A third candidate has entered the race for the 5th Congressional
District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, currently held
by U.S. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa.

On Thursday, DuBois restaurateur Edward Walko announced he’s
seeking the seat as an Independent, citing the “inability or
willingness” of Congress to put the interests of ordinary Americans
ahead of partisanship as his prime motivation to run.

Walko, 57, will cruise to the general election in the fall,
along with Peterson, who will appear on the Republican ticket, and
former Jefferson County commissioner Don Hilliard, who will run on
the Democratic ballot.

The primary election is May 16. The general election is Nov.
7.

“Believing that this is the greatest nation on Earth, I feel
that we have slipped into decline under the current administration,
and that the harm done to our country came under the blind eye of
our elected representatives,” Walko said.

Walko said he’s running as an Independent because “he can’t
support the principles of either the incumbent or the
challenger.”

The U.S. Air Force veteran said he “has a desire to inject
common sense into the business of legislating,” pointing to a huge
trade and budget deficits as failures of Congress to support the
American worker and safeguard the country’s economic future.

“America is losing family-supporting jobs and Pennsylvania has
been particularly hard hit,” Walko said. “The promised prosperity
that was to come from globalization has become the cruelest
illusion. Ineptitude, greed and corruption have rendered our trade
agreements (into) lopsided deals that reward corporations for
exporting industry and penalize the American worker.

“The global environment has realized no benefit from our trade
policies, nor have the workers in less developed countries who are
now doing American manufacturing for starvation wages,” Walko
added.

According to Walko, the national debt is also out of control,
with “our liabilities so staggering that they threaten our national
security and seriously weaken our economy.”

“We’ve gone from a creditor nation to the largest debtor nation
in the world over the course of only a few decades and foreign
countries hold a large portion of this debt,” Walko said. “The
situation is like an ax suspended over our heads.”

In regards to the ongoing war in Iraq, Walko said it’s costing
too much in young American lives and dollars “with little to be
gained from our sacrifice.”

“This battlefield is claiming too many of our brave men and
women, is straining the limits of our military, is negatively
affecting retention and recruiting and is adding to our debt
problems,” Walko said. “And now it looks like we might be
refereeing a civil war. Enough is enough.”

If elected, Walko said he would work to fix the country’s border
security and illegal immigration, help in looking to provide
comprehensive health care, make an investment into the country’s
schools and protect Social Security.

Walko also cited a need to examine the erosion of civil
liberties and America’s decline on the world stage.

“It’s necessary to change course,” Walko said. “Americans thrive
on opportunity and freedom. Elected representatives need only
exercise fiscal discipline, defend the Constitution and ensure
national security. Americans have demonstrated over and over again
that they will shoulder the rest of the load.”

A native of DuBois, Walko is the son of Joseph and Twila
Markalonis Walko. Along with his wife, Suncha, the duo are owners
and operators of The Nelson House restaurant in DuBois.

He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, serving from 1968 to 1990
in the Pacific and on U.S. assignments. He earned college degrees
in both logistics and information systems and graduated from
Central Christian High School. Walko also earned dual bachelor’s
degrees in marketing and international business from Penn State
University. Walko also has extensive military training in
management and supervision.