Mechanicsburg council member running for Pa. House seat in Cumberland County

Mechanicsburg borough councilwoman Sara Agerton has launched a run for the Democratic Party nomination for Cumberland County’s 88th District seat in the state House of Representatives.

If successful in the primary, Agerton would likely take on incumbent Rep. Sheryl Delozier in the fall. Delozier, a Republican from Lower Allen Township, is planning to seek an eighth term this year.

Agerton was elected to Mechanicsburg’s council in 2019, an experience that she believes shows her dedication to reaching out to all voters.

“I worked hard during the election in 2019, talked with lots and lots of people, and that made me less scary,” Agerton said in her announcement statement. “I think I drew a bipartisan reaction from voters.”

Agerton said her House candidacy is an extension of her extensive experience in helping to provide essential services and resources to the elderly, persons with disabilities, families with children and veterans, and she said she is dedicated to “making everyone an active participant in the decisions that affect our lives.”

A Dillsburg native, Agerton graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in criminology, and earned a master’s of social work in 2005 from Temple. She has spent most of her career in a variety of health care roles, most recently in administration.

In the community, she has been an active volunteer leader with Girl Scouts and Girls on the Run, an Alzheimer’s support group facilitator, and mos recently, serving with the Sadler Health Center fundraising team working to bring affordable and accessible healthcare to underserved populations on the West Shore.

Agerton is married, and has one daughter in high school.

Under the new map passed by the state’s Legislative Reapportionment Commission this winter, the 88th includes Hampden Township, most of Lower Allen, and the boroughs of Mechanicsburg, New Cumberland and Shiremanstown. Based on election results from 2016 through 2020, it’s fairly competitive politically, but with a slight Republican lean.