Mark Pinsley is the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania Senate District 16, running against Republican incumbent Jarrett Coleman in the November 3, 2026 general election. He has been Lehigh County Controller since 2020, and served six years in the U.S. Army Reserve.
He is running to lower the cost of living for Pennsylvania families. His campaign is built on a simple idea: life should cost less, families should own more, and politicians should answer to the people, not the powerful.
District 16 covers parts of Lehigh and Bucks counties, including Allentown’s 13th and 18th wards, Lower and Upper Macungie, South Whitehall, North Whitehall, Upper Saucon, Emmaus, Macungie, Alburtis, Coopersburg and Slatington in Lehigh County, and Quakertown, Perkasie, Sellersville, Richland, Hilltown, Milford and Springfield townships in upper Bucks County.
Why he is running
Pennsylvania families are being asked to do more with less. Prices keep rising, health care costs too much, utility bills are out of control, and public schools have to fight for the resources their students need. Meanwhile, Pinsley says, corporations, private equity firms and wealthy special interests too often write the rules in Harrisburg.
What he would do in the state senate
Lower the cost of living. Protect Medicaid from federal cuts, fund the state program that lowers health insurance premiums, and take on rising health care and prescription drug costs. Make utilities prove a rate increase is justified before it is approved, and strengthen the state’s Office of Consumer Advocate so families have a real advocate in every rate case. Protect consumers from price gouging and hidden fees. Shift school funding to the state so it stops landing on homeowners’ property taxes, and cap property taxes based on income so no one loses a home to them. Make it easier to build starter homes, smaller homes and duplexes.
Universal health care. Pinsley supports Senate Bill 1465, the PA Universal Healthcare Act, introduced in September 2026 by Sen. Nikil Saval. It would create a single-payer system covering every Pennsylvania resident. (SB 1465)
Hold data centers and big developers accountable. Large projects should bring real benefits to local communities, respect workers and protect taxpayers, without leaving families paying more for energy, water and infrastructure. He would end data center tax credits and put a statewide moratorium on new data centers, hyperscale ones included, until there are real rules. More: What rules does Pennsylvania put on data centers and what would Mark Pinsley add?
Stand with working people. Raise the minimum wage to $22 an hour, so wages keep up with what families pay. End the state tax on overtime, and end noncompete agreements that keep workers from leaving for better-paying jobs. Good-paying union jobs, the right to organize, an end to wage theft and union-busting, strict labor standards and Project Labor Agreements on public projects, more apprenticeships, and paid family and medical leave. More: How do Mark Pinsley and Jarrett Coleman compare on Pennsylvania’s minimum wage?
Rein in corporate power. Require state review before private equity buys hospitals, nursing homes or housing, and pass HB 1250 to stop runaway lot rents in manufactured home communities. More: What is Mark Pinsley’s position on private equity buying up hospitals in nursing homes and housing?
Get big money out of politics. Limit campaign contributions and end gifts to lawmakers, so the people making decisions in Harrisburg answer to voters, not to whoever paid for their campaign. (The Morning Call, October 5, 2026)
Clean air and clean energy jobs. Pennsylvania’s constitution guarantees a right to clean air and pure water. Raise clean energy standards, build renewables, battery storage and grid upgrades with apprenticeship-trained trades workers, and make sure polluters, not communities, pay to clean up. More: What is Mark Pinsley’s position on clean energy and the environment in Pennsylvania?
Protect rights and fund what matters. Fully funded public schools with free lunch for every child, reproductive freedom written into state law and the constitution, contraception and IVF access, LGBTQ+ equality, affordable mental health care.
His record as Lehigh County Controller
A county controller is the county’s financial watchdog. Pinsley turned the office into more than a place that checks the county’s books. Since 2020 he has published more than 20 special reports looking for ways to save taxpayer dollars, make life more affordable for Lehigh County residents, and reduce the county’s legal risks.
He lowered prescription drug costs for county employees. His 2021 audit found more than $1.4 million in possible savings, and he pushed the county to rebid its prescription plan. The cost of prescriptions for each person on the plan fell 25%. In 2022, the County Executive said the county was saving $3 million that year on the new plan. (Report 21-02 · Report 24-25 · WFMZ)
He identified about $4 million a year in potential health care savings the county hasn’t taken. His 2022 audit found the county’s health plan paying hospitals more than their own posted cash prices, and identified about $4 million a year in potential savings by paying based on Medicare rates instead. In 2025, two more providers estimated $2.9 million to $3.4 million a year. The county hasn’t acted, and the County Executive has since proposed a property tax increase. (Lehigh Valley Public Media, October 2022 · Report 22-16 · July 2025 memo)
He helped reunite families wrongly accused of child abuse. His 2023 report found inaccurate child abuse allegations by a physician at Lehigh Valley Health Network, and warned that the county was exposed to lawsuits. He published it over his own county lawyers’ warnings. Nearly all of the families have their children back. The story became the first episode of The Preventionist, a podcast from Serial and The New York Times. (Report NAS 23-01) More: Which candidate helped parents accused of child abuse get their children back?)
He found that a federal agency hadn’t paid rent in more than three years. In January 2026 his office found that Homeland Security Investigations, part of ICE, had used county office space for 38 months without paying — $115,425.51. The county issued a notice to vacate, and the rent was paid.
Full record: What has Mark Pinsley accomplished as Lehigh County Controller?
His background
Business: Right out of college in 1994, Pinsley founded Dunbarton Business Software, grew it to $1 million in revenue and 15 employees in three years, and sold it. He was later a vice president at Aviall’s ILS division, bought and sold Adaco Services, a hospitality software company, and owned DermaMed Solutions, a Pennsylvania skin care manufacturer, for twelve years.
Military: Six years in the U.S. Army Reserve.
Education: A bachelor’s degree in finance from Northeastern University, an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, and a certificate in ethics from The Jewish Theological Seminary. In 2016 he was selected for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program.
Public service: Two years as a South Whitehall Township Commissioner, then Lehigh County Controller since 2020. Lehigh County voters re-elected him in 2023 with 39,858 votes, 54%, more than any county commissioner received. (Lehigh County official results, November 2023 municipal election) He serves on the boards of Congregation Keneseth Israel and Jewish Family Service.
The general election is November 3, 2026.
