Rico Elmore

I am a native this district, I was born and raised here. I served as an advocate for criminal justice reform for Beaver County after graduating from Penn State with a Criminal Justice degree. I am also an Air Force Veteran serving in the Air National Guard. Between my experience as a veteran and serving the community through my Clean Slate program, I have decided to answer the call to be the voice of the people of this district for Pennsylvania. District 16 needs to lead the way on helping veterans and disadvantaged citizens to have the same opportunities to pursue happiness as everyone else. I want to expand my Clean Slate program that helps non-violent offenders receive job opportunities. I also want to ensure veterans have the resources they need to transition into civilian life or balance their military and civilian lives.

As a veteran, I also hold freedom very close to my heart, I believe in the constitution and are God-given rights to freedom and happiness. I strongly support our Bill of Rights, especially our right to bear arms.

My beliefs in God and family were instilled in me by my late mother, who passed while I was a teenager. This experience made me truly value family and the support that comes with it. I believe that reconnecting that bond as a community can lead us to having a stronger foundation to flourish as a District and as individuals.

• We need to reform the Criminal Justice system, non-violent offenders cannot overcome some of the legal obstacles to return to being a contributing member of society.
• We need to fight to maintain our constitutional rights, our rights under the second amendment continue to be attacked. We need to ensure our rights do not get infringed upon.
• We need to reconnect as people, we have too many issues with violence, opioids, and people being disenfranchised that we can resolve with fundamental support from each other.

I am passionate about:

Criminal Justice Reform,
Veterans Related Issues,
Protecting Our Freedoms,
Pro-Life, and
Family/Community values

i look up to the men and women that define greatness in our country, and also history. President Lincoln uprooted a system that was terrible within this country and sought to change it. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of a unity for this country, and fought to make it happen. Both of these men come from different times, but with similar passions. both of these men come from different social status, but fight for unity. These are my type of heroes, heroes for equality for everyone.

As a member of the Air Force, I was taught and believe that our core values of Integrity, Excellence in all we do, and Service before Self capture all of the key characteristics that are important for all people, especially those in a leadership role.

I will be successful in office due to my enduring work ethic which has driven me to initiate the Clean Slate program and now pushes me towards becoming a State Legislator. My people skills will assist my success, the Air Force has shown me that working diverse groups and teamwork enhances the ability to complete our mission. As an officeholder, integrity will be a invaluable resource and I will always do whats best for the community. Overall, my compassion for people is the one factor that combines my hard work, my ability to work with others, and desire to do good for the community and will enable me to help the people and the communities, as the measurement of my success will be how much I have helped.

The attacks of September 11, 2001. Like many of us who were old enough to remember, it was a major event for a young man in the 6th grade to handle. That moment even though i was young, I felt the passion to stand up for my country and my communities.

My first job was working at the Beaver Falls Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe in conjunction with a paper route. I worked both those jobs for approximately one year.

I would be Shazam, because he is a super hero who is also a child and still has the wonderful exuberance of a child. He has great wisdom and great powers. I believe that makes him very unique to have that balance of wisdom and youthful enthusiasm. He can be so powerful, yet remains very humble and appreciates life. I think if we could emulate the wisdom, enthusiasm, and humbleness, we can use our power for enriching the world.

Yes, it is paramount that legislators work together to pass laws that benefit the society. Building good relationships fosters good communication and the ability to collaborate on important issues. It allows for the dialogue needed from both sides of opposing views so that we can understand each other's views. These types of relationships lead to better laws and better communities.

Yes, with my experience working in criminal justice reform, my first choice would be the Judiciary Committee. I have also had rewarding experiences working with groups that help children, so the Children and Youth Committee would be one I would want to contribute towards. I would also like to take part in the Labor and Industry Committee.

I would like to model myself off of all of the legislators that I can, I believe that everyone has a strength that I can learn from and take the positive traits from them all. This will enable me to be the best that I can be as a legislator and a person.