2 Enter Race For Warminster-Area House Seat (ICYMI)

WARMINSTER, PA — There's plenty of time between now and the 2020 elections, but a Democrat has already announced plans to take on a first-term incumbent Republican state House member in the Warminster area.

State Rep. Meghan Schroeder, who was elected last year to represent District 29 in Harrisburg, also will face at least one challenger from within her own party in a re-election bid.

Marlene Katz, a business owner from Buckingham, announced last week that she intends to run for the seat as a Democrat.

"My background in both the public and private worlds, spanning business, charity work, volunteerism and the ministry make me uniquely qualified to grasp the needs of our residents and translate those needs into both constituent services and practical legislation," Katz said in a news release. "I'm a listener, mediator, a negotiator and a problem solver."

Katz's career has included ownership of multiple day spas, launching her own product line and working as a product development consultant for cosmetic laboratories and equity firms.

She holds a bachelor's degree in general studies from the University of Connecticut, with a focus in multi-cultural affairs and political science. She also is an ordained interfaith minister and serves as a member-at-large on the board of Circle of Miracles Church.

Her top priorities would include environmental protection, combating gun violence, healthcare, education, the minimum wage and disability rights, according to her website.

Also entering the race is Republican Greg Archetto, of Warminster.

According to the Intelligencer, Archetto announced his candidacy Monday. He is a former national security official who now runs a real estate investment business, the paper reported.

Archetto, who had expressed interest in appearing on the ballot in 2018, is running because he's grown "disheartened by politicians and bureaucrats more concerned with protecting their power than serving the people they were supposed to be representing," the paper reported.

Schroeder defeated Democrat Andrew Dixon in the race to fill the seat vacated by Rep. Bernie O'Neill's retirement, 16,555 to 15,157.

District 29 includes Warminster, Warwick, Ivyland and Buckingham Township.