Jarrett Coleman has represented Pennsylvania’s 16th Senate District since January 2023. He calls himself “a watchdog for taxpayers.” (Coleman guest column, Lehigh Valley Press, April 2, 2025) He faces Democrat Mark Pinsley, the Lehigh County Controller, on November 3, 2026.
His official Senate website has a page titled “Legislative Accomplishments.” As of October 2026, it lists 47 items. Two are laws he wrote. (senatorcoleman.com)
What is on his own list
Here is everything on the page, sorted into the categories the page itself uses: (Legislative Accomplishments)
• 2 laws he wrote. Act 65 of 2023 lets people clear old professional disciplinary records. Act 44 of 2025 requires schools to tell parents within 24 hours when a weapon is found.
• 7 Senate resolutions he wrote. A resolution is a statement or request from the Senate alone. None of them changes the law.
• 8 laws other senators wrote, which he co-sponsored.
• 22 bills that passed the Senate but not the House. Three are his. The other 19 belong to other senators.
• 8 resolutions other senators wrote, which he co-sponsored.
Of the 47 items, 12 are his own work, and two of those are laws. Everything else is a resolution, a bill that stopped at the House, or another senator’s bill.
Two out of fifty-seven
The page shows what passed. The legislature’s records show the rest. Coleman has introduced 57 bills as lead sponsor. Six made it to the House. Two became law — about 3.5%, in a Senate his own party controls. (Pennsylvania General Assembly)
What he claimed in the Morning Call
In October 2026, Coleman told The Morning Call he has “sponsored two bills” on health care price transparency, SB 752 and SB 1289. (The Morning Call, October 5, 2026) He isn’t the lead sponsor of either. Both are bills by Republican Sen. Dawn Keefer, and Coleman signed on as a co-sponsor. Both are still in committee. (Altoona Mirror, August 2025 · SB 1289 · Pennsylvania General Assembly)
What Pinsley’s record shows
Pinsley didn’t wait for a new law. 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. (Report 22-16 · Lehigh Valley Public Media, October 2022)
His 2021 audit found the county overpaying for employee prescriptions. He pushed for a competitive rebid, a new, more transparent provider took over, and the County Executive said the change saved $3 million in its first year. (Report 21-02 · WFMZ, October 2022)
As Lehigh County Controller, Pinsley’s audits have identified more than $5 million a year in costs the county could avoid and recovered or collected at least $312,310.10 outright. His report on families wrongly accused of child abuse became an episode of The Preventionist, from Serial and The New York Times. Every one is a dated, numbered document anyone can read.
Coleman’s list is mostly resolutions and other senators’ bills. Pinsley’s is published reports and money the county saved.
District 16 covers parts of Lehigh and Bucks counties. The general election is November 3, 2026.
