Simmons Announces Re-Election Campaign

announced Thursday he is seeking re-election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

The 131st legislative district, which Simmons has represented in Harrisburg for the past year, includes parts of , Allentown, and Upper Milford Township, in addition to , and .

Simmons carried the district in November 2010, after beating then-state representative and fellow Republican in the primary earlier that year.

In a press release about his re-election campaign, he said he has and will continue to support a fiscally conservative approach to government.

"During my first year in office, I have answered the public's call to restore fiscal discipline to state government and have focused on making our state more competitive in the national marketplace, but there is more to be done," Simmons said. "While we have taken the right first steps, restoring our economy, due to eight years of over-spending and over-borrowing by the previous administration, will take time."

Some of the highlights of his legislative term to date have been the successful , , and the passage of legislation that would commit 100 percent of gaming revenues to property tax relief, he said.

Earlier this month, Easton Area High School English teacher and former president of the Easton Area teachers union .