Josh Bashline initially wanted to work in law enforcement.
The son of a military veteran, Bashline graduated from Edinboro University and served in the Army as an infantryman for 12 years.
After returning from the secondment, his professional goals changed.
“I kind of got bitten by the political bug, as people call it,” Bashline told the Capital-Star. “I was always well-informed, watching the news, staying up to date on issues, paying attention to what was happening nationally and in the state, but I really changed and made it my – I don’t like to exploit the word career, but I think that’s what “It will be there when I come back.”
Bashline began volunteering on his local committee for the Trump campaign and eventually began managing Stacy Wallace’s campaign for the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court.
After working on other local races and helping Mehmet Oz’s 2022 U.S. Senate campaign, he became chief of staff to Republican state Rep. Parke Wentling.
Bashline received a call from GOP state Rep. Donna Oberlander, who informed him she would not seek re-election in 2024. He decided to run to succeed her.
“When the door opens like that, you can’t run,” Bashline said. “And my number one reason why I’m running, even though I think it’s a cliché, but I say it anyway, but you always petition the government. You ask your elected officials to take action, but when the opportunity arises to aid, to step in and do it yourself, you can’t say no. So that’s my number one reason. You know, you can’t complain if you’re the one making the decisions.
In a field of four candidates for the Republican nomination in the 63rd House of Representatives district, Bashline won primary elections and defeated Democrat Pat Ritchie in general elections.
Bashline said he learned a lot from his experience working with the Pennsylvania General Assembly in his previous position and it will be helpful to him as he leads his office after being sworn in.
He enters the Pennsylvania General Assembly with Democrats holding a one-seat majority in the chamber. In his opinion, there may be some level of agreement between the parties, in particular regarding the identification of companies.
“I think over 70-80% of the bills passed out of the house in Pennsylvania are bipartisan,” Bashline said. “We definitely argue about a lot of social issues and other things, but Pennsylvanians don’t focus on that. They are focused on their finances and energy.”
He believes that it will be possible to find common ground regarding next year’s budget and added that his personal goal is to be accessible and show the public the role he plays in local government.
“I think many people are so fed up with politics that they lose interest in the civic part of it,” he said. “I wish I could explain… how people can get involved and really learn more about this topic. You can’t just go in there and try to be a one-man wrecking crew and think, “I want to do this for any issue, no matter what side you’re on.”
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Capital-Star: What makes your neighborhood unique?
Bass line: : From top to bottom, it takes over an hour and a half to walk the entire district. So it’s gigantic.
I think what’s really unique is that we’re, like in the Northwest, we’re right downtown, from my house in Clarion, you can be in State College or Pittsburgh or Erie in exactly an hour and a half, so we’re within reach hand middle.
You could say we are a typical rural county. There are many tiny towns, which is my favorite part because each tiny town has its own festivals and themes. Some of them have been doing it for over 100 years. So there’s a real tiny town charm to it.
Lots of good tiny businesses make a real difference here.
And then we have a lot of agriculture. I’d say there’s a lot of farmland between those two towns, of course, a lot of Pennsylvania in general.
It’s basically two counties, but it’s made up of all these nice little towns, each of which is different and has its own distinct personality and people.
Capital-Star: What would you describe as the most pressing issue in your district?
Bass line: : Given the state of the economy and the situation over the last few years, inflation, grocery store prices and energy, it all brings everyone down and then it all starts going downhill. If gas is too costly and you can’t heat your home and you can’t invest more in your business, there’s nothing you can do to better yourself and your family.
Get out of the way or in some other way that, like me as a legislator, would make people’s lives easier, whether it’s lowering fees, reducing government regulation, and the like.
The national issues that were gigantic: people talking about the war in Ukraine, the Middle East or the border were huge, but the most vital thing was everyday families and every single [person] we touched on the issue of inflation and the economy and getting it back on track.
Capital-Star: When you’re sworn into office in January, what do you think will be your top legislative priority?
Bass line: : If you look at neighboring states, especially Ohio, we have almost twice the natural resources. Companies and other groups that would provide thousands of family-sustaining jobs will choose to go to Ohio, Tennessee or Florida when there are actually more of them.
So why are they going there and not here? I would really like to look at how the government can go out of its way to aid people thrive. And that’s going to take a lot of research to get into the details, to talk to even tiny business owners about why they can’t expand or why they can’t hire more employees, and sort of get to the bottom of the problem.
Capital-Star: Do you plan to introduce specific legislation once you take office?
Bass line: : I was working, just doing personal research on something that could aid the treasury and unclaimed property. This is a great thing that people like. And our state treasurer has done a really good job of allocating the billions that she and her team have given to Pennsylvanians.
