Bob Forbes

Bob Forbes was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Forbes' professional experience includes working as an educator. He served in the U.S. Army from 1993 to 2018. Forbes earned an associate degree from Saint Leo University in 2011 and a bachelor's degree from Liberty University in 2012.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Retired Army Sergeant, Harrisburg School District educator, resident of PA 10 for more than 10 years. When elected my focus will be to bring jobs that come with a competitive wage, improve the quality of life of our great seniors, our veterans, our students in every school district, our technical schools as well as work to improve our roads, highways and bridges.

My military career spans from the 90’s to 2018 with multiple deployments including Afghanistan and Iraq with 10Th Mountain Division. We have lived from Seoul Korea to Kaiserslautern Germany and always retuned to PA 10.

My wife Michele and I have been married over 22 years we have two sons Andrew about to graduate from Lebanon Valley College with a degree in political strategy and current member of the schools Ukraine reconstruction team project and our younger son Alex who is studying Bachelor of Science Nursing at York College of Pennsylvania. Alex is a member of York's ice hockey and track and field teams. Both boys are graduates of Camp Hill High School.

We are beneficiaries of everything PA 10 has to offer a family. We play ice hockey here go to school here, drag race here, WE ARE PA 10!

The 10th Congressional district has more than 700K residents, we don't need folks who don' live here, never lived here, never voted in PA 10 to represent our great area. Voters sent outsiders a strong message in 2022 that our district is not for sale.

PA 10 is my home.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

My intimate understanding of the complex issues in our area make me a perfect fit for this congressional seat. As a 100% disabled veteran I am always focused on issues involving the VA. PA 10 has over 6000 GS employees who need representation that will work to avoid government shutdowns as well as work to both keep and bring more employment opportunity to our area.As a person who now lives on a fixed income i pledge to safeguard social security benefits for everyone as well as work tirelessly to bring more realistic cost of living increases to those using benefits to live on. This includes our veterans on disability and military retirement pay as well as our citizens on social security disability.Protection of our Democracy will be at the forefront as we approach 2024, i plan to safeguard our election process no matter how much distraction other's may create.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Social Security Protection

Veterans Issues

Stop the practice of book banning in schools.

Dignity and Respect for all of our great citizens.

A woman's right to her own healthcare decisions.

A fair wage for our workers that is also a living wage.

Healthcare cost increases that are spiraling out of control.

Making homes affordable for everyone.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Woodrow Wilson

Admiral Stockdale

The 1980 Olympic Hockey Team

CSM Frank Grippe

Madeline Albright

Antony Blinken

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Morales, ethics, values character. I always choose the hard right over the easy wrong.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Tough but fair reached across the isle protected his neighbors in uniform and out.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Watergate. I was 13 at the time and was fascinated at how our political process worked.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Sweater song-Weezer

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Balancing the requirements of being a Platoon Sergeant with being a dad and husband.

What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

As military planner in Europe in 2018 I was given a front row seat to the threats of the Russian Federation to Europe's safety.

As a Soldier living in Seoul Korea with my family I was given a front row seat to the threats of the People Republic of North Korea with the 38th parallel 30 miles from our home.

While these are the threats we hear about most I believe that China will continue to be our biggest challenge. Now that we have seen the poor performance of the Russian troops in Ukraine i am a little less concerned about the military challenges they present however if we learned anything from COVID its that we need to do more manufacturing at home.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

One of my constituents who is on Social Security sold a property her and her husband owned she was then penalized almost 3 years of benefits because of the money she earned from the sale. She was searching for ways to survive because of her loss of benefits. I am also on SS benefits and the small amount a person can earn keeps me out of the classroom half of the school year. Lets take a real look at what folks on benefits an earn.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

I really do and as a retired military Sergeant I believe I can reach across the isle to accomplish policy like lower prescription drugs as well as senior and veterans issues.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Vote Vets, pending