A Lock Haven Democrat has announced his intention to seek his party’s nomination for Pennsylvania’s 5th Congressional District in the upcoming primary election.
Wade Jodun stopped by The Era Tuesday afternoon, on a tour visiting newspapers through the broad reaches of the 5th District.
Laughing, he said, “I never realized the district was this big.”
Jodun said he’s focusing his campaign on two core issues — “weeding corruption out of government and protecting and rebuilding the middle class.”
A native of Mill Hall, Jodun was a biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, working in the government agency for more than 20 years. He said that on the job, he was asked to falsify information. He did not, and instead became a federal whistleblower.
While two investigations by the Office of Inspector General found in Jodun’s favor, there were no protections in place against retaliation inside the agency where he worked. He ended up leaving his employment there, and feels he learned some important points through the ordeal.
“I had 21 years fighting corruption from the inside,” Jodun said. “I’ve seen how good intentions can go awry. I’ve seen waste in the system. I’ve seen that the government is slow and unresponsive.”
He explained, “As a federal whistleblower, I stood up to do what was right and fought government corruption even when I knew it would hurt my own career and I’ll show that same courage as I fight for what is best for the country.”
Jodun said he’s spent some time in the 5th District talking to people — not about politics, but about life. “If you just talk, there’s not a lot of difference between Republicans and Democrats.”
They have the same problems, just not the same political views.
“You hear they are struggling,” he said. He told a story about a 46-year-old man with a master’s degree starting his life over after a divorce, working a low-paying job that is full time.
“We’ve got to be able to do better than that,” he said. It’s not a Democratic or Republican story, it’s an American story, Jodun said.
Too many politicians now are looking out for what is best for them first, for their party second and way down the list, for their constituents. That should be flipped around, he said.
“The first question should be how does it affect the people I represent?” Jodun said.
Jodun considers himself a conservative Democrat, explaining he is a gun owner and a fiscal conservative. “Most Americans don’t walk to the far left or the far right,” he said, “but are closer to the middle.”
The 5th District seat is currently held by U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa. Other Democratic candidates who have announced so far include Kerith Strano Taylor and Marc Friedenberg.
