ALIQUIPPA — Democratic 12th Congressional District primary candidate Tom Prigg brought a progressive platform to his town hall meeting Thursday in the city, saying his message will resonate with voters looking for an alternative to U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus.

Prigg, a brain research associate at Carnegie Mellon University and a former Army sniper from McCandless Township, repeatedly recalled growing up in poverty in Washington County and shared how that has spurred his campaign.

“I felt like we were forgotten. I felt like everything was a struggle and I had to work 10 times harder than everybody else. I felt like there was really no chance of ever breaking out,” Prigg said, explaining that he joined the military and used his benefits to attend college.

“Today, though, it’s 40 years later and I don’t see anything changing. In fact, what I see is our country slipping back to those kinds of conditions,” Prigg told about 40 people in the Franklin Center on Aliquippa's Franklin Avenue. “I see kids losing (Children’s Health Insurance Program) coverage. I see Social Security is now being threatened. Medicare is being threatened. Healthcare, threatened. I see wages not going up. I see jobs getting worse.”

Prigg is one of four candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Rothfus, R-12, Sewickley, in the November general election. The primary election is May 15.

The other candidates are Beth Tarasi, a Sewickley attorney and former University of Pittsburgh basketball player; Pitt doctoral student and Shaler Township resident Aaron Anthony, a former Shaler Area School District teacher; and Ray Linsenmayer, a McCandless resident, who has worked in corporate financing and on renewable energy projects for the Pentagon.

The 12th Congressional District includes Beaver County, southern Lawrence County, the North Hills in Allegheny County, and parts of Cambria, Somerset and Westmoreland counties.

Over about 75 minutes, Prigg took questions from audience members and those gathered online, which were posed to him by moderator and Aliquippa Mayor Dwan Walker. A video of the town hall is available on Prigg’s Facebook page (@TomPrigg2018).

Prigg said he would focus on rebuilding communities through economic revitalization. Loans to small businesses, he said, should be replaced with grants because loans simply add to the financial burden facing many of those businesses.

Addressing issues such as jobs and health care would rejuvenate communities and help people mired in poverty to work toward a better future, Prigg said. Answering one questioner, Prigg said he supports a resolution stalled in the U.S. House that would expand Medicare to all Americans, essentially providing health insurance to anyone.

When it comes to abortion, Prigg said he is unabashedly pro-choice. “I don’t believe anybody has a right to tell a woman what to do with her body,” he said.

Prigg, whose oldest daughter is a sergeant in the Army, vowed to fight for improved care for veterans and a better Veterans Affairs health care system. He also sounded a strong union message, telling the audience that organized labor provides a voice for working Americans suffering from corporate influence and stagnant wages.

“If we don’t have unions, we don’t have anyone else fighting for workers,” Prigg said.

Responding to a question about guns, Prigg said he wants expanded universal background checks. On education, he said college should be free instead of burdening students with heavy debt.

Paul Wommack, a Hopewell Township Democrat, said he came to the town hall to learn more about Prigg’s platform. “I thought he did a good job of addressing a variety of topics,” said Wommack, who is uncommitted to any of the four Democratic candidates.