Leanne Krueger-Braneky is a veteran of three bruising political campaigns – in three years.
The Swarthmore resident ran for the 161st state House seat in 2014, 2015 and 2016, losing the first and winning the last two.
Battling through an electoral trifecta just to become part of the Democratic minority seems to have done nothing so much as energize the former longtime head of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia. It was there that she helped the region become the most sustainable in the country, and where she first heard the call to public service.
“I ran because I felt like the voice of the local independent businesses I was working with wasn’t being heard in Harrisburg,” she said. “Seeing economic development policies and environmental policies literally being written by oil and gas lobbyists really frustrated me, and I pledged to myself I would run for office when the time was right.”
Just how right was indicated by her victory in November – a rare bright spot for state Democrats and one that Krueger-Braneky will take to heart, and the state House floor, in January.
“Democrats need to continue to stand up and call out injustice and unfairness when we see it,” she said. “I will continue to do that.”
