In 136th's Democratic matchup, Taiba Sultana looks to unseat Robert Freeman
It's Freeman's first-ever primary state House race; Sultana ousted an incumbent when she was elected to Easton City Council in 2021.
In the 136th state House District, incumbent Robert Freeman is facing Easton Councilwoman Taiba Sultana in the April 23 Democratic primary election.
It’s the first primary challenge that Freeman is facing since he was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1982. He hasn’t had a general election opponent since 2010 when he defeated Republican Ron Shegda with 64% of the vote.
Sultana was elected to Easton City Council in 2021 after defeating longtime incumbent Sandra Vulcano in the primary election.
There are no Republicans on the April 23 primary ballot in the 136th. Only Democrats and Republicans can vote in the primary for their respective party candidates.
Freeman said he wants to continue his work as a lawmaker. “I have dedicated myself to representing the needs and concerns of everyday people of Pennsylvania. My record is one of fighting for working families, senior citizens, consumers, and our environment,” he said.
Sultana believes she is a voice of change whose life experiences match that of the constituents of the 136th.
Her experiences as a woman, a Muslim, an immigrant and someone who has faced domestic violence and homelessness keep her aware of the needs of Northampton County residents. Sultana entered the race to build “a brighter future where all working people can thrive.”
Each has questioned the other’s qualifications.
“My story started in Pakistan in 1983, the year my opponent was first elected to office,” Sultana said at the debate. (Freeman was elected in 1982.) “My opponent has been in office for 40 years and has done nothing out of the ordinary. My opponent has no record.”
Said Freeman, “Rhetoric is cheap. Actions are not. A legislator is a public figure. It’s an important role. You need to be present in the community. You have to know what a legislator is in order to become one. If you don’t know — why are you running?”
In February, Freeman raised questions over signatures on Sultana’s nomination petitions, saying there were “irregularities” in more than half of the 656 signatures. One signature bore the name of state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-18th, who said she didn’t sign the petition and was precluded from doing so because she does not live in the 136th. The address associated with the signature doesn’t exist.
Sultana called Boscola’s signature a “trick” and said that it was an “oversight” for her campaign not to have caught it. Freeman could not mount a successful petition challenge because even with questions over signatures, Sultana had met the threshold of having at least 300 valid signatures.
In early March, Sultana was approved for the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program in Northampton County Court after being charged with harassment and simple assault last summer over a domestic incident.
She said she chose ARD “to protect my family from the vicious attacks of those in power as well as keep my voice so that I can fight for my family and yours.”
At the March 13 Easton City Council meeting, police Chief Carl Scalzo Jr. defended his department’s handling of her arrest, showing the body camera video of the incident, where officers discussed being obligated to file misdemeanor charges and about the need to alert superiors about the pending arrest of a council member.
State representatives serve two-year terms and will earn $106,422 this year.
The 136th District includes Easton, Wilson, parts of Palmer Township, Williams Township, Glendon, West Easton, Freemansburg, Hellertown, and parts of Lower Saucon.
Candidate profiles are based on interviews, the South Side Civic Association March 5 debate, campaign websites, Facebook pages, Linkedin sites and other online sources. The candidates are listed alphabetically.
Robert Freeman
Robert L. Freeman, 68, grew up in Easton’s West Ward. His mother was a nurse and his father died when Freeman was 9.
Freeman graduated from Easton Area High School in 1975. He received a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Moravian University and earned a master’s degree in history from Lehigh in 1984.
Freeman is married to Terri Arshan Freeman and has two stepchildren.
Foray into politics
After being elected in 1982, Freeman served six terms in the 136th before forgoing reelection for an unsuccessful bid for the state Senate in 1994. He returned to the 136th in 1998 and has served ever since.
While out of office, he served as executive director of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee and as Democratic executive director of the Senate Local Government Committee from 1997-98.
Freeman serves as chair of the House Local Government Committee. He wrote the 2004 bill that created the Elm Street Program, which aims to revitalize older residential neighborhoods.
Recently, he proposed legislation that will allow craft breweries to remain open past midnight on New Year's Eve until 2 a.m. on Jan. 1 and to obtain a one-time use permit to remain open until 2 a.m. on another day of their choosing.
He also recently reintroduced legislation that would create a Pennsylvania lease-purchase option home ownership program to help renters buy homes they are leasing.
“I will continue to work to promote economic opportunity, address pressing environmental issues, promote adequate funding for public education, expand health care coverage, and promote open space preservation and smart growth planning practices to empower communities to better manage growth to control their destiny and to have the tools to mitigate the effects of large warehouse development,” Freeman said.
Abortion
Freeman has voted against Republican-led efforts to restrict abortions. “We’re not going to let [the denial of women’s abortion rights] happen in Pennsylvania,” he said at the March 5 debate.
In 2017, he voted no to Senate Bill 3, which would have prohibited abortions after 20 weeks, replacing the current ban after 24 weeks. Then-Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed the measure. In 2019, he voted against House Bill 321, which would have prevented an abortion because of a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. The measure was vetoed by Wolf.
In 2021, Freeman voted no to House Bill 118, which would have allowed parents to collect fetal remains of unborn children because of miscarriage, stillbirth or ectopic pregnancy. The bill passed the House but was tabled in the Senate.
In 2022, he voted no on a proposed constitutional amendment package that would state that in Pennsylvania “there is no constitutional right to a taxpayer-funded abortion or other right relating to abortion.” It would not have outright banned abortions. The amendment package did not move forward after Democrats took control of the House in 2023.
Guns
Freeman has voted against bills that would preserve or expand gun ownership and in favor of bills that would make it harder to obtain firearms. In 2021, he voted in favor of a procedural vote on House Bill 770 that would have banned owning, selling or making high-capacity, semi-automatic weapons. The bill did not go to the Senate. He voted no on Senate Bill 565 that would have allowed anyone to conceal-carry a weapon without a background check or permit. It passed the legislature but was vetoed by Wolf. Freeman voted for House Bill 979 that would have restricted municipalities from regulating firearms and allow aggrieved parties to sue municipalities. It was also vetoed by Wolf. Freeman voted in favor of 2024’s House Bill 777, which would ban the purchase, sale and production of untraceable gun parts, so called ghost guns. It passed the House 104-97 on on March 27. It has not gone to the Senate.
Education
Freeman introduced 2023’s House Bill 100, which would allow older students to tutor younger students in public schools. It passed the House last year but was not voted upon in the Senate.
He was a co-sponsor of House Bill 301, the 2023-24 education funding code that included $600 million in state education funding, $300 million for libraries and community colleges, $100 million to school mental health services and $175 million to school facility repairs. It also allocated $150 million to the Educational Improvement Tax Credit and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit programs, which provide tax breaks to businesses that give monetary donations to scholarships and other educational funds across the Commonwealth.
Freeman voted no to House Bill 1332 in 2021, which would require public school districts to publish on their websites the curriculum for each grade and subject area for parental review of lessons and textbooks. It was vetoed by Wolf.
LGBTQIA+ issues
Freeman voted in favor of House Bill 300 in 2023, which would expand protections for LGBTQIA+ people. It would “amend the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to prohibit discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation or gender expression or identity,” according to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. It passed the House 102-98 on May 2, 2023, but was not taken up by the Republican-controlled Senate.
He voted no to House Bill 972, which sought to ban transgender girls from female sports teams in public schools, colleges and universities. It was vetoed by Wolf in 2022.
Elections
Freeman voted against Act 77, which allowed mail-in voting for the first time in 2020.
‘I am supportive of mail-in voting but the act also did away with the option of voters to cast a straight-party ticket, which many voters preferred as an option,” Freeman said. “Mail-in voting has proven to be an effective way for more voters to cast their ballots and participate in the election process.”
He said he would like to improve the “ease” of mail-in ballots, enact more safety protocols, embrace innovations in use in other states such as same-day voter registration (but he would also like to make sure identification for undocumented immigrants would not be used for voter registration), and he supports pre-canvassing of mail-in ballots before Election Day, which would allow county elections offices to begin processing ballots sooner.
Freeman has proposed House Bill 1220, which would require state House and Senate candidates to file campaign expense reports more frequently and to create a more transparent reporting process during an election year. It was recently approved by the House State Government Committee.
"This is information voters should have access to earlier in a campaign than they currently do," Freeman said
Environment
The Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania in 2020-21 gave Freeman a lifetime score of 99% with 100% being the top score. Freeman recently sponsored House Bill 31, which would provide further regulations for storm sewer and watercourse management. It also would allow the enactment and enforcement of ordinances related to the planning, management, construction, and maintenance of stormwater facilities.
He recently sponsored House Bill 175, which would provide public health protections associated with hydraulic fracturing infrastructure, also known as fracking,
Health care
In 2021 Freeman proposed a bill that would allow the State Workers’ Insurance Fund to offer health insurance as a public option to lower costs for consumers. It did not get a House vote.
In 2023, Freeman co-sponsored House Bill 849 to provide $100 million in mental health funding. While it passed the House, it did not make it into the final 2023-24 budget.
He supported Senate Bill 115, which was approved in 2021 and allows nurses to hold licenses in more than one state. He voted against Senate Bill 618, which would have prohibited entities from mandating proof of Covid vaccination. Then-Gov. Wolf vetoed the measure. He also voted against 2021’s House Bill 605, which would have limited liability lawsuits related to Covid. It passed the House but did not go to the Senate.
Minimum wage
Freeman is a sponsor of House Bill 1287, which would raise the minimum wage in Pennsylvania to $15 by 2026. It has not received a vote in the House.
Taiba Sultana
Sultana, 40, was born in Pakistan into a Muslim family. Her father died when she was 6 years old, leaving her mother to raise her and her seven siblings.
She immigrated to the United States as a teen.
The mother of six is married to Nadeem Qayyum, who ran unsuccessfully for Northampton County controller in the Democratic primary in 2023.
Sultana has lived in Easton since 2010 when she said she escaped an abusive relationship and was homeless. She spent time in a shelter before moving into public housing.
Sultana worked as a substitute teacher in the Phillipsburg Area School District before running for public office. She has an associate’s degree in political science from Northampton Community College and is studying pre-law at East Stroudsburg University.
In 2020, she was appointed as a student member to the state Board of Education and to the board’s college textbook policies advisory committee.
“My personal experience led me to be an activist,” she said, “and shaped me to be a strong advocate.”
Sultana says that she is committed to fighting for the shared values that put people at the center of our democracy. Her focus is to tackle many of the issues that she hears about most from her constituents.
Foray into politics
This is not Sultana’s first time running in a primary against a long-time incumbent. She ran against and lost to longtime Mayor Sal Panto in 2019.
Two years later, she unseated 20-year city council veteran Sandra Vulcano to represent the city’s 3rd District. She joined Easton City Council in 2022.
As the regional organizing director at New Pennsylvania Project, she helped register more than 4,000 new voters in the Lehigh Valley.
At the recent debate, Sultana listed city resolutions that she introduced and/or supported, including those for raising the minimum wage for the the City of Easton’s seasonal workers, supporting a cease-fire in Israel/Palestine, recognizing Muslim holidays, recognizing Black History Month, and creating an emergency fund for victims of events such as the Ferry Street fire that destroyed almost a city block in May 2023.
Issues
Sultana called herself an accomplished community activist who champions workers' rights, affordable housing, a woman's right to choose, and LGBTQIA+ rights.
“Our democracy can only thrive if we have a true meritocracy, which is why I am proud to run as the first woman to seek this [136th] office. We need more women in the state House to ensure fair representation on women’s issues such as reproductive health care and decreasing infant mortality rates,” Sultana said.
“Our youth has lost trust in our government. There's a lack of civic engagement. We are still stuck on a $7.25 minimum wage, we are still marching for women's rights, we are still marching for Black lives, we are still fighting for equitable school funding, and we are still struggling to provide a quality Medicare system for our elders. Now it is time for us to speak up and work towards fixing the issues.”
Abortion
“As a pro-choice woman who is a mother of a 19-year-old daughter, it is sad to see our rights being placed on the ballot. I advocate for the complete removal of Pennsylvania's 23-week ban, allowing women, their doctors and family to make their own personal medical decisions,” Sultana said, adding that the government should not interfere in the private matters of women.
In the debate, she pledged that she would prioritize funding for universal free contraception to prevent unintended pregnancies and “to promote a more informed society.”
“We need more women in the state House to ensure fair representation on women’s issues such as reproductive healthcare and decreasing infant mortality rates,” she told Ballotpedia.
Affordable Housing
Sultana serves on the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and as vice president of HOME, a new nonprofit formed in June to create affordable housing opportunities in Easton. She said home ownership is a key to building generational wealth.
“As a working mother who raised her children in public housing, I see that Pennsylvanians can't afford their homes among other things,” Sultana said. “This is why I advocate for funding for sustainable housing by supporting a realistic lease-to-purchase bill so people can rent for a certain period before taking on home ownership.”
At the debate, she referred to the language of Freeman’s lease-to-purchase bill as “confusing.”
Elections
“As an immigrant and a woman of color, I believe every Pennsylvanian, regardless of income and race, must have the freedom to exercise their constitutional right to vote,” Sultana told Ballotpedia.
“I will fight for automatic voter registration for all citizens 18 and over as well as open primaries,” she said. “I will advocate to make Election Day a national holiday and abolish a voter ID law. I also support uniformity across all counties by putting the Pennsylvania government in charge of all election operations so as to avoid repeated failures.”
Pennsylvania does not currently require identification at the polls except when a voter is voting for the first time. Republican-led efforts to require IDs for everyone are ongoing and have been unsuccessful thus far.
Environment
Sultana pledged to trade the nearly $3 billion in subsidies for fossil fuels for tax breaks for seniors and small businesses.
Health care
“We are still struggling to provide a quality Medicare system for our elders,” Sultana said. “Pennsylvania needs health care for all. No one should be denied health care because they can’t afford it.”
As the daughter of a breast cancer survivor, she would like to see a single-payer system that covers everyone.
Minimum Wage
Sultana supports raising the minimum wage in Pennsylvania. “Ensuring a living wage of $15 is not just a goal, it is the difference between my neighbors having enough food on the table, seeking medical attention when needed, having a warm place to sleep and maintaining the dignity to pursue their dreams,” she has said.
Education
Sultana cites her experience as a mother of public school children, a former substitute teacher in New Jersey and a former member of Pennsylvania State Board of Education, as giving her firsthand knowledge of reforms needed in the system.
She suggested “enacting fair funding for public schools via statewide taxes on the rich instead of penalizing seniors on fixed incomes for having their own property” and “fully-funded and fair public education regardless of zip code.”
She would like to see public education funds distributed to local districts from the state based on student needs, instead of the current local property tax system.
“Per the Education Law Center, I will support an immediate $2 billion payment for fair funding of public schools with an additional $1 billion coming every year until the gap between what they have been funded and what they constitutionally require is closed,” Sultana said.
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