Local elections, especially for representatives in the state house, pick the officials that have the greatest impact on Penn State. Though these positions are often overlooked, they are of the greatest importance to Penn State students.

Depending on where your residence is located, you will most likely be voting in either district 171 or 77 for state Representative.

The Republican candidate for PA 171 is Kerry Benninghoff; a Penn State alum who has been representing the students of Penn State since 1996.

The Republican running against Democrat incumbent Scott Conklin for PA 77 is newcomer and Penn State database administrator Tom Martin.

One of the best examples of how Kerry Benninghoff has been looking out for students is in the bill he introduced recently that would make students and their families eligible for a $1500 tax credit for attending a state related university such as Penn State.

The fact that this bill comes at a time when Democrats like Ed Rendell are worried about providing tax credits for movie producers shows that local Republicans have your interests as students in mind.

Kerry was one of the few representatives who helped bring the PA Right-to-Know Law through the state house.

This open records bill will allow the people of Pennsylvania to look at how the government spends money at all levels, including even at Penn State. It is a gigantic step towards transparency in government that will shine a light on the areas of government waste and corruption.

Another area where Kerry Benninghoff is working to improve the lives of Pennsylvanians is in health care.

Kerry comes from a background in the health services area, and he understands that the inability to afford healthcare is a symptom, not the problem.

Access to healthcare will always be a problem until we can bring the costs down. Without tort reform, doctors will be forced to continue to practice the defensive medicine strategies that drive up costs.

A major issue where both Republican nominees stand clearly in contrast to the Democrat Scott Conklin is in their opposition to tolling Interstate 80.

Scott Conklin would like you to believe he is against the tolling to distract you from the fact that he already voted for it.

In contrast, Kerry Benninghoff has voted against tolling Interstate 80 every time it has come up, and Tom Martin would do the same if elected.

Tom Martin is a very liberty minded individual with very solid goals he would like to accomplish if elected to office.

One of the most important issues to Tom would be enacting term limits for representatives. Term limits would prevent the special interests to take hold as new legislators would be coming through every ten years.

Another important issue to Tom Martin would be establishing a rule that would limit the growth of state spending to inflation. When given the option of growing government or growing the economy, it is important that we make sure to grow the economy so that hard working people can prosper.

Tax cuts are another thing that will help our economy grow and help the people of Pennsylvania keep more of their money, but spending reductions have to happen first.

Both Kerry Benninghoff and Tom Martin will fight corruption and government waste in our state.

They will fight for the increased transparency and accountability that we need at the state level to insure that we have a responsible government working for the people.

Alex Smith is the chairman of the Penn State College Republicans. His e-mail address is ahs5030@psu.edu.