LANSDALE — A longtime local lawmaker is calling it a career.
State Sen. Bob Mensch, R-24th, announced on Thursday he plans not to run for reelection after his current term ends in 2023.
“You know it’s time. It has been weighing on my mind for quite some time,” Mensch said Thursday.
First elected to the state Senate in 2009 after the resignation of predecessor Rob Wonderling, Mensch has represented Pennsylvania’s 24th district, which includes parts of Berks, Bucks and Montgomery counties, including Lansdale and Pottstown boroughs and Towamencin, Lower Salford and Skippack townships.
Prior to running for the state Senate, Mensch spent three years representing the 147th Legislative District in the state House, and had been a supervisor in Marlborough Township from 2003-05. Before his first runs for office, Mensch recalled Thursday, he had worked in telecommunications, “most of the time with AT&T,” and brought a set of skills from that job into politics.
“It affects the way you view legislation: the impact it has on the citizenry, the commercial environment, how we look at budgeting. So it’s extremely helpful,” Mensch said.
Photo courtesy of Senator Bob Mensch,
Retiring Lansdale police Officer James Owens receives a formal citation from state Sen. Bob Mensch during a farewell reception in honor of Owens’ retirement on Sept. 15, 2020.
Asked what has changed during his time in office, he noted the current highly charged partisan atmosphere in Harrisburg.
“It has tended to become more partisan, which makes things a little bit more difficult. Sometimes, too much follows just party lines, which is difficult. Policy is becoming ideological, and that’s not good,” he said.
“The closer you get to leadership issues, like who is president and who is governor, the more partisan it becomes,” Mensch said.
What would he tell his successor, or a potential candidate considering their own run for office? “Be dedicated. Be loyal. Work with the citizens. Try to understand the issues. You have an opinion, but you need to legislate from public majority, public consensus,” he said.
In a formal announcement Thursday, Mensch’s office shared an article from the Town and Country of Upper Perkiomen Valley outlining his legislative accomplishments, and his desire to spend more time with family at age 76. Above and beyond his recent accomplishments outlined there, Mensch said he was proud of new bills in the works regarding lobbyist reform and breast cancer treatment.
He said he aims to continue working on the fiscal management of the state, while reflecting on the differences between the three governors he has worked alongside to pass state budgets.
“I started in the Rendell days, and I think my first year we were six months past the date to pass a state budget — the deadline is June 30th, and it was in December when we finally voted on a budget,” he said.
“We haven’t seen that brinksmanship since. That was Rendell’s management style. Corbett and Wolf have managed it a little differently. This governor we have today really refuses to work closely with the legislature, and I think that’s to his detriment,” Mensch said.
What challenges does he see for whoever represents the 24th next?
“I think that people will continue to remain as ideological as they are, until they see some balance come back. And we need to regain the public’s confidence in the voting system,” he said.
“There’s a great deal of mistrust on both sides, the left and the right. For the COVID guidance: one side thinks there’s not enough, the other side thinks there’s way too much. I never thought a disease would become political. Put away the social media, and let’s get down to talk about things, and maybe we can get some things done,” Mensch said.
The Town and Country interview indicated that Mensch plans to continue playing music once out of office, and he told The Reporter on Thursday he’s “a reed guy,” largely playing clarinet and saxophone, occasionally flute.
“It is my touchstone to sanity. Musicians are wonderful people, I enjoy being around them. They’re unlike any other group of people. You do see things differently, and laugh at certain things. If I’m not with other musicians, and start laughing at things, maybe people don’t appreciate the same sense of humor,” he said.
While he’ll still be in office through the end of next year, Mensch added, he’s already thinking about parting thoughts to the voters he has represented for over a decade.
“I’ve enjoyed just about every minute of it. I don’t think I would change much, and I wish the people of Pennsylvania, and the 24th Senate District, Godspeed and good luck as we move forward,” he said.
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