Lehigh Valley voters will decide Nov. 6 who will succeed Charlie Dent as their next representative in Congress, with an annual salary of $174,000. In some parts of the Lehigh Valley, there are actually two races - a special election in Pa-15 to fill the vacancy created when Dent suddenly resigned; and a regular election in the newly created Pa-7. Since those districts have different demographics, it is entirely possible that one candidate could win the special election while another is the victor in regular race.

There are three candidates. Republican Marty Nothstein, an Olympic gold medalist, owns a carwash, operates the family farm and chairs Lehigh County’s Board of Commissioners. Democrat Susan Wild was a partner at the Gross McGinley law firm and was briefly Allentown’s City Solicitor. Libertarian Tim Silfies is a former business reporter at Fox News and WFMZ-TV69 and also produced several television programs.

To their credit, these candidates have participated in numerous debates. The first of these encounters took place on WDIY-FM’s Lehigh Valley Discourse, hosted by Alan Jennings. He encouraged the candidates to speak at length about their positions, without interruption. The final encounter was a League of Women Voters-sponsored debate at Gracedale chapel, under the glare of cameras and a raucous audience that constantly interrupted with boos and cheers. Based on these debates, here’s what the candidates say.

Foriegn policy

Silfies said there are “good things and bad things” about Trump’s foreign policy. He objected to hardcore rhetoric toward North Korea, but liked it when Trump actually sat down with Kim Jong Un. Silfies said he is a “noninterventionist.”

Wild answered that the United States “needs to get back to being a diplomatic leader in this world.” She charged Trump with “eviscerating” the diplomatic corps and the state department. She said Trump has failed to work with our allies. She accused him of “bending over for autocrats” at the expense of long-standing allies.

Nothstein lauded Trump for his willingness to sit down with foreign leaders. He declared we need to “take care of America first.” He defended Trump as the “ultimate outsider” who ignores the traditional approach. He admitted that everyone “cringes at times,” but said Trump intent is good.

Minimum wage

Nothstein said a minimum wage should be dictated by the markets and state government. He calls minimum wage jobs stepping stones to better jobs.

Silfies said that, as a reporter, he heard what impact this has on small business. “The people we want to help end up getting hurt,” he observed. There would be unintended consequences.

Wild argued the minimum wage should be a “living wage” instead of an “abysmal” $7.25 per hour. She wants to phase in a higher minimum wage until it reaches $15 per hour. “The more money we put into the pockets of the average worker, the more those workers are able to consume the kinds of things that build our economy.”

Student loan debt

Wild said college should be more affordable. Student debt should be restructured. She argued it’s “outrageous” that interest rates on student loans are higher than on her mortgage and car loan. Nothstein slammed predatory for-profit colleges that have catchy marketing plans and load students up with debt, and the students end up unable to graduate. He also pointed out that the cost of education has skyrocketed. Silfies asked,”Why does everyone need to go to college?” He’s done stories about welders and machinists who start at $60,000. He also argued that college cost goes up because administrators know that the government is willing to give loans.

Money in politics

Wild says voters are discouraged “because people perceive, probably correctly, that Washington is run by special interests and corporate interests.” She refused to accept any corporate PAC money. She adds, “We are way too polarized.”

Her funding dwarfs the other candidates. As of Oct. 1, she raised $2.4 million. Only $341,756 of her total, or 15 percent, comes from Pennsylvania. The rest is outside money.

By contrast, Nothstein has raised $856,359, including $145,000 of his own money. He claims most of his money comes from the district, but FEC reports show that only 26 percent of his total funding comes from Pennsylvania.

Silfies reports having raised $48,276. Of this total, $33,975 came out of his own pocket.

In the Business Matters debate, Wild defended the money she received, saying most of it comes in the form of very small donations. According to the FEC website, only 13 percent, of her total contributions come from donations under $200. In the Gracedale debate, Silfes accused Wild of hypocrisy for claiming to represent the common man, but taking more than a quarter million dollars from one PAC composed of Wall Street bigwigs who want power and influence. “She talks about sensible policy in the Middle East, and she takes PAC money from PACs that get their money from Boeing, Lockheed Martin,” he observed. “These are the backbone of the military industrial complex. These are companies that profit from selling arms for wars.”

Taxes

Wild said most of the recent tax cuts go to the wealthy 1 percent and major corporations. She agrees tax reform is needed, but calls President Donald Trump’s latest proposed middle class tax cut an “election year stunt.”

Nothestein sharply disagreed, saying he’s met truck drivers and construction workers who could take their children to the shore for the first time in seven years as a result of those tax cuts. “Last time I checked, middle class wasn’t 1 percent,” he said to Wild at the Gracedale debate. “So I don’t know who you’re hanging around with, aside from your donors. These tax cuts are helping people. These are hard-working, hard-hat- wearing, backhoe-driving people who are seeing more money in their pockets, and they like the tax cuts.”

“Tax cuts are good,” said Silfies. But he pointed out that the national debt is $21 trillion, and neither of the major parties is willing to cut spending.

Affordable Care Act

Silfies would like to see more free-market solutions. He noted Lasik eye surgery is paid for by individuals, and prices have gone down.

“Health care is a right, not a privilege,” Wild said. She argued that Medicare should be allowed to negotiate drug prices to make it more efficient. Nothstein agreed health care costs have risen dramatically, but that Washington needs to stay out of it.

He defended himself from campaign ads accusing him of wanting to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions or household members under age 26. He favors keeping that part of the Affordable Care Act and decreasing premeiums to expand the field of insurers to decrease premiums.