Congressman Brad Wenstrup, left, and his opponent Marek Tyszkiewicz participate in a candidate forum hosted by the Clermont County Cha.m.ber of Commerce Oct. 21. From left are Wenstrup, Tyszkiewicz and moderator Kevin Malof.

Congressman Brad Wenstrup, left, and his opponent Marek Tyszkiewicz participate in a candidate forum hosted by the Clermont County Cha.m.ber of Commerce Oct. 21. From left are Wenstrup, Tyszkiewicz and moderator Kevin Malof.
By Kristin Rover
Sun staff

Democratic candidate Marek Tyszkiewicz is challenging Republican Congressman Brad Wenstrup for his seat in the house of representatives from the 2nd District.

Wenstrup is a podiatrist, small business owner, and served in the United States Army Reserves in Iraq. He was elected to congress in 2012.

Wenstrup said he has been involved in the district the past two years. He said he has visited local governments, schools, hospitals and businesses in the district to hear from employees about what is important to them.

Wenstrup said he believes in getting people back to work to strengthen the economy.

“To me, there is no greater social reform than a job,” Wenstrup said. “We have people in the area who want to go to work. We are open for business.”

Wenstrup said when it comes to improving transportation in the area, he supports a fiscally responsible transportation bill that would help fund projects.

“I support efforts to improve highway safety, like the Brent Spence Bridge,” Wenstrup said.

Wenstrup said he would support a long-term reauthorization bill that would provide more stability for states to accomplish large transportation projects. He said he also supports more public-private relationships that would help leverage the federal dollars.

Wenstrup said when it comes to the environment, he does not support regulations that could affect energy prices especially with coal providing power to businesses and jobs in the state.

“I believe in having scientific evidence,” Wenstrup said. “Families can’t tolerate higher utility bills and fewer jobs.”

Wenstrup said he wants to continue representing people in the district.

“I feel as representative it is my job to be an a.m.bassador,” Wenstrup said about serving as congressman. “I hope to have the opportunity to continue doing so.”

Tyszkiewicz is an actuary and a small business owner, and he is hoping to defeat Wenstrup in the election.

“As far as I can tell there has never been an actuary in congress before,” Tyszkiewicz said.

Tyszkiewicz said his background as an actuary has allowed him to work with Republicans and Democrats to solve budget issues.

“I’ve learned both sides respect actuaries because they respect facts,” he said.

Tyszkiewicz said he supports a federal transportation bill that would help fund projects like the Brent Spence Bridge, but has new ideas for where the funding should come from.

“I a.m. against raising the gas tax,” Tyszkiewicz said.

He said he would rather repeal the gas tax because he feels it is not working and replace it with a derivative trading tax that he said would affect Wall Street bankers and raise funds that would be used for transportation improvement projects.

Tyszkiewicz said he is also in favor of environmental regulations and believes that global warming is occurring.

“The environment is part of our infrastructure,” Tyszkiewicz said.

He said he supports environmental regulations, and he said his plan of reducing or eliminating the gas tax will also help reduce the carbon footprint.

Tyszkiewicz said he looks forward to talking about solutions to the problems that the district faces if he is elected.

“If you like my way of thinking, look for a “T” followed by a bunch of consonants,” Tyszkiewicz said about voting on election day.

For more information about Congressman Brad Wenstrup visit www.usabrad.com. For more information about Marek Tyszkiewicz visit www.electintegrity.com.