District Round-up 04.19.26
Dear Neighbor, Thank you for reading my District Round-up. As your candidate for Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District, it is my honor and pleasure to deliver to you where I’ve been and what issues I’ve tackled in the past week. Criss-crossing the counties of Adams, Franklin, Fulton, Bedford, Cambria, Blair, Huntingdon, Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Cumberland, and Somerset gives me great opportunities to meet with voters, hear what is on your hearts and minds, and the chance to voice my fight for Everyday Americans. If you would like to contribute to my campaign, please donate here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/beth-farnham-for-congress-1
100% HUMAN
I don’t claim to be perfect, but I do claim to be real.
When you read my newsletter or my social media, you are reading my authentic writing which includes my witticisms, foibles, and everything in between, (except for some Bluesky posts, edited by team members due to character limits.)
Recently, I rejected someone’s suggestion to use A.I. technology to create my newsletter.
But it got me thinking – does our U.S. Representative, multimillionaire John Joyce, use A.I. to write his newsletters to constituents?
Well, according to GPTZero, he does!
I ran one of my pieces from last week’s newsletter.
GPTZero’s assessment?
100% HUMAN
Then I ran one of Joyce’s pieces from his last newsletter.
GPTZero’s assessment?
100% A.I.
I went with GPTZero’s assessment because when I tried Grammerly, it claimed some of mine was A.I. generated, which I knew to be false, so I couldn’t trust anything else they asserted.
But GPTZero was absolutely correct that mine was 100% human, so I could trust their assessment of Joyce’s writing. I was expecting some kind of mixed percentage breakdown between human-generated and A.I.-generated content, but holy smokes!, it came back that his was 100% A.I.-generated.
No wonder the guy pushes A.I. technology. He can’t even write to his constituents without it.
Don’t vote for that robot wannabe.
Vote for Beth Farnham to represent our beautiful 13th Congressional District because I’ll be REAL with you.
Together, we #ChooseDemocracy and REAL Representation!
Stopping the Abuse!
While you may be feeling abused by the President of the United States of America as he whipsaws us from
destroying “a whole civilization”
to
suspending “the bombing and attack of Iran for two weeks”
to
blockading the Strait of Hormuz
to
threatening “Any Iranian who fires at us or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL”
to
criticizing the Pope
to
whatever else a madman will rant about,
remember…
this could all stop tomorrow if our U.S. Representative, multimillionaire John Joyce, and his Republican cronies in Congress wanted to stop it.
But they choose not to stop Trump
Capitalists thrive on war, division, inequality, and everything else that creates a downtrodden, abused, impoverished society too weak to defend itself against the rich and powerful. These are the same people who have voted down a higher federal minimum wage, a national healthcare plan, impeachment proceedings against Trump for his January 6th crimes, the Infrastructure Bill, the American Rescue Plan Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and they voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that cuts healthcare and food assistance who need it the most.
They aren’t Christians, they just say they are. That’s why they won’t condemn Trump for his blasphemous AI image wherein he’s the Jesus who is reviving a dead Jeffrey Epstein. Jesus isn’t their Lord and Savior. Money is and Trump is the golden calf by which it is delivered.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t have to have a madman in power, hellbent on removing our Democracy or suggesting that people worship him.
The People have the power to vote against the John Joyces of Congress and vote for the Beth Farnhams instead.
I, along with other caring Democrats, pledge to increase the federal minimum wage to a liveable one, strengthen our social safety nets of food assistance and affordable housing, create a national healthcare plan, hold accountable Trump for his crimes against humanity and constitutional law, and enact policies that strengthen our people and national security.
Please vote for me because when you choose Beth Farnham, you not only #ChooseDemocracy , you stop the abuse!
Why the Trump Administration is Terrible for Public Education and Head Start
Many thanks to Gettysburg Area School District School board president, Alice Broadway, and Executive Director of Adams County Head Start, Jen Showers, for their informative presentation at Adams County Democratic Committee headquarters last Thursday evening.
While neither presenter mentioned the President Trump nor our U.S. Representative, multimillionaire John Joyce, and they kept their presentations completely neutral in tone and non-partisan, it was clear that funding cuts for public education that those two officeholders support are doing active harm in our community.
Titling her presentation, “How Schools are Affected by Loss of Funding or Delayed Funding from State or Federal Sources,” Ms. Broadway broke down the impacts into 4 easy-to-understand categories which I will give here as well as her information.
Impacts on Planning and Stability
– Inconsistent funding for curriculum
– Misaligning with Comprehensive Plan
– Delays in in strategic improvement efforts
(Forces “reactive decisions”)
Impacts on Staffing Challenges
– Hiring delays
– Increased reliance on grant-funded roles which would then be temporary
– Programming instability
Impacts on Students
– Academic interruptions
– Inconsistent student supports
– Disproportionate impacts on disadvantaged students including Title I funding and students/class
Budget and Financial Strain
– Quandaries about money sourcing
– Heavier reliance on reserve funding which is temporary
– Reduction in level of funding rippling across the budget
She then wrapped up her presentation reminding us that over 60% of the cost per public school student is born on the backs of the property owners (I’m paraphrasing here) indicating that if the federal government goes through with its plan to cut more funding, the needs of students will need to be met through some other means.
Having served on the Conewago Valley School Board in 2023, I know that that simply means property owners would have to pay more school taxes, not just for GASD, but for every public school district. Why anyone would vote for this is beyond me.
Instead, I believe that the ultra-wealthy should pay their fair share in taxes so the federal and state governments can fund the majority of a public school student’s education.
Ms. Showers then followed with her presentation on Head Start in Adams County.
Serving 130 children and families across 10 locations, mostly in school facilities, but 1 in a church, Adams County Head Start is 100% federally-funded by the Department of Health and Human services. Families that receive SNAP are automatically eligible as are families that are homeless. The majority of families are those of 4 members whose income is $33k or lower, or for 13 slightly higher income families, for those whose children have an IEP. In addition to providing education, Head Start also works to screen students for lead, nutrition issues, hemoglobin, hearing, and vision issues, as well as up-to-date vaccination records.
Unfortunately, federal funding cuts mean no Cost of Living Adjustments for 2027 and funding freezes translate to no money coming in, 1/2 of the regional offices closed, Harrisburg office taking on 8 states’ worth of programs, and 1100 centers reported 3000 open positions denying 25000 children services to help them succeed in school.
In short, funding cuts and delays to Public Education and Head Start paint a dismal picture of loss and difficulty. Of course, we can change this by voting in people who would actually enact policies that strengthen these social safety nets.
Please vote for me, Beth Farnham, so that our public school children don’t just learn, but thrive.
Together, we #ChooseDemocracy!
Celebrating The Franklin County Democratic Committee
Many thanks to the Franklin County Democratic Committee for hosting their wonderful Spring Awards Dinner this evening at the Chambersburg Country Club.
It was a lovely event full of Democratic fellowship, heartfelt sentiments, and great food.
Speakers included former Congressman Conor Lamb, Westmoreland County Democratic Committee Chair and DNC member, Michelle Milan McFaul, Sheriff Danny Ceisler, candidate for PA House District 89 Shannon Jackson, members of the FCDC committee and yours truly.
I appreciated the opportunity to speak my truth to and connect with voters because 2026 is our year!
Together, we #ChooseDemocracy !
(Photo credits: Jack Stansbury, Christina Palesky, and Beth Farnham)
Meeting Voters in Juniata and Bedford Counties
On Thursday morning and Friday evening, Jack and I connected with the Bedford County Democratic Committee to clean up Egolf Park and the Juniata County Public Library to contribute to their fundraiser, respectively.
It was wonderful to work side by side with those who care about community spaces and to play for a great cause.
Together, we CHOOSE DEMOCRACY!
America 250 Parade in Chambersburg
Many thanks to Team Beth Farnham for Congress volunteers – Eileen Roberts, Brian Ecker, Bretni Lentz, Joe, Jack Stansbury, and Rosemary and Gary Hill for marching with me in the Franklin County America 250 parade.
It was a beautiful day in Chambersburg for Democracy and patriotism.
May we always come together for such noble purposes.
May we always #ChooseDemocracy !
(Photo credits: Eileen Roberts and Jack Stansbury)
Charity of the Week!
Center for Community Action
The Center for Community Action operates in a broad swath of our 13th Congressional District and “coordinates, partners, and provides services and resources to low-income individuals and families, to promote self-sufficiency; and fosters community and economic development in our service area.”
Many of the partners they work with are listed on their website: centerforcommunityaction.org
Connect with them to see how you can help!
Comparing and Contrasting Votes on Legislation
Check out how Joyce recently voted, how I would have voted in comparison, and why!
If you’re like me, you love this country as much as I do and work to make a positive difference. In the midst of this Constitutional Crisis, please consider reaching out to your local Democratic committees or Democratic candidates so that we can strengthen our Democracy instead of letting it slide into fascism. We don’t just #ChooseDemocracy, we choose Pennsylvania, we choose The United States of America, we choose Humanity and I am deeply glad to work along side you. Sincerely, Beth
