Category: GOP

GOP Establishment Keeps Control In Montco

GOP Establishment Keeps Control In Montco — Christian Nascimento won as expected, March 1, the chairmanship of the Montgomery County Republican Party.

What wasn’t expected were the armed guards who initially prevented his opponent, Stan Casacio, from entering the hall at the Crowne Plaza in King of Prussia, and would later threaten to eject his other opponent Joe Rooney.

Stan says the guards claimed his name was not on the list of those allowed. After a fuss, party officials agreed to let him in, but not his lawyer, Andy Teitelman. After more fuss, they agreed to let Teitelman in as well but said he had to stay in the back and couldn’t mingle.

During the proceedings, party officials objected to points Rooney was making leading to the threat of ejection and causing much contention.

Rooney would later endorse Stan and encourage his supporters to give him their votes.

Stan estimates that the final tally was about 300 to 200 for Nascimento with the margin being cast by proxy votes. About 400 attended the event.

Nascimento will fill the remainder of Liz Havey’s four-year term, which began in June. She unexpectedly resigned in mid February.

Stan is not conceding and is planning a lawsuit based on violations of process.

GOP Establishment Keeps Control In Montco
GOP Establishment Keeps Control In Montco

Can Frank Agovino Turn Swarthmore Red?

Can Frank Agovino Turn Swarthmore Red?

By Bob Small

Can Frank Agovino Turn Swarthmore Red? — Frank Agovino has been elected at the new Delco GOP chairman replacing the retired Tom McGarrigle and promising a host of changes.  

“I want to get the party on better footing, and that means having a 49-municipality strategy that actively invites more people into the process from across the county,”  he said.

He also intends to “establish a committee on mail in voting” and wants to “improve our performance amongst voters who now prefer to vote early and remotely”.

“We need to do a better job of serving as a watchdog and holding the current l(democratic) leadership accountable,” he said. It is also our duty to effectively articulate an alternative vision.”  

Can Frank Agovino Turn Swarthmore Red?
Frank Agovino

This was an election where only one county Republican candidate State Rep Craig Williams (D-160) won.  Incumbent Chris Quinn (168th) was an incumbent who was upset.  

Agovino was the GOP candidate for the 26th District senate seat in November losing to incumbent Timothy Kearney

Agovino’s New Avenue Foundation started the Media Bean Company which is still around, albeit in Newtown  Square, still making great breakfasts.  He has been involved with a number of boards, including the Delaware County Intermediate Unit, the Manufacturers Alliance of Delaware and Chester County, and the YMCA of Eastern Delaware County, etc.  

He received a BS in Marketing from St. Joe’s and an MS in Organizational Leadership from Cabrini.  He lives in Springfield with his wife and daughter,.

One borough in Delco where Republicans have not been on the ballot recently, is Swarthmore.  Maybe Frank Agovino can revitalize the Swarthmore GOP which, sadly does not have an electronic presence.

This is an article I wrote a while ago.  Nothing has changed.

Swarthmore Was Once Republican – BillLawrenceOnline

Hopefully, Frank Agovino will provide some needed changes.

Delco GOP Chair Blames Trump, LOLs Keep Coming

Delco GOP Chair Blames Trump, LOLs Keep Coming — Outgoing Delaware County (Pa) Chair Tom McGarrigle blamed his party’s poor showing on Donald Trump in an interview with Channel 10.

“It’s time for the Republican Party to move beyond Donald Trump,” McGarrigle said. “. . . Donald Trump was elected in 2016 and in Delaware County we started losing elections you know in 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21.”

Well, no.

And you started losing because you began putting up crap candidates, laughing at the wishes of your constituents and ignoring the county’s changing demographics.

A lot of those Blacks moving into Upper Darby think more like Trump voters than Radnorites. Where was the outreach?

Delco GOP Chair Blames Trump, LOLs Keep Coming
Look in the mirror, man

It’s called lazy, Tom. And stupid.

You didn’t need to get them all to make a difference.

Regarding this last election, where were your ads tying Josh Shapiro to the special interests screwing up the lives of the middle class? How about his persecution of The Little Sisters of the Poor.

He was beating up The Little Sisters of the Poor and you couldn’t make an issue about that.

It was almost as though you were a Republican for Shapiro.

And you have the audacity to blame Trump.

And why the silence on the very real concerns about vote fraud in Delco?

You issued a release on Oct. 31, 2020 that at least two duly elected Judges of Election found their voter books had been given to others by the County Election Board and the Election Board couldn’t say who. It’s a rather serious violation, you would think. Good for you for pointing it out. We were kind of expecting a little bit more though. The matter sort of disappeared. You gonna blame Trump for that?

Delco has become a national scandal with regard to elections. It’s the subject of YouTube videos and best-selling books. We get why you might not want to sign onto the claims completely but there’s nothing wrong with asking questions and expressing warranted skepticism at the county’s lame counter-claims.

You can rip Trump but not Jack Stollsteimer? No wonder why the Democrats like you.

We see Channel 10 did not call you chairman or boss but chair. As in something you sit on.

McGarrigle is stepping down Nov. 29 and an election is scheduled that day to replace him. We hear Dave White is the guy tapped. We don’t expect much to change.

Delco GOP Chair Blames Trump, LOLs Keep Coming

Jeff Bartos Wants Shapiro It Seems

Jeff Bartos Wants Shapiro It Seems — It’s being reported that establishment Republican stalwart Jeff Bartos and his wife, Sheryl, attended a Sept. 21 fundraiser for Democrat gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro.

Who is surprised by this?

The Democrat and Republican establishments are the same people. Check out this old story about Stradley Ronon. Shapiro at the time was the Philadelphia lobbying law firm’s counsel and Val DiGiorgio, who ran Chesco’s GOP and would become the state GOP chairman, headed its banking and public finance sections.

Bartos runs in the same circles as does Jim Greenwood and Craig Snyder and Robert Jubelirer as does Michael Chertoff and Mario Civera.

These are the guys that make your lives harder.

If you want your lives to be easier vote for the guy they don’t want.

That would be Doug Mastriano.

He is running as a Republican.

As if party labels still matter.

Hat tip Susan-Jane Goldner

Jeff Bartos Wants Shapiro It Seems
Jeff Bartos Wants Shapiro It Seems

Rick Loughery Has Young Republicans In Turmoil

Rick Loughery Has Young Republicans In Turmoil — Val DiGiorgio’s legacy is metastasizing as the Young Republican National Federation has succumbed to its poison.

DiGiorgio resigned as Pennsylvania Republican Party chairman in 2019 after a sex scandal. Before his unfortunate promotion to state boss, he ruled the Chester County GOP, also unfortunately as his friends were not the friends of the little guys and gals who depend on political leaders to watch their backs.

Rick Loughery Has Young Republicans In Turmoil
Rick Loughery

Val’s handpicked successor as Chesco party boss was Rick Loughery who was the county recorder of deeds, as well as head of the Pennsylvania Young Republicans.

Val’s fall, though, didn’t stop Rick from rising. He became chairman of the Young Republican National Federation (YRNF) in 2019.

And since then, the YRNF has been beset by turmoil. The Florida chapter — a state where Republicans have doing particularly well — has declared its intent to withdraw, and an insurgency is challenging the leadership team placed by Loughery.

Oh Val, we were hoping we could forget you.

Rick Loughery Has Young Republicans In Turmoil

Raffi Terzian Beats Establishment Incumbent To Take Chesco GOP Chair

Raffi Terzian Beats Establishment Incumbent To Take Chesco GOP Chair — Raffi Terzian overwhelmingly beat incumbent and establishment favorite Gordon Eck to win chairmanship of the Chester County Republican Party, Tuesday (June 28).

It was part of a Republican insurgency sweeping the Philadelphia suburbs as party bosses in Montco and Bucks had to pull all stops to save their jobs.

The success by the Chesco rebels can likely be laid at the brain-dead decision Eck’s faction made in May to accuse Ron Vogel of being a Nazi racist for posting a Downfall parody in 2012 to mock the Pittsburgh Penguins while a college student.

Raffi Terzian Beats Establishment Incumbent To Take Chesco GOP Chair
The winning team in Chesco

Vogel won 58-percent of the vote in a straw poll to get the party’s recommendation in the May 17 primary to take on against incumbent Chrissy Houlahan in the 6th District congressional race. The establishment, however, of which Eck is a part, wanted Guy Ciarrocchi. Vogel was smeared, and his name left off the sample ballot and the Chesco GOP website.

Ciarrocchi won the primary.

And the committeepeople remembered.

Winning with Terzian were John Emmons as executive vice chair, Paula Tropiano as vice chair, Norman MacQueen as treasurer, Barbara Spall as financial secretary, Ann Marie Franciscus as secretary, Patricia Milanese as assistant secretary.

Also, let it be known that the Chesco vote, unlike in Bucks, was by secret ballot.

Raffi Terzian Beats Establishment Incumbent To Take Chesco GOP Chair

Pat Poprik Nearly Bucked In Bucks

Pat Poprik Nearly Bucked In Bucks — Barry Casper almost upset long-time Chairwoman Pat Poprik in yesterday’s (June 25) election of officers for the Bucks County Republican Committee.

It was the first challenge to a county party chairman in memory.

Pat Poprik Nearly Bucked In Bucks
Pat Poprik

Casper got about 140 votes. It was uncertain how many Ms. Poprik received. There are 608 committee seats and just over 400 votes were cast. There were 111 committeepeople elected in the May primary. Soon after, however, Ms. Poprik filled more than 50 others via appointments.

The election included heated procedural disputes and those running things appeared oblivious to Roberts Rules of Order.

The disputes were such that Ms. Poprik pledged to convene a committee to address changing the party bylaws. This was also something that had not occurred in memory and Casper conveyed that this was a step in the right direction.

Pat Poprik Nearly Bucked In Bucks
Barry Casper

The votes were taken by roll call. Many of those voting depend on the party for jobs.

Also one voter, Mike Brill, cast 45 proxy votes, while another cast 35.

The Casper faction’s goals are described on BucksFirst.com.

After the vote, Casper congratulated Ms. Poprik and both agreed to work together for the November election.

Casper has been tasked to oversee the Doug Mastriano gubernatorial campaign in Bucks, along with Liz Diehl, Audrey Strein, and Roni Arooj.

A grassroots earthquake is being felt throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Stan Casacio, supported by grassroots activists, nearly upset Montgomery County GOP Chairwoman Liz Havey, June 23, in the party’s officer election

Pat Poprik Nearly Bucked In Bucks

Stan Casacio Comments From Montco GOP Election

Stan Casacio Comments From Montco GOP Election

Stan Casacio sent us a copy of the speech he made after the Montgomery County Republican Committee’s election of officers, last night, along with a letter to supporters.

Liz Preate Havey was re-elected as party chairwoman in a surprisingly close election.

We are publishing Stan’s comments.

Being the chairman of a party especially ours is like herding cats everybody is pulling and tugging you in many different ways.  

For 50 years I’ve supported our great Republican Party. I’ve been standing on the poles since the days of hard hat for Nixon and yes my hair did stick out from underneath the hard HAT. 

 I’ve always tried to emphasize the positive aspects  of our Republican message Which is a common sense pragmatic conservative moral message. 

We understand that inflation, government corruption and crime does not discriminate. Many of you have been to my house and HAVE enjoyed many of my events.

 I have offered time on my radio show to our candidates to speak anytime

Diane and I have entertained everyone from national leaders to  local candidates to Tuskegee pilots to Tiffany Trump and everyone in between

But enough about me.  the question IS why we are here tonight.

We are here tonight because we all know that’s something is not right.

We are here tonight because our grand old party continues to SNATCH DEFEAT from the victory.

We are here tonight because we are tired of our leadership ignoring the needs of the people.

We are here tonight because we are tired of getting an echo instead of a choice AND BEING Disenfranchised.

We ARE here tonight to say that the insanity of doing the same thing over and over again and hoping to get a different result ends tonight.

We are here tonight because TONIGHT we are going to begin to start to win.

We are here TONIGHT to state that the American dream is not dead and that we the people are in charge of our destiny.

We begin tonight to unite this party like it has never been united before

We begin tonight to be like our founding fathers and not back down And not to accept that BS that we are the radicals when in fact the progressive liberal Democrat party are the radicals of destruction

AFTER  tonight we will begin TO take back our schools, our government and have fair elections.

After tonight we will take back and recognize real science SO That IN Montgomery County transgender men will not compete in women sports or get changed in women’s locker rooms. 

And we ARE HERE TONIGHT TO SHOUT OUT THAT ALL LIFE IS IMPORTANT AND WE will always err on the side of life.

WE ARE HERE TONIGHT TO SAY THAT little Nero Josh Shapiro with his Laurel CROWN ON his head will no longer be able to fiddle while crime sores and our state burns.

I end on this though –in the movie FM Peter Finch at the end OF the movie is so fed up with what is happening he and demands everybody go to their windows and stand up shout out and say we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore. 

We are in a revolution IN WHICH THE democratic leftist party is destroying Our county our state in our country and it’s up to us to shout out that we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore. 

I ask you to stand and make this pledge that we are mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore .

Please vote for me let’s make  change happen.

Thank you letter

Dear Friends,

I would like to take a moment and thank everybody who took time out of their day and engaged in the process to try to make our Grand Old Party better. I also want to thank all of you personally for supporting me and supporting the movement that, I hope, in some small way helps us to become winners.

As I stated, Republicans have the message. We should not run from it. We have the historical data that proves the common sense pragmatic conservative moral based message works. The real antagonist to our American dream is the now socialist progressive Liberal Democrat party, that somehow believes that laws, voting systems and government can be changed to meet their globalist view. Our constitution is meaningless to them. The Success or failure of individual Americans does not matter to them.

As to the meeting, at best it was confusing, at worst it was chaos. That is not to say I question the outcome but I do question the process. As a relatively successful businessperson, I am always looking to do things better so that we can obtain better outcomes. It was mentioned to me after the meeting by one person, who joked, “How can this party correct our voting system when it cannot even conduct a coherent voting process”. 

There is no question that the by-laws need to be changed. That the election of three most important positions chairman, vice chairman and treasurer, should be held as individual elections.  Then a candidate for one can be nominated for other positions if they lose in the initial position. The reason for that is quite clear, generally that person has generated enough interest by party members to have other alternatives open to that person.

Another suggestion that should be made in the bylaws is that there is truly a need for a recall provision. By having the recall provision, a chairman, a vice chairman and a treasurer,  will know that a majority of Republican Party committee people will need to be satisfied  and the success or failure of the leadership’s agenda can be changed. Four years is a long time to put up with a failed administration. Example -Joe Biden!

The other legitimate question that I was asked was why in the end did I challenge Liz Havey. Clearly as a vote total showed, there was a large group of active Republican Committee people, who are in the trenches every day, wanted a change. I felt that given those circumstances it was important to at least have the opportunity for those people to vote. That is the great thing about a democracy in which people have choices. Under a fair voting system, The act of voting becomes a relief valve which can prevent much broader chaos.

So once again thank you for being there, thank you for expressing your support and thank you for all that you do for our great party. Remember the real antagonists, the real radicals are not Republicans, are not conservatives and they truly are not the American people but is this radical socialist progressive Democrat party that has brought chaos and turmoil to our cities, has redefined the nature of science, and is now driving the American family into poverty.

LET US WIN TOGETHER

Stan Casacio

Stan Casacio Comments From Montco GOP Election
Stan Casacio Comments From Montco GOP Election Stan Casacio Comments From Montco GOP Election Stan Casacio Comments From Montco GOP Election

Swarthmore Was Once Republican

Swarthmore Was Once Republican

By Bob Small

For many years, Swarthmore, and Delaware County was safely Republican. Recently the tide has turned, as it usually does, and now both Delaware County Council, and the Borough of Swarthmore, are solidly Democratic. Though many have ascribed it to Swarthmore College’s influence, or “the Kremlin on the Krum”, as one Spiro T. Agnew called it, it was probably time for a change.

In the 2020 Election, Swarthmore had 3,345 votes for Biden and 427 for Trump. The Borough is 59.3 D and 37.0 Exact number of Registrants, it seems, were only available from the Delco Bureau of Elections, via a release of information form, which my inner Libertarian rebelled against.

The Swarthmore Republican Party does exist, but it has no electronic presence!

The Swarthmore Democratic Party has a Facebook page updated
on Sep. 28 (as of Oct 9), The website for the Swarthmore Democratic Committee was last updated in 2018, and also uses Latin (the influence of the College, no doubt). By the way, there was a Swarthmore College Republican Group, but….

As for the Nov 2, Municipal Election, Republicans Albert Federico and David Rowley are standing for Inspector of Elections in their Precincts; 2 out of the 13 major Party Candidates. Albert mentions that he is “running to retain his current position as Minority Inspector”. He could only become the Majority Inspector if he garnered more votes than the Democrat running in his precinct. David Rowley is fairly reticent.

As a Green, I don’t really have a dog in this hunt, though I’ll vote for the Libertarian on the Swarthmore ballot, Patrick John Hochstuhl, who is standing u for Constable. A Constable (courtesy of Berks County)
“A Constable is a sworn Law Enforcement/Peace Officer that can arrest for felony crimes and breaches of the peace committed in his presence, or by warrant anywhere in the commonwealth.”

There are 117 pages in the Municipal Races, just for Delaware County, and there are only 3 Libertarians and one Green running, which is a lost opportunity because many of these offices are unopposed. Among Independents, a David Cleary is running for Garnet Valley School Board.

Statewide, there are almost 150 Libertarians running for various offices, and nine Greens. One of whom, Kearni Warren, will be part of a three-way League of Women Voters of Central Delaware County Candidate Forum 7 p.m., tomorrow, Oct 12 . It will be live-streamed on YouTube. Visit here for details.

Swarthmore Was Once Republican
Swarthmore Was Once Republican

A Republican In Swarthmore

A Republican In Swarthmore

By Bob Small

I spoke to one of the Republicans in Swarthmore with a long and devoted history with the Party about his experiences. He is still active, though a young senior. we discussed the history of the history and future of the Swarthmore GOP, and how things had changed and not changed.

For purposes of this article, he agreed to the interview as long as his name wasn’t used, I’ll call him RS (Republican in Swarthmore)’

Swarthmore, Pa., for those who don’t know is overwhelmingly Democrat.

RS remembers the time when the Borough was almost all Republicans and now
is almost, well it is all Democrat, except for a few minor offices.

A Republican In Swarthmore

He didn’t feel it had changed “a whole hell of a lot”, and that Borough Council continued to be dedicated to “the needs of the local citizens”.

We also touched on Alice “Putty” Willets , whom he worked with in her capacity on Borough Council and who I knew for her work on the “Dew Drop Inn” Senior Center. We both agreed it was a shame she was never elected Mayor.

Here is her obit from The Swarthmorean https://www.swarthmorean.com obituary-death-notice

RS says he has maybe received maybe 10 “crazy comments” in his various duties for the Borough about being a “Republican”, probably the same I have received for being a Green and not a Democrat.

RS is a proud Swarthmore College graduate and we discussed where he agreed and disagreed with the College’s decisions I. e. He thought the Inn was “a great enrichment”, for instance, but worked against the College dropping football. How the College affected the Blue Route (2 lanes rather than four), and how the College seeks to maintain “good community relations” by having Athletics, Concerts, Lectures , etc open to the public.

Lastly, we both being Seniors, feeling “it beats the alternative”, we discussed how the Borough helps with walkability by keeping the sidewalks in shape by reminding homeowners about repair, trimming bushes, etc. Right now, there’s a whole vibrant downtown area, but people of all Parties are becoming opposed to this huge Condo project that might eviscerate up to 50 percent of our shopping area. (More about that in the future).
Like many of us, he worries that the increasing RE taxes and higher rents will affect the future of Swarthmoreans to continue to “age in place”.

A Republican In Swarthmore
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