Montco's Val Arkoosh, running for U.S. Senate, discussed the issues with Patch Wednesday

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — For the past six years, Val Arkoosh has helped to lead Pennsylvania’s third largest county.

Now, the Democratic Montgomery County Commissioners’ chair has her sights set on helping constituents on a national level by becoming Pennsylvania’s next U.S. senator.

Arkoosh, a physician by trade who is running for the Senate seat currently held by retiring Republican Senator Pat Toomey, spent some time speaking with Patch in an exclusive one-on-one interview Wednesday.

The interview came on the same day that Arkoosh heard concerns from minority entrepreneurs in nearby Philadelphia during a virtual business roundtable event, which Patch was also invited to attend.

Arkoosh told Patch that she has been traveling all over the commonwealth throughout her campaign and hearing “very consistent themes” from Pennsylvanians of all political stripes.

People are worried about the economy, and whether or not their jobs would return after the pandemic ends, she said. And there are those parents who are concerned about the cost of childcare and whether or not schools will be able to remain open all year due to rising COVID-19 infection rates.

Then there are the individuals who worry about the climate, in part due to the recent spate of intense weather we’ve had in this state, tornados and all.

And of course there are the folks worried about the ever-rising costs of healthcare plans and prescription drugs.

If her traversing the state has told Arkoosh one thing, it’s that many Pennsylvanians share the same worries regardless of what political party, if any, they belong to.

“When I see a problem, I put my mind to solving it,” Arkoosh said. “I plan to win by being true to this approach. By letting Pennsylvanians know that I will always stand up for them.”

Arkoosh is seeking federal office during a time of intense partisan divide the country over. If she wins the primary, and ultimately the general election, Arkoosh will need to work on behalf of all residents of the commonwealth, not just those who may have voted for her. She says she’s up to the task.

“I’m really confident that Pennsylvanians will respond to someone who’s real and on their side,” she said.

Arkoosh noted that she fought for more than 850,000 Montgomery County residents when she worked to raise the minimum wage for county employees and when she helped to preserve over 10,000 acres of farmland. Then there’s the county’s AAA bond rating and the fact that she has helped to keep Montgomery County taxes some of the lowest in the region. The latter is an issue that Republicans can get on board with, as they they typically support lower taxes.

“I’m responding to the issues that are keeping Pennsylvanians up at night and those issues are not partisan,” she said.

On the federal level, Arkoosh said she is “very enthusiastic” about President Biden’s infrastructure plan, something she feels Pennsylvanians can resonate with given the fact that the commonwealth is often known for its poor roadways and outdated bridges.

“It is something that needs to get across the finish line,” she said of the infrastructure plan.

Fixing Pennsylvania’s infrastructure problems would also help to create a lot of good jobs in the state, she said.

Arkoosh said those who know her personally can attest to the fact that she is no-nonsense, and tells it like it is. She said she plans to use her experience as a medical doctor as an inspiration for what she can do as a federal legislator.

“You cannot BS your way out of a problem in the operating room,” she said. “You have to fix it.”

Other issues important to Pennsylvania that Arkoosh would like to tackle if she becomes U.S. Senator include improving broadband Internet needs for those rural communities across the commonwealth — we have many of them — and ensuring that the state’s drinking water is clean.

She also said voting rights is an issue important to her, given that some lawmakers in Pennsylvania and other states across the country are attempting to pass legislation that could lead to voter suppression.

If Arkoosh is elected, she would become Pennsylvania's first-ever woman U.S. senator.

The other Democratic Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidates formally in the running as of now are John Fetterman, the state's current lieutenant governor; Malcolm Kenyatta, a state representative from Philadelphia; Kevin Baumlin, a Philadelphia resident, doctor, and chair of the emergency medicine department at Pennsylvania Hospital; Sharif Street, a state senator from Philadelphia; Eric Orts, a Philadelphian and University of Pennsylvania professor; and Conor Lamb, a U.S. House member from Allegheny County.

If elected, Kenyatta would become Pennsylvania's first Black and first openly gay senator, while Street, if elected, would become the first Black senator from the state.

The Republicans who have declared their candidacy for the U.S. Senate race are Montgomery County businessman and 2018 lieutenant governor nominee Jeff Bartos; Montgomery County resident Kathy Barnette, a conservative commentator and 2020 congressional nominee; Allegheny County resident and military veteran Sean Parnell; Cumberland County resident and former U.S. ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands; and Philadelphia resident Craig Snyder, a former aide to the late Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter.