Affordability and trust are on the minds of candidates for Pennsylvania’s 60th state House district this year as incumbent Republican Abby Major of Leechburg squares off with Democrat challenger Dustyn Dorn of Lower Burrell.
The 60th state house district covers parts of Armstrong and Westmoreland counties and has about 64,000 residents.
In the Alle-Kiski Valley, the district includes Allegheny Township, Apollo, East Vandergrift, Freeport, Gilpin, Hyde Park, Kiski Township, Leechburg, North Apollo, Parks Township, Vandergrift, West Leechburg and most of Lower Burrell.
Dorn, 43, is originally from Rochester, Beaver County, but moved to the Braeburn neighborhood of Lower Burrell in 2019, with his wife, Jenal.
He works in IT at BNY Mellon, as the senior vice president of production services application support, which he said has prepared him to solve problems, manage projects, balance budgets, communicate and collaborate — skills he said he plans to bring into office if elected.
He also coaches PIAA football and this year coached his daughter’s soccer team.
Over the past decade, he feels trust has eroded between state legislators and their constituents, which in part drove his desire to run for office.
“I want to restore that trust,” Dorn said. “I want to show that we can hold ourselves accountable and we should be holding our legislators accountable.”
Affordability is on his mind as well.
“I’m looking at ways to identify revenue generating income for the state to better Pennsylvanians,” Dorn said.
Stabilizing the state’s corporate net income tax, which has decreased year-over-year since 2022 and sits now at 7.49%, is one of the things that could do that, he said.
“We have private equity firms that are worried about profit and it always seems people get left behind and I’m here to make sure that the people are not left behind,” Dorn said.
Major, 41, a Manor Township native, took office in 2021 after a special election following former district Rep. Jeff Pyle’s retirement and was reelected in 2024.
Her interest in politics started young when, as a teenager at Ford City High School, she interned for former state Rep. Jeff Coleman.
After high school, she joined the Army for three years and did a tour in Iraq, which she said helps her to strategize how to get bills moved forward and taught her discipline.
“I was an intelligence analyst, which taught me a lot of critical thinking skills,” Major said.
After her stint in the military, she earned a bachelor’s degree in mortuary science from Southern Illinois University before moving back home.
Major is still a licensed funeral director through Curran Funeral Home in Apollo.
She currently lives in Leechburg and also raised her daughter in the area.
Similar to her opponent, Major has noticed affordability concerns for her constituents, she said, which is why she sponsored a bill that would put a hold on the gasoline tax for six months.
“Every budget year, they’ve been talking about raiding the rainy day fund to pay for new programs or new projects, and I’m more of the mindset that that is money that was taken from people. … It should be given back to the people,” Major said. “My bill proposed a gas tax holiday where we would backfill that money with rainy day fund money, but then that money would basically be going directly back to the people.”
The bill currently is being considered by the house transportation committee, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly website.
Looking to a potential third term, Major is focused on bringing more money into the district, especially through enticing new business to the area, she said.
Infrastructure projects, including road and bridge improvement, as well as stormwater improvements and lead line replacement are a priority for her too, she said.
“That’s what your tax dollars should be going to and that’s my priority,” Major said.
When in Harrisburg, she tries to vote in the way most people in the district would want her to, she said.
“I’m just really focused on providing and doing a good job, and making sure that the constituents feel like they’re well represented, and I think that’s the best way to win an election,” Major said.
For Dorn, term limits, stricter campaign finance and gift giving laws, reform to cyber charter school tuition and increasing the minimum wage are at the forefront of his campaign.
Dorn recognized that flipping a historically Republican district blue may be hard, but he said growing up in a blue-collar home prepared him for the challenge.
“I’ve been an underdog pretty much my entire life,” Dorn said. “My goal is to improve the quality of life of all Pennsylvanians. I don’t want to use the word fight, because I’m tired of people fighting with each other, but I’m going to strongly advocate, and I’m going to stand my firm ground to ensure that the people of the district of Pennsylvania are represented by the people.”