off the streets. If you can not buy them legally, it is possible to find them on the streets.
Dave: I believe everything starts with a background check. If you have a gun, in your house, that is not registered. You want to sell that gun. You should have to get it registered. Let's keep the process simple and get the guns registered.
Why is that important? Some people will say: "That is control!" That is not control. We have great laws, for guns, on the books already. First of all, the laws have to be enforced. Secondly, to register yourself to buy a gun, that is where a lot of improvement needs to be made.
The process is totally outdated. We stand / fill out a form / the person runs a check through the system / you wait forever for a response. All background checks should be done on high speed connections.
Another area is the mental health issues in this state. That is a large component that needs to be factored into the process.
Overall, I am an ex-police officer. Registering guns is important to me and all the officers out there.
A brief side conversation led me to one, final, question.
Is there any way to come close to a balance of police officers doing their job (keeping everyone safe) and going over the line (police brutality / excessive force / etc.)?
Dave: I think you are asking about what is all over the news today. The current mood of how people look at law enforcement. How law enforcement reacts to situations they run into. With the sense of everyone having a video recorder now. It is open to interpretation.
As an ex-officer, when the next news story comes on. About a police officer shooting a potentially harmless victim. It gets to me a little bit. You see a moment in time that is highly edited. This is not an excuse, it is real. If you saw what the officer first saw. Which led up to him drawing his gun. Led up to him pulling the trigger. If you knew what the officer knew. Which you won't because the media needs to sell advertising. Some news agencies are better than others. The very short blip does not show the entire picture.
Quick example: There will be an incident on the news. It goes through our court system. The officer is cleared of charges. People think: "How in the world did that officer get exonerated???? How is that possible? I saw the video?" The officer's side of the trial, you get to see the whole video. You get to hear ALL the testimony. You get to hear testimony from other eye witnesses.
I am not saying officers don't make mistakes. We all make mistakes. For the most part, departments clean up their own mistakes. The departments that don't, they should be in the news.
A lot of people like the show "Cops". You get to see the whole story. The officer has to perform 100% perfectly. He can't be 99%.
It is a tough job and everyone wants a piece of you. They are American heroes everyday. They are helping people every, single day. Enforcing laws, that is only part of their job. You don't hear all of the good things they do.
Wrapping this up. Advice to anyone who wants to get into politics?
Dave: Start young and earn your way up. Learn as you earn. Keep an open mind. Do everything you can to represent the people.
What would you like voters to know? Basically, quick promotion.
Dave: I am running a campaign in the 137th district to represent ALL people. A vote for me is a vote for them. I am going to listen to what the people say. I am going to bring that information to Harrisburg. Again, balancing out the number of Republicans vs. Democrats has to happen. In order for both parties to sit in the same room and accomplish goals.
Everyone got there because they wanted to do the best for their constituents.
One of the last issues I want to touch on is gun control. In my opinion, the strictest gun control laws in the universe are useless, unless you get them off the streets. If you can not buy them legally, it is possible to find them on the streets.
Dave: I believe everything starts with a background check. If you have a gun, in your house, that is not registered. You want to sell that gun. You should have to get it registered. Let's keep the process simple and get the guns registered.
Why is that important? Some people will say: "That is control!" That is not control. We have great laws, for guns, on the books already. First of all, the laws have to be enforced. Secondly, to register yourself to buy a gun, that is where a lot of improvement needs to be made.
The process is totally outdated. We stand / fill out a form / the person runs a check through the system / you wait forever for a response. All background checks should be done on high speed connections.
Another area is the mental health issues in this state. That is a large component that needs to be factored into the process.
Overall, I am an ex-police officer. Registering guns is important to me and all the officers out there.
A brief side conversation led me to one, final, question.
Is there any way to come close to a balance of police officers doing their job (keeping everyone safe) and going over the line (police brutality / excessive force / etc.)?
Dave: I think you are asking about what is all over the news today. The current mood of how people look at law enforcement. How law enforcement reacts to situations they run into. With the sense of everyone having a video recorder now. It is open to interpretation.
As an ex-officer, when the next news story comes on. About a police officer shooting a potentially harmless victim. It gets to me a little bit. You see a moment in time that is highly edited. This is not an excuse, it is real. If you saw what the officer first saw. Which led up to him drawing his gun. Led up to him pulling the trigger. If you knew what the officer knew. Which you won't because the media needs to sell advertising. Some news agencies are better than others. The very short blip does not show the entire picture.
Quick example: There will be an incident on the news. It goes through our court system. The officer is cleared of charges. People think: "How in the world did that officer get exonerated???? How is that possible? I saw the video?" The officer's side of the trial, you get to see the whole video. You get to hear ALL the testimony. You get to hear testimony from other eye witnesses.
I am not saying officers don't make mistakes. We all make mistakes. For the most part, departments clean up their own mistakes. The departments that don't, they should be in the news.
A lot of people like the show "Cops". You get to see the whole story. The officer has to perform 100% perfectly. He can't be 99%.
It is a tough job and everyone wants a piece of you. They are American heroes everyday. They are helping people every, single day. Enforcing laws, that is only part of their job. You don't hear all of the good things they do.
Wrapping this up. Advice to anyone who wants to get into politics?
Dave: Start young and earn your way up. Learn as you earn. Keep an open mind. Do everything you can to represent the people.
What would you like voters to know? Basically, quick promotion.
Dave: I am running a campaign in the 137th district to represent ALL people. A vote for me is a vote for them. I am going to listen to what the people say. I am going to bring that information to Harrisburg. Again, balancing out the number of Republicans vs. Democrats has to happen. In order for both parties to sit in the same room and accomplish goals.
Everyone got there because they wanted to do the best for their constituents.
