An environmental attorney, civil rights advocate, and community organizer with over 15 years of senior experience in Harrisburg — ready to be a relentless fighter for Lower Merion, Whitemarsh, and Narberth.
Jason Landau Goodman is a fourth-generation Lower Merion resident running to serve the 148th District in Harrisburg.
For over fifteen years, Jason has built organizations, drafted legislation, and won fights that have made Pennsylvania better. He founded the Pennsylvania Youth Congress, the statewide civil rights organization he still leads as Board Chair — and through that work, he has led campaigns that have secured nondiscrimination protections for millions of Pennsylvanians.
As an attorney with the PA Department of Environmental Protection, Jason held polluters accountable and helped advance the policies that protect Pennsylvania's air, water, and land.
Jason was appointed by Governor Josh Shapiro to serve on his transition team, and has earned the endorsement of the leaders who know this district best — including former State Rep. Lita Cohen, former State Senator Connie Williams, Narberth Mayor Dana Edwards, eight Lower Merion Commissioners, several members of the Lower Merion School Board, Indivisible Lower Merion, and the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund.
Jason is running because our community deserves a State Representative accountable to the people of Lower Merion, Narberth, and Whitemarsh — and to no one else. He believes the work of public service is to deliver results: lower utility and healthcare costs, protect our environment, and the transit, roads, and bridges our communities depend on every day.
Read Jason's full storyNo opaque PACs. No outside money from special interests. Every dollar fuels the door knocking, mail, and voter outreach that will win this race before May 19.
Jason firmly believes that your State Representative should be a strong fighter for you both in Harrisburg and at home. Often when reaching out to an elected official's office, you may already be at a frustration point trying to navigate complex government systems.
Bridges close. SEPTA is at risk of cutting the lines we rely on. Healthcare and utility costs keep climbing. Meanwhile, families in Lower Merion, Whitemarsh, and Narberth get squeezed.
Jason is running to be the State Representative our community deserves — accessible to all residents of the 148th, and accountable to the people of Lower Merion, Whitemarsh, and Narberth.
See Jason's Priorities
Jason will champion the priorities of Lower Merion, Whitemarsh, and Narberth — at home and in Harrisburg.
Click a tab below to explore Jason's priorities for our communities and for the commonwealth.
Local priorities Jason will fight for in our communities. Click any priority to read more.
As your State Representative, Jason will be persistent and laser focused on delivering results when it comes to major local infrastructure projects. When state resources are needed for community infrastructure, whether it is renovating a fire station or rebuilding a bridge, Jason will be a fighter to bring back the funds we need.
Jason will be an active partner with Lower Merion, Whitemarsh, and Narberth, to bring home the state funding necessary to make essential safety improvements to key roads including Montgomery Avenue, Conshohocken State Road, Ridge Pike, and Germantown Pike.
The Narberth Bridge replacement project deserves relentless attention to push forward. Jason will ensure the pressure is on all agencies to move responsibly and as swiftly as possible. Sometimes public works projects take a long time for various reasons and setbacks, but that information needs to be communicated in real time to constituents.
Jason was involved in litigating a bridge replacement project alongside PennDOT that had been extended for years. The extended length of time certain parts of our communities have been cut off from each other is unacceptable.
Jason is a strong proponent of public transit. Whenever possible, Jason personally takes the SEPTA Regional Rail lines to get around. Thousands of commuters from Lower Merion, Whitemarsh, and Narberth rely on the Regional Rail and bus systems.
Your State Representative should be an open proponent of public transit to ensure SEPTA is fully funded, as well as encourage ways to increase ridership and protect lines from consideration of reduction or closure.
Jason believes we cannot wait for another funding crisis to finally address structural issues with transit operations in Pennsylvania. Jason will be the strategic advocate we need to protect SEPTA operations for years to come.
Bala Avenue is a historic and vital corridor for Lower Merion that has the potential to be a shining downtown treasure of our region. This district needs investment to ensure we have diverse opportunities for shopping, dining, and culture.
As your State Representative, Jason will be an active partner with local organizations to identify and fight for state grants to reinvigorate life into Bala Avenue.
With a vibrant corridor lined with valuable anchor institutions along Bala Avenue, we can strengthen a key neighborhood district with full storefronts, exciting events, greenspaces, and no vacant lots.
Jason believes your elected officials should always be accessible and meet communities where they are. Jason would be committed to hosting open community meetings all throughout the year from Lafayette Hill to Wynnewood and more.
With Jason, town halls would be held at various times of day and evening to ensure those who want to attend are able to do so. Jason would also ensure town halls happen virtually for those who for any reason are not able to or prefer not to travel. Outside of open forum spaces, Jason will be intentional about collaborating with various stakeholders and elected officials for roundtables on general issues and concerns.
Jason believes that the platform of a State Representative belongs to the people and that communicating with your legislator should be accessible to all residents of the 148th House District.
In the 21st century, internet access and mobile phone service coverage are not indulgences but necessities. Connectivity drives our economy, communities, and vital services.
Calls drop and internet remains inaccessible in areas around Lower Merion, Whitemarsh, and Narberth. There must be clear leadership in this space to bring together neighbors, local and federal partners, and utility companies.
Jason will prioritize this work and communicate publicly about identifying the gaps and solutions towards 100% coverage for our region.
We know many of our friends, neighbors, and family members have been hit with hard times over the past several years. Sometimes the economic circumstances individuals and families face lead them to housing instability or food insecurity.
Jason believes increasing accessible options for affordable housing and building up food bank supplies and distribution to put our values of compassion and economic justice into action.
Jason knows we have incredible local resources providing veterans services, aging services, and disability services that must be bolstered to ensure food, healthcare, and basic utilities are attainable to all of our residents in need through challenging times. Whether through the state budget, advocating for government grants, or using the advocacy pulpit of the seat, Jason will fight for services that safeguard our most vulnerable neighbors.
As your State Representative, Jason will fight for social services to make a tangible difference in the lives of our residents.
Jason strongly believes in the importance of engaging young people in civic and government action. As a State Representative, Jason will establish a Youth Council composed of student leaders across the high schools in the 148th House District.
While a student at Friends' Central, Jason was selected as a delegate to former State Senator Connie Williams' Good Government Seminar, which was a very impactful day in his journey to understand the power of community organizing and governmental action at a young age. Jason would plan to partner with State Senators Amanda Cappelletti and Vincent Hughes to support the continuance of these programs.
Jason firmly believes that your State Representative should be a strong fighter for you both in Harrisburg and at home. Providing the highest quality of constituent services is among Jason's top priorities.
Jason has experience working within and alongside government agencies, and his staff would be of service to you with compassion and determination to support solutions that work for you.
As referrals are involved, Jason and their team would work to follow up with you to ensure your concerns were addressed, and if not, work with you to get the job done.
Statewide policy fights Jason will lead in the Pennsylvania House for all Pennsylvanians. Click any priority to read more.
Jason will be a relentless fighter to bring down the costs of healthcare and utilities for working families across the commonwealth.
That means taking on the insurance and utility monopolies squeezing our neighbors, and holding private equity accountable for gutting our hospitals and driving up prices. There are many approaches to bring down costs and your State Representative should be committed to every smart solution.
Jason knows the burden these rising costs place on families — and will fight every day in Harrisburg to deliver real relief.
Read Jason's plan to lower electricity billsJason knows that safeguarding our environment is directly about protecting our lives, economy, and nation. Jason is committed to every meaningful action possible to transition from our reliance on fossil fuels and dramatically reduce environmental impacts. Keeping energy costs down while empowering citizens to make choices to use renewable energy is a critical step towards a greener planet. Jason backs legislation establishing community solar and virtual power plant (VPP) programs in Pennsylvania. When Pennsylvanians are allowed to pool together members of a community for a renewable energy project, we all win in bringing down costs and reducing pollution.
As a former career attorney for the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Jason personally knows the strengths and challenges of environmental policy in Pennsylvania. Jason will champion legislation to require more transparency from DEP to hold polluters accountable. He will work to advance legislation relating to refuse, hazardous materials disposal, recycling, and composting. Jason will advocate to make it easier for citizens who want to reduce their environmental footprint to have the information and services they need accessible in every way.
At DEP, Jason's practice focused largely on Air Quality, Waterways & Wetlands, and Environmental Justice. Jason was directly involved in the work to rehaul the state's Environmental Justice Policy and associated PennEnviroScreen tool.
Jason has held polluters accountable — and will fight every day in Harrisburg to protect our constitutional rights to clean air, water, and land.
Montgomery County sends Harrisburg a dollar and gets back just 40 cents, according to reporting in 2019. That math doesn't work — and it shows up in our roads, our bridges, and our schools.
Jason will fight to bring our fair share back home to fund the infrastructure, public transit, and services we depend on.
An active and engaged State Representative picking up the phone and calling all partners is the difference between a project that moves and one that stalls for years.
Starting as a teenager, Jason spearheaded the campaign that made Lower Merion the first Township in Pennsylvania to adopt an LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance. He went on to co-found the Pennsylvania Youth Congress and has worked for over 15 years leading groundbreaking civil rights advocacy in Harrisburg and with school boards and local governments across the entire state.
Jason will bring that statewide coalition-building experience to Harrisburg as a champion for full civil rights protections under Pennsylvania law. Jason will fight for accessible spaces for those with disabilities, including those who are immunocompromised and should be guaranteed equal access in accordance with the law. He will partner with organizations and officials to combat racism, anti-Black racism, xenophobia, and hate and bigotry in all its forms.
As your State Representative, Jason will do everything he can to protect our communities. This includes showing up against injustice, advocating for reform with every platform available, and supporting the ongoing work of local government and community-led organizations to safeguard our neighbors and communities. State leadership matters. Federal government officials do not operate in isolation. They are informed by state systems, state resources, and state silence.
Antisemitism is on the rise. Jason is a proud Jewish person — addressing anti-Jewish hate is personal to him. Jason supports the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism. He values the contributions of survivors of the Holocaust and anti-Jewish hate, and Jewish leaders over many decades, who have added their voices to what antisemitism has meant to them — which helped develop the IHRA definition — that ensures we recognize antisemitism in all its forms. Jason supports the action it will take to actually combat antisemitism — including making Holocaust, genocide, and human rights education an accountable requirement in our public schools. Jason will work to ensure Jewish institions, schools, and organizations in Lower Merion, Narberth, and Whitemarsh, recieve government grants to improve safety and security measures.
Watch Jason's statement of support for the IHRA definition of antisemitism
Jason will be a steadfast advocate for our immigrant neighbors. Jason believes ICE must be dissolved in order to rebuild credibility in American governance and democracy. We cannot reform an agency whose purpose has become fear, punishment, and intimidation. We need to organize for action now. In order to do this most effectively, we must support and amplify the groups, organizers, and community members who have been on the ground in this work for the past year and longer. They have been responding to raids, documenting abuses, protecting families, and holding the line while too many in power looked away. Our communities are safer today because of their courage and leadership.
This is a moment that demands clarity and courage from elected officials at every level. We all have a role and responsibility in helping shape federal immigration policy. As your State Representative, Jason will be your voice in rooms of government power. Never silent, always present. Resistance to this corruption and must be visible, coordinated, and rooted in the leadership of those most impacted.
Learn more about Jason's platform on protecting our immigrant neighborsThe Lower Merion and Colonial School Districts are among the best performing districts in the entire Commonwealth. Your State Representative must be an active supporter advocating at each opportunity to ensure every single student succeeds. Jason believes that public education equity is essential for a functioning democratic society. All students in Pennsylvania should have access to the high-quality education students receive in our communities. As your State Representative, Jason will fight for a budget that provides the equitable funding levels needed for all public schools to thrive. Jason was proud to march with high school students in 2020 from Lower Merion High School to Overbrook High School in calling for equitable education funding. Jason opposes any expansion of efforts that hollow our public education funding for unaccountable, discriminatory, and for-profit entities. Jason does not support vouchers, and will back the unions of public education professionals in ensuring our teachers and district staff have the resources they need to succeed.
Jason will fight to ensure Pennsylvania joins the more than 20 other states in requiring meaningful and accountable Holocaust, genocide, and human rights education in public schools. In this moment, Jason believes it is imperative that Pennsylvanians be taught about the realities of the Holocaust and genocide so that they can understand their role in pushing back against hate and oppression in all forms today. While Pennsylvania has a law encouraging school districts to teach these topics, and most school entities report that they do at various levels, it is not required. That vote failed in the Pennsylvania House in a 99-99 vote in 2013. This bill has not even been introduced in the current legislative session. Antisemitism is a rising concern in Pennsylvania and around the world. With new interest by lawmakers in combating antisemitism and hate, Jason looks forward to joining the charge and having Pennsylvania join states like Arkansas and Kentucky in requiring these lessons be taught in public schools. When it is a requirement, standards can be held accountable, not only encouraged.
The first major bill Jason drafted was the Pennsylvania Safe Schools (PASS) Act in 2012, which would provide an overhaul of how incidents of violence and bullying are handled in Pennsylvania's public schools.
He worked relentlessly on building legislative and public support for the bill — helping to secure over 50 Republicans and over 50 Democrats as cosponsors. Having over 100 cosponsors in a fully bipartisan bill is generally unheard of in Harrisburg.
Jason has served on safety and inclusion committees for the Pennsylvania Department of Education and was appointed to Governor Shapiro's transition team for the Education + Workforce Committee.
Anchoring Abortion Protections Under the Law
Abortion must remain legal, accessible, and safe for everyone who needs reproductive healthcare in Pennsylvania. Jason is firmly pro-choice and will fight vigorously and relentlessly against any attempts to infringe on a patient's healthcare decisions. For Jason, access to IVF, contraception, and all aspects of reproductive justice are human rights. Jason will work with women-led and reproductive justice organizations to push to anchor abortion protections under state law for all.
Strengthening Abortion Funds
It is an unfortunate reality that there are not enough votes in the Pennsylvania's state Senate at this time to pass more pro-choice legislation. This makes your State Representative even more vital on the front lines for reproductive healthcare in our communities. As a state Representative, Jason will work with abortion funds to raise their profiles and identify funding sources. Patients who are coming in from other states that have viciously eliminated safe abortion access should be welcomed and supported in our communities while they seek affirming healthcare services.
Working with the Administration on Reproductive Healthcare Access
As your state Representative, Jason would work directly with the Governor's administration and other elected officials to continue fighting for abortion access or reproductive healthcare. Any Pennsylvanian, or someone coming in from out of state, should receive prompt, high-quality, and safe healthcare services. Jason believes there must be real action toward addressing maternal mortality rates, particularly for Black and brown women. The data is clear that these health disparities persist and it's time to get to work in addressing access to contraception, ensuring insurance coverage for all reproductive healthcare needs, availability of menstrual products, and combating misinformation about reproductive healthcare options.
Addressing Mental Healthcare Crises in Our Communities
Our local governments and schools should be supported with the state resources they need to address mental healthcare access for everyone in need. In times of mental health crisis, our first responders are often on the front lines to save lives. As State Representative, Jason will actively back programs and funding that ensure positive outcomes during mental health emergencies. Jason believes that our state government must support first responders, social workers and mental healthcare professionals who are arriving to help someone in a crisis.
Gun Violence
Jason supports strong common-sense gun control laws. In the legislature, Jason will back meaningful efforts to address gun safety and gun violence. Jason will work with community stakeholders to fight any efforts to place gun stores near schools, playgrounds, and other areas where they will negatively impact the safety and character of our community. No student should ever have to live in fear of gun violence in their schools.
Community Policing
Jason understands our government has a vital responsibility to keep us safe from violence and crime. Jason supports community-based partnership approaches to policing. Jason believes in police and first responders receiving the highest quality education on criminal justice, interpersonal communications, de-escalation tactics, and modern continuous training. Jason commends events like National Night Out, a national community building campaign which started in Lower Merion, as a great example of the opportunities that should be expanded upon to build relationships between local law enforcement, first responders, and neighbors.
Addressing Systemic Racism in Government Operations
Racism and bigotry have no place in government operations. Jason supports the strongest efforts possible to eliminate the impacts of anti-Black and brown racism in our criminal justice system, law enforcement, and government agencies in Pennsylvania. Jason backs advanced and regular training for all those involved in government operations, and swift action once any incident might demonstrate racist conduct across the state. Whether at a store or walking down the street, all people should feel safe in our communities across the commonwealth.
Supporting Efforts to Keep Your Homes Safe
Coordinated home thefts continue to be a serious concern across our communities. When you leave your home — whether for a few hours or for a vacation — you should not have to worry about it being burglarized. Jason will support and work with local and state resources to ensure there are stronger prevention safeguards and monitoring efforts to protect your homes. This includes amplifying existing programs like Lower Merion's Vacant House Program or Whitemarsh's Vacant House Notification Form.
Jason has established a regular presence in Harrisburg advancing education and civil rights policy for over 15 years. Jason has built close relationships with both Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate and has worked directly with administration officials.
Jason has been directly involved in stopping harmful bills and helping move positive legislation, both in the House and Senate. When some may have given up, Jason rushed in and persisted.
As a bridge builder, Jason has brought diverse lawmakers together towards shared goals — that's the kind of representative the 148th deserves in Harrisburg.
Jason believes that we don't have a fair democracy without fair districts. Jason supports the creation of an Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) and other reforms to ensure districts that reflect their communities. Jason backs good government measures that remove dark money from our politics, and efforts that would make the Citizens United decision moot in PA by prohibiting election spending by corporate PACs. Jason also supports reforms to end unlimited gifts to public officials from lobbyists and reasonable campaign contribution limits.
From Bala Avenue to Lafayette Hill to neighborhood SEPTA stops — meeting communities where they are.
Jason's family has deep roots across Lower Merion and Narberth. All of Jason's grandparents were Lower Merion residents from Wynnewood to Belmont Hills. The Landau family textile business, H. Landau and Company, relocated to the old Bala Cynwyd Post Office and HLC recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. Jason's great-grandparents from the Landau and Rudofker families were significantly involved in the building of Har Zion Temple, where Jason and his family are members.
Jason was born in Wynnewood and later moved to Bala Cynwyd and attended Cynwyd Elementary School and Bala Cynwyd Middle School. Jason then transferred to Friends' Central School for high school and was extremely active in student life, including running the school's greenhouse where Jason fell in love with plant science. Jason worked at Albrecht's Garden Center in Narberth while in high school.
Jason earned an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies and Urban Studies, and a master's degree in Urban Spatial Analytics, both from the University of Pennsylvania. Jason then continued on to earn a law degree at the University of Pittsburgh, where he completed a concentration in Energy and Environmental Law.
Jason is a proud member of the LGBTQ community and uses he/they pronouns. While a recent high school graduate, Jason learned that LGBTQ people like them could experience discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations without any explicit recourse under Pennsylvania law.
Starting as a teenager, Jason dove right in to spearhead the local organizing and political strategy towards the enactment of Lower Merion's nondiscrimination ordinance. Jason spent two years building alliances with civic organizations, township leaders, and political activists. In December 2010, Lower Merion Township became the first municipality in Montgomery County and first Township in Pennsylvania to adopt an LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance.
In 2011, Jason co-founded the Pennsylvania Youth Congress (PYC) as PA's first and only statewide LGBTQ youth organization. Jason helmed the organization for over a decade as its founding Executive Director. By 2016, Jason had traveled to all of Pennsylvania's 67 counties.
"When Jason would get a call from a young student or their parents, often from a small town in Pennsylvania, Jason would typically be there later that day to meet with them in-person."
Jason has established a regular presence in Harrisburg advancing education and civil rights policy for over 15 years. Jason has built close relationships with both Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate and has worked directly with administration officials.
Jason's first major bill was the Pennsylvania Safe Schools (PASS) Act in 2012, which would provide for a large overhaul of how incidents of violence and bullying are handled in Pennsylvania's public schools. He worked relentlessly on building legislative and public support for the bill — helping to secure over 50 Republicans and over 50 Democrats as cosponsors. Having over 100 cosponsors in a fully bipartisan bill is generally unheard of in Harrisburg.
In 2018, Jason was appointed to serve as a member of the inaugural Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs, an advisory council he wrote the proposal for and spearheaded the creation of with Governor Tom Wolf's administration. Jason served on Governor Wolf's internal LGBTQ Workgroup and various safety and inclusion committees for the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
As a policy advisor, Jason was appointed to Governor Josh Shapiro's transition team for the Education + Workforce Committee and was selected by Montgomery County Commissioners Jamila Winder and Neil Makhija to serve on their Moving Montco Forward transition team in the Sustainability and Climate Change Committee.
Jason has received numerous local, statewide, and national distinctions including being named an Emerging LGBT Leader by the Obama White House, Person of the Year by Philadelphia Gay News, and an annual honor at a spring dinner of the Democratic Committee of Lower Merion and Narberth in 2011. Jason has been invited to march with approximately 70 young Americans by the National Park Service from Selma to Montgomery on the 50th anniversary of the march in 2015, and by an international organization to speak at the United Nations for the LGBT Core Group in 2017.
Following passage of the Pennsylvania Bar, Jason was hired for his dream legal job of being a government environmental attorney. For nearly three years Jason counseled a variety of programs at the Department of Environmental Protection from its Southeast Regional Office in Norristown.
Jason's practice focused largely on Air Quality, Waterways & Wetlands, and Environmental Justice. Jason was directly involved in the work to rehaul the state's Environmental Justice Policy and associated PennEnviroScreen tool. In June 2023, Jason was honored with a special commendation by former DEP Secretary Richard Negrín in Harrisburg.
At home, Jason is in his fifth year on the board of the Neighborhood Club of Bala Cynwyd and has served for two years as its Secretary, and is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and Montgomery Bar Association. Jason lives in the College Park section of Bala Cynwyd, less than a mile from where his parents still reside.
In Jason's free time he enjoys studying Yiddish, vegetable gardening, and Pennsylvania road trips. Jason is an avid fan of Groundhog Day and travels to Punxsutawney each year.
Jason is proud to have the backing of many civic leaders, Democratic committee members, and current and former elected officials across the 148th House District — in addition to important partners across Pennsylvania who are ready to work with Jason as a State Representative.
Note: All individuals who are public supporters of Jason listed here are doing so in their personal capacities and do not reflect any formal endorsement of a local or county Democratic party organization.
Jason has earned the backing of elected officials from the 148th district and across the commonwealth, civic leaders, and Democratic committee members.
-2.jpg)
Questions, ideas, or want to volunteer? Fill out the form below.
Friends of Jason Landau Goodman ("the Campaign," "we," "us," or "our") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and share information about you when you visit landaugoodman.com, sign up for updates, contribute to the campaign, or otherwise interact with us.
We collect information that you voluntarily provide to us, including:
We also automatically collect limited technical information when you visit the site, including IP address, browser type, device type, referring page, and pages viewed.
We may share your information with vendors and service providers that help us operate the campaign — including email platforms, payment processors, voter file providers, mail houses, and analytics tools. These vendors are bound by confidentiality obligations and may only use your information to provide services to the campaign.
Contributions are publicly disclosed as required by Pennsylvania campaign finance law. The Campaign may also share information with affiliated Democratic candidates, party committees, and progressive organizations whose missions align with ours.
We do not sell your personal information.
By providing your mobile number, you consent to receive recurring informational, voter-contact, and fundraising text messages from Friends of Jason Landau Goodman. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies. Reply STOP to unsubscribe at any time, or HELP for help.
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to remember your preferences, measure traffic, and improve site performance. You may disable cookies in your browser settings, though some features of the site may not function as intended.
This website is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
Questions about this policy or your information can be directed to Friends of Jason Landau Goodman through the contact form on this site.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this policy indicates when it was most recently revised. Continued use of the site after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
Jason is an environmental lawyer and civil rights advocate with over 15 years of effective leadership moving policies within local and state government across Pennsylvania. A fourth-generation Lower Merion resident, Jason fights for the issues that matter most to our communities, including:
• Lowering healthcare and utility costs
• Protecting our environment
• Fully funding SEPTA and investing in safe roads and bridges
