Category: Election 2022

Quarter Of Delco Precincts Unreconcilable From May Primary

Quarter Of Delco Precincts Unreconcilable From May Primary — Delaware County, Pa. has contributed more than its share to the belief held by more than half the population that Joe Biden is an illegitimate president.

No amount of gaslighting by Democrat officials who put partisanship ahead of public good will change this.

It’s not justice that motivates these people but “just us”.

And now we have learned problems remain unfixed.

In the May 17 Primary, 105 of Delco’s 428 precincts were not reconciled due to major discrepancies (38 precincts) or just flat out unreconcilable (67 precincts) according to the bi-partisan county Return Board.

That’s a quarter of the precincts with uncertain results.

The Board of Elections certified them anyway.

Outrage is warranted and not just at the Democrats in charge but at the silently acquiescing Republicans.

Hey, being the loyal opposition can give you a pretty soft life if you are loyal enough.

We hear Councilwoman Christine Reuther called citizens racists and anti-semites for expressing concern about fair elections at last night’s (Aug 3) County Council meeting.

One of her “anti-semites” was a woman named Schwartz.

LOL

Hey Christine, that garbage doesn’t work anymore. To deny that the election concerns are legit means you’re not fit to hold an elected office. To defame those expressing such concerns means the only job for which you are fit is fetching coffee.

We also hear County Solicitor William Martin made some unfortunate and personal comments regarding the citizens who spoke. That does not speak well to his professionalism.

Here is the report from the County Return Board:

Quarter Of Delco Precincts Unreconcilable From May Primary

Quarter Of Delco Precincts Unreconcilable From May Primary
Quarter Of Delco Precincts Unreconcilable From May Primary
Quarter Of Delco Precincts Unreconcilable From May Primary

Never Trumpers Unite Against Mastriano

Never Trumpers Unite Against Mastriano

By Dr. Robert Sklaroff

The 3 Most Important Races in the Midterms are for the governorships in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin; Doug Mastriano is running an ethical/populist campaign. Customarily, input from PoliticsPA is “laundered” so that the content is emphasized; here, however, it’s desirable to note how word-choice reflects its lib-bias by providing its summaries intact.

Craig Snyder, former Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, is leading a group of centrist Republicans that have formed a political action committee that opposes GOP gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano.

Republicans4Shapiro was established last Wednesday and is chaired by former U.S. Rep. Jim Greenwood, who organized a similar effort to oppose then-President Donald Trump’s bid for a second term in 2020.

Its website states “The Republican nominee for Governor of Pennsylvania, Doug Mastriano, is an extremist, far outside the mainstream of the PA Republican Party which has given the Commonwealth and the Country outstanding leaders like Governors Dick Thornburgh and Tom Ridge.”

·         PA GOP Players Form Pro-Shapiro PAC to Buck ‘Unacceptable” Mastriano. Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano will have to fend off attacks from many Democratic groups on the way to November and he can now add a GOP-backed political action committee to the list. (PennLive)

Never Trumpers Unite Against Mastriano

·         An Anti-Trump Group Is Back For The Midterms. The group, the Republican Accountability PAC, plans to spend at least $10 million to beat candidates who embrace Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election. (New York Times)

The Republican Accountability PAC is putting $2 million behind a campaign in Pennsylvania to convince voters – especially those who may have broken with Donald Trump in 2020 – that they should do the same with Doug Mastriano, the GOP state senator who is up against Democrat Josh Shapiro in the fall election.

This PAC frames itself as a frontline fighter against “anti-democracy candidates” across the country, and insists that “Trump loyalists in today’s GOP must be held accountable,” according to the main text on its website.

“We are going to be playing heavily in this state,” Gunner Ramer, political director for the PAC, said. He called Mastriano a “clear threat to our democracy” who denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election. The PAC has played a role in several GOP primary victories, including Brad Raffensperger’s win over the Trump-backed candidate, Jody Hice, in the Georgia secretary of state race, according to The New York Times.

·         Never-Trump Group Reveals Midterm Plans, Days After Never-Biden Group Announces 2024 Plans. “The Republican Accountability PAC, a never-Trump group, plans to spend around $10 million in the upcoming midterms against Trump-endorsed candidates and those who believe the 2020 election was stolen, while a group of anti-Biden Democrats are gearing up to fight against the president’s potential re-election effort.” (Fox News)

·         GOP Candidate for PA Gov. Mastriano Paid $5,000 to the Website Used by the Tree of Life Shooter. “Pennsylvania Sen. Doug Mastriano’s campaign for governor in Pennsylvania paid $5,000 for “consulting services” to Gab, a social media platform that provides a home for conspiracy theories and antisemitic content. Gab is the website used by Robert Bowers, who is charged with killing 11 Jewish worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill in 2018. Bowers routinely posted antisemitic content on Gab before the shooting, according to archives of the posts.” (WESA)

Lancaster-based Penn Cinema canceled the première of the ‘blockbuster’ film, “Return of the American Patriot: The Rise of Pennsylvania,” which featured prominent right-wing PA figures, including GOP gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano. A “backup location” was announced 24 hours before Saturday’s opening.

Austin Davis, the state’s Dem nominee for lieutenant governor, is facing heat over a series of tweets from more than a decade ago, around the time Davis attended college, that appear to make derogatory statements about women and the LGBTQ community. But the criticism is from Mastriano who has peddled conspiracy theories about elections and Islam, and who has shared content boosting the QAnon movement. [The last point was tacked onto the leftie piece gratuitously and, of course, incorrectly, reflecting bias.]

Photos were taken by Liz Diehl at Friday’s PA-GOP Convention Dinner; during his speech, Mastriano claimed secret Dem support, counterpointing opposition by RINOs. Naturally, the Inqy endorsed the latter [With democracy at risk, some Pa. GOP leaders wisely break with one of their own | Editorial]; one can anticipate this drumbeat won’t cease. 

Dr. Sklaroff is a resident of Montgomery County and practices oncology and hematology in Philadelphia.

Never Trumpers Unite Against Mastriano
Never Trumpers Unite Against Mastriano

Dinosaur Republicans Backing Shapiro This November

Dinosaur Republicans Backing Shapiro This November — The sagacious Dom Giordano’s July 13 column in Delaware Valley Journal notes that ancient Republicans are uniting with Democrats to try to keep Doug Mastriano from beating Josh Shapiro, Nov. 8, and becoming Pennsylvania’s next governor.

Former Bucks County Congressman Jim Greenwood and Craig Snyder, who had been the late Sen. Arlen Specter’s Chief of Staff have created the political action committee Republicans4Shapiro.

Also involved are Robert Jubelirer, who ruled the Republicans in the Pennsylvania State Senate between 1984 until his shocking primary defeat to John Eichelberger in 2006; Joe Conti, a former state rep and senator who would go on to become chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board; and several people who served in the Thornburgh Administration back in the 1980s.

Yes, the uniparty is again exposed. You seriously think Shapiro is a man-of-the-people Roosevelt Democrat? He was counsel at Stradley Ronon while he ruled the Montco Ds and it’s board of commissioners. He was buds with Val DiGiorgio while DiGiorgio chaired the Chesco Republicans and then state GOP.

Dinosaur Republicans Backing Shapiro This November
Dom Giordano

He even got DiGiorgio’s wife a high-paying, do-nothing job with Montgomery County.

Val chaired Stradley Ronon’s banking and public finance sections while he was standing in the sun albeit the lobbying law firm had to kick him to the curb after he fell from grace.

Bet your bippy that while Val may not have officially signed up for Republicans4Shapirio he is given them secret smiles and covert thumbs-up.

Uniparty-types do not care about minorities — and never did. They do not care about the working class. They do no care about the middle class. They don’t care about the elderly. They don’t care about kids. They care only about themselves, soft living and having you kiss their rings.

Anyway Dom writes about his interview with Greenwood who seemed to pine for the days when people in country clubs were taken seriously.

“After my interview with Greenwood, I’m convinced that his group is so deranged by Trump that they have embraced Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro without meeting with him and projecting what he would do as governor,” Dom writes. “Greenwood admitted this, but told me his group believes Shapiro to be ‘thoughtful.'”

Read Dom’s article here. Listen to him weekedays noon-3 p.m. on WPHT 1210 AM.

Hat tip Susan Jane Goldner

Dinosaur Republicans Backing Shapiro This November t

Jarett Coleman Flew To Upset Win Over Pat Browne In 16th District

Jarett Coleman Flew To Upset Win Over Pat Browne In 16th District

By Bob Small

Jarett Coleman, a professional pilot, was flying high in his upset GOP primary victory over long-term Lehigh County State Senator Pat Browne of the 16th District. The most recent count, as of June 3, was 17,041 to 17,022.

The 16th Senatorial District consists of Allentown and along with Alburtis, Coopersburg, Heidelberg Township, Lower Macungie Township, Lower Milford Township, Lowhill Township, Lynn Township, Macungie, North Whitehall Township, Slatington, South Whitehall Township, Upper Macungie Township, Upper Milford Township, Upper Saucon Township, Washington Township, Weisenberg Township,

Pat Browne served almost three decades in the Pennsylvania House and Senate. At the time of this election, he was the Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman, a post he had held since 2014. Having spent a decade in the State House representing the 131st District, he was elected to the State Senate in 2005.

Jarett Coleman Flew To Upset Win Over Pat Browne In 16th District
Jarrett Coleman

Among Browne’s accomplishments was his role as the founding Chairman of the Arts and Culture Caucus and the author of laws encouraging businesses to hire citizens with disabilities. 

Jarrett Coleman serves on the Parkland School Board where he works against CRT (Critical Race Theory) and mask mandates, and for greater transparency by the schools to parents in terms of the school curriculum.

During the campaign, Coleman pledged that he would decline pension and perks, support term limits, and oppose tax hikes. It will be interesting to follow his progress regarding these pledges.

He lives in Breinigsville with his wife, two children and three dogs.

After nearly three decades serving as a Lehigh Valley lawmaker, State Senator Pat Browne has a short answer when asked, “What’s next?” 

“I have no idea,” he said in an interview with WLVR.

Jarett Coleman Flew To Upset Win Over Pat Browne In 16th District

Hot Dog John Fetterman

Hot Dog John Fetterman — John Fetterman, the angry, racially problematic man who wants to be Pennsylvania’s next senator tweeted this morning: I don’t know who needs to hear this but while you paid $7 for a hot dog this 4th of July weekend, Tyson Foods posted nearly $1 billion in profits last quarter. (Whispers: corporate greed)

So, um, John, where was all this corporate greed three years ago when the price of a hot dog was $1.50?

Hot Dog John Fetterman
Hot Dog John Fetterman

Remember The York County Upsets, Establishment Bosses

Remember The York County Upsets

By Bob Small

Normally, I wouldn’t discuss political goings-on in York County, a hundred miles from Swarthmore and Delaware County.  After all, what could possibly happen there that is meaningful to us in Delco?

However, at this time a very effective rebellion has taken place in York, and two long-term GOP incumbents have been upset.  Both chaired their respective Appropriations Committees and we will discuss Keith Gillespie’s even more surprising loss in an upcoming post.

These losses led York County GOP Chairman Jeff Piccola to resign within minutes of the polls closing.

Remember The York County Upsets, Establishment Bosses
Wendy Fink

The 94th District consists of 14 towns: Chanceford Township, Delta, East Prospect, Felton, Lower Chanceford Township, Lower Windsor Township, Peach Bottom Township, Red Lion, Stewartstown, Windsor, Windsor Township, Winterstown, Yorkana, and parts of Springettsbury Township.  This district had been a GOP stronghold since 1969. Prior to that, seats were apportioned by county.

Representative Stan Saylor was defeated by Wendy Fink, who had 5,408 votes to Saylor’s 4,300. Mike Jones (R-93rd) was one of the most prominent people to support her insurgency. Keep in mind that Saylor served almost three decades in politics and described himself as the “most conservative House Appropriations Chairman in decades”, yet, he was defeated.

“This victory really belongs to the people,” Ms. Fink said. “They came out. They made their voices heard. They demanded change, and I look forward to serving them in any way that I can.”

Piccola had sought to have Mike Jones censured by the party for his endorsement of Wendy Fink. The party, quite rightly, refused to comply.

Wendy Jo Fink, like many state representatives of both stripes, has promised to eliminate school property taxes. If she finds the magic formula to eliminate school property taxes without reducing school funding, we may want her to present her formula in Delco.

Leo Knepper, the political director of the Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania (CAP) said “Just because you have an ‘R’ behind your name doesn’t mean you’re doing the right thing.” 

Citizens Alliance for Pennsylvania took some credit for some of these victories.  See their website for information.

Let me end with the Democratic perspective. Democratic Appropriations Chairman Matt Bradford (D-70)  has said “Compromise has become a dirty word.” He worries that the ideological wing of the Republican Party is growing, while the governing wing is shrinking.”

Incumbent Dem Loses In 194th Primary After Being Outspent 10 To 1

Incumbent Dem Loses In 194th Primary After Being Outspent 10 To 1

By Bob Small

In one of the five most expensive Pennsylvania Democratic State House races, Tarik Khan beat incumbent Pamela DeLissio in the primary after outspending her, 10 to one.

Khan spent $283,705 to Ms. DeLissio’s $27,488. He received 59.9% of the vote to her 40.1%.

Since the GOP did not field a candidate, Tarik will be the next representative from the 194th District.

The 194th includes part of Lower Merion Township and part of Philadelphia, and is traditionally Democrat. Its best known representative ever may have been Herbert Fineman, who was forced to resign.

Incumbent Dem Loses In 194th Primary After Being Outspent 10 To 1
Tarik Khan

Khan is a University of Pennsylvania nursing PhD student. He received his masters degree in nursing from LaSalle University and is employed as a family nurse practitioner at Philly’s Abbotsford-Falls Health Center. He has been a lifelong political activist.

The son of a Pakistani immigrant, Khan speaks of “growing up as a Muslim kid with a Catholic mother in a Jewish neighborhood”.  As a nurse, he is following his mother’s career path. 

The biggest contributors to Khan’s campaign were family, $32,000; the 314 Action Victory Science Fund, $27,500; and Impact PAC Federal,                           $15,000.

Khan said he also “received over 1,000 contributions from about 700 individuals”. One wonders about the current cost to run successfully for public office in this state and, indeed, in this country.

Ms. DeLissio has served as representative since 2011.  She has a record of holding 116 town-hall meetings over the past ten years, and just held her 118th such meeting last week. She chaired the Children and Youth Committee.

Incumbent Dem Loses In 194th Primary After Being Outspent 10 To 1

John Lawrence Pressed On Voting Concerns In Chesco

John Lawrence Pressed On Voting Concerns In Chesco — Good for Carmela Ciliberti who is keeping the pressure on Pennsylvania State Rep. John Lawrence (R-13), especially regarding voter integrity.

She sent the below letter in which she pointed out that Chester County’s Board of Elections provided an insufficient amount of Republican Primary ballots to the West Nottingham precinct and that for hours Republicans were turned away from the ballot box.

“Were these voters notified when more ballots were delivered?” she said. “How many of these voters had the ability to return to cast their ballot?”

She says the cause of the issue is Act 77, a law for which Lawrence voted.

“Prior to Act 77, the county board would have been required to provide 1,100 Republican ballots to the West Nottingham precinct; enough to cover the increased voter participation during the the May 17 Primary,” she said. “However, due to Act 77, the county board was only required to provide approximately 100 Republican ballots thereby preventing hundreds of Republican voters from exercising their constitutional right.”

Carmela ran an unsuccessful challenge to the establishment-favored incumbent in the May primary.

John Lawrence Pressed On Voting Concerns In Chesco -- Good for Carmela Ciliberti who is keeping the pressure on Pennsylvania State Rep. John Lawrence (R-13)
John Lawrence Pressed On Voting Concerns In Chesco

Kazeem KOs Kirkland In 159th Race

Kazeem KOs Kirkland In 159th Race

By Bob Small

For the first time in nearly three decades, there will not be a Kirkland as the state representative for the 159th State House district in Harrisburg. Thaddeus Kirkland served from 1993 to 2016 and was succeeded by Brian Joseph Kirkland, his nephew. Thaddeus Kirkland then became the mayor of Chester after leaving the State Rep job and is now the Director of Public Affairs in the city of Chester

The revised parameters of the 159th are Chester,  Eddystone, Lower Chichester Township, Marcus Hook, Parkside,  Trainer, and Upper Chichester Township.  Chester is the only city in Delco.  Founded in 1682 by William Penn, it is also the oldest city in Pennsy.

Kazeem KOs Kirkland In 159th Race
Carol Kazeem

Carol Kazeem, who ran a grassroots campaign as a citizen-activist, got approximately 56 percent of the vote.  She promises to have “power returned to the people”.  She is employed as a trauma outreach specialist.  She garnered plenty of support during her speech on election night, including that of Chester city-council member Stefan Roots and his campaign manager, Todd Strine, co-owner of the Swarthmorean newspaper.

During the campaign, there was a misstep by Kirkland’s campaign staff, which incorrectly listed the AFL-CIO and PSEA (Pennsylvania State Education Association) as supporters of Kirkland.  However, PSEA endorsed  his opponent, and the AFL-CIO did not endorse anyone in this race.  Kirkland’s campaign based these listings on prior endorsements and “simply assumed this would be the case again”. This misstep received major play in various media.

Overall, this primary season there were numerous incumbents who lost their races for various offices. Is this perhaps a harbinger of changes to come? I will discuss this in an upcoming blog.

Kazeem KOs Kirkland In 159th Race

8th District Remains Williams Dynasty

8th District Remains Williams Dynasty

By Bob Small

Anthony Hardy Williams won handily on May 17 in the Democratic primary race for the 8th Pennsylvania state Senate  District, with 75 percent of the vote.  

The district consists of parts of southwest Philadelphia; and townships of Darby and Tinicum and the boroughs of Collingdale, Colwyn, Darby, Folcroft, Norwood, Sharon Hill and Yeadon, all in Delaware County.

8th District Remains Williams Dynasty
Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams

Williams has been a tireless advocate for charter schools and the legislation enabling them, including tax credit programs.  He also worked to include Holocaust education in the public high-school curriculum, to prevent public school employees with sexual misconduct issues from transferring from one school to another, and to create a Diversity Apprenticeship Program in the labor movement. 

But let’s put this in context.

Williams has held the 8th District seat since 1999 winning it after his father, Hardy Williams, stepped down. Dad had held the seat since 1983.

Maybe it’s understandable the 65-year-old politician thinks the seat is his birthright. He viewed his first real challenge from Paul Prescod, 31-year-old Philadelphia school teacher whose father immigrated from Barbados, as “insulting“.

Good citizens should find it insulting that a politicians would think a challenge is insulting.

Williams supporters are also problematic. Jeffrey Yass for instance is “a Montgomery County billionaire charter-school advocate who generally supports Republicans”. 

Usually, campaign donors favor one party only, but we may be entering a new era of cross-over political supporters.

Prescod has been supported by groups like Reclaim Philadelphia –which helped select one of my former union compatriots, G. Roni Green, as a candidate for state representative; the Philly chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), known most recently for supporting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; and the Working Families Party, a Democratic Party support group masquerading as a separate party.

Based on the separate negatives of support for each candidate,, the 27th Ward Democrats declined to make an endorsement. 

It turns out the Pennsylvania GOP was too busy to field a candidate, so Anthony Hardy Williams will be running against a real nobody.  That is, unless a Constitution Party, Green Party, Independent Party or Libertarian Party candidate can attain ballot status by November.

8th District Remains Williams Dynasty