Upper Moreland Commissioner Lisa Romaniello is looking to challenge freshman state representative Tom Murt.

Romaniello, 44, is one of two Democrats on Upper Moreland's township board. Murt, a Republican, served on the same board until 2006 when he won a seat in the state's 152nd District, taking 54 percent of the vote.

Romaniello first was elected to the township board after a write-in campaign in the 2005 Democratic primary. She has chaired the commissioner's committee group focusing on redevelopment, helping to win $750,000 in grants for the project.

Romaniello said the experience she'd gained on the township board had prepared her for office. “I am running to champion economic development, property tax reform and protection of our natural resources by promoting sustainable development,” she said. That includes developing alternative fuels and clean energy sources.

An advocate of smart growth, Romaniello started a multi-municipal planning group that's looking at traffic and storm water along Route 611. “As a state legislator, I will be an advocate for regional problem solving across municipal and district boundaries,” she said.

Romaniello said she also wanted to see more government openness, including campaign finance reform. “I have been willing to take on the special interests here in Upper Moreland,” she said, pledging to continue that fight.

The 152nd Legislative District includes Upper Moreland, Lower Moreland, Hatboro, Bryn Athyn, sections of Upper Dublin and Horsham Township, and a small piece of Philadelphia.

Murt couldn't be reached for comment.

Betty Green, a former Democratic township commissioner in Upper Moreland who previously chaired Romaniello's township campaign, said Republicans were vulnerable in a presidential election year. “This is supposedly a Democratic year,” Green said.

Romaniello “certainly has the back ground and she has the determination,” said Green. “The thing I liked best about her when I first met her is she really speaks from the heart, she really means what she says and that's very unusual in someone in politics.”