Category: Bob Small

Fetterman Benefitted From Poor Lamb Campaign

By Bob Small

Despite his hospitalization for a stroke, during Stroke Awareness Month, Lt Gov. John Fetterman won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate with almost 60 percent of the vote. 

He won because of an inept campaign by his main opponent.  There may have been other factors restricting the vote totals of his other two opponents, such as homophobia and Islamaphobia.

Fetterman’s main opponent, Congressman Conor Lamb (D-17), was widely expected to mount a strong challenge, but not so.

“It’s one of the worst campaigns I’ve ever seen run,” Democratic Party strategist Mike Mikus said in an interview in McClatchy DC.

Lamb received around 26 percent of the vote.

“Voters told the New York Times they saw Conor Lamb as another Joe Manchin,” said political commentator Krystal Ball.  

So much for centrists.

State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-181), with 10 percent of the vote, was hoping to be the first Black man and first gay person to be a Pennsylvania senator.

His campaign promised to work towards abolishing the Electoral College and to establish a moratorium on new fracking sites. He often campaigned with his husband, Dr. Matthew Jordan Miller Kenyatta.

There’s a short documentary about Kenyatta’s previous election run called “Going Forward,” created by Seven Knots Productions.

In an interview after his loss, Kenyatta stated that “Allowing any one of these Republicans to become Pennsylvania’s senator will be the canary in the coal mine for democracy dying on our watch,” said Kenyatta in an interview after his loss.

Not quite a centrist.

The fourth and final candidate was Alex Khalil, a Jenkintown councilwoman and a long-time Democratic activist.  She has electrical engineering and law degrees from Temple University, and a library and information technology degree from Drexel.

“We really didn’t have enough help for small businesses in this country,” she said regarding government aid during the pandemic. Another issue of concern to her is the inclusion of more job-training programs for students.

She mentions some really innovative ideas, including “the right to farm”, PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes), which would affect the endowments of colleges and universities, and funding for high-speed rail in Pennsylvania.

Ms. Khalil was hoping to be the first woman elected to the Senate from Pennsylvania, as well as the first Muslim senator. She is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants. 

Fetterman Benefitted From Poor Lamb Campaign

Charlie Gerow Says Wolf Policies Inspired Run

By Bob Small

Charlie Gerow is one of the nine GOP candidates running to replace Gov. Tom Wolf this November. He has been criss-crossing the state this primary season with radio and television interviews, and attending events and forums.

He finds the people at his meet and greets particularly uplifting.

“(I like) their optimism, their spirit and their spunk,” he says.

It was the policies of the Wolf administration that led Gerow to run for governor, and he was encouraged to do so by many including Congressman Glenn “G. T.”  Thompson (R-PA15).

“We are in a battle for the heart and soul of America,” he says.

He says he would repeal “in a heartbeat” ACT 77 — which legalized no-excuse mail-in voting.

He would allow trans-sexual surgery for those under 18 only with parental consent.

He would sign HB 904 that would limit access to abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.

Gerow said that it is presumptive Democrat gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro and his fellow party members that have the radical position abortion.

He said he supports changing the law to allow the sale of “small amounts of recreational marijuana”. He said that many of his friends in law enforcement think that “now is the time”.

Wherever possible, Gerow would work to find common ground with Democrats on various issues.  He says he’s been dubbed “the conservative happy warrior”.

He feels that Pennsylvania should use all its natural resources to work towards energy independence including coal, gas, solar power, and rather than being dependent upon people who hate us.

Though Gerow is polling rather low, he still sees a path to victory.  He’s been running a positive campaign and feels he can beat Josh Shapiro.

He mentioned his “small-business experience” as the CEO of Quantum Communications. He shared his personal story, starting life as a impoverished child in Brazil, where he was adopted by American missionaries. He is proud to have worked on the campaign staff of President Reagan and to have been involved in the arrangements for Reagan’s funeral.

Gerow is the vice chairman of Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and the American Conservative Union. He lists Newt Gingrich and Michael Reagan as among his supporters.

Charlie Gerow Says Wolf Policies Inspired Run

Gale And Zama Are 2%ers In Pennsylvania Governor’s Race

By Bob Small

So now we turn to the Pennsylvania governors’ race, and only the Republicans are actually running a race. The Democratic race is already “fixed”, since Josh Shapiro is the only name on their primary ballot, May 17.

There are two GOP levels: front-runner and everyone else.

The “everyone else” are the three candidates who each have less than 2 percent support as per this April 15 poll by The Trafalgar group, which hasn’t changed all that much.

Each represents something, though. They are Joe Gale, Charlie Gerow, and Nche Zama.  We will discuss Gerow in our next post.

Dr. Nche Zama is a transplanted Cameroonian (as is the 76ers Joel Embid) and he would be the first Afro-American Pennsylvania governor. He is a heart surgeon, and was quoted in the Philadelphia Inquirer as saying, “I realized that Pennsylvania is dying and … it is very much in need of a cardiac surgeon for heart surgery.” 

Joe Gale is a 32-year-old Montgomery County commissioner who is an unapologetic Trumper strongly opposed to Act 77, which allows for 50 days of no-excuse mail-in voting in this state. He is running against Doug Mastriano specifically, which doesn’t seem to be working.

 His brother, Sean Gale, is running for US Senate, but  Galeforce Pa. Is only a mild breeze. Joe Gale served with Josh Shapiro in Montco and became the best of enemies.

For a long discussion, see: Capital-Star Q+A: RINO hunter Joe Gale wants to make sure …

Lastly, there is the issue of shakedowns of GOP gubernatorial candidates by some Republican committees.

Nche Zuma considers this practice “unethical”.  Joe Gale says “it’s corrupt and I believe the public knows it”. Others have also spoken against this “pay to play” practice, in which it’s alleged you can only speak to the committee if you have paid, and the number of minutes you can speak is determined by the amount you contribute.

Jeffrey Sheridan, a senior Democratic advisor, commented, “Charging candidates to speak at events is not a practice of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.” 

Surely we can believe him, can’t we?

Gale And Zama Are 2%ers In Pennsylvania Governor’s Race

John Brown Seeks GOP Lt. Gov Nod

By Bob Small

We wrap up our coverage of the lieutenant governor primary race, with John A.  Brown, one of the nine Republicans running for lieutenant governor.  He’s the former mayor of Bangor, Pa. and a former Northhampton County executive.  He’s the only candidate without an obvious electronic presence.

Some trivia: Pennsylvania is the only state that provides an official residence for it’s lieutenant governor, State House at Fort Indiantown Gap, This became the lieutenant governors residence, when the new governor’s residence was built in 1968

The office of lieutenant governor was created by the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1873. Prior to that, from 1777 to 1790, there was a series of vice presidents of Pennsylvania.  From 1790 to 1873, there was only a governor.

Pennsylvania is one of 17 states in which the lieutenant governor is elected separately from the governor.

In 26 states, they share a ballot. 

Oscar James Dunn became the first black lieutenant governor of a State in 1868. He was a Republican and the state was Louisiana.  Over a 150 years later, Pennsylvania has still never had a black lieutenant governor.

There is the possibility of the Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Selection Amendment coming up for a vote this November.  This would create a situation where both governor and lieutenant governor would be on the same ballot and, presumably, the same party.

Reviewing  the lieutenant governor candidates let to the thought that many of them should have opportunities to serve their state in some other capacity, as only two of them can be candidates for lieutenant governor, and, like the World Series, only one can win.

John Brown Seeks GOP Lt. Gov Nod

Saccone And Sosa Seek Lt. Gov Nod

By Bob Small

This is another in our reviews of candidates for Pennsylvania lieutenant governor.

Dr. Rick Saccone , Ph.d., a Republican, is a prolific author (10 books) and traveler (79 countries).  He was elected four times to the State House.  One of his previous jobs was as a counter-intelligence officer and special agent in the United States Air Force, based in South Korea, though he also spent some time in North Korea.

He is a member of both FOAC (Firearm Owners Against Crime) and the NRA.

His two-decade political-science teaching career at St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe, Pa came to a screeching halt on Jan. 7, 2021, after the administration at St. Vincent’s saw his Facebook posting showing his presence the previous day in Washington, DC.

He is married to Yong Saccone, whom he met in South Korea.

Saccone has been a follower of Christian evangelist David Barton. Barton is an  amateur historian and founder of  Wallbuilders.  Here is NPR’s view of his career, and here is Barton’s website.

Ray  Sosa is the third Democratic Candidate for lieutenant governor. He is seeking to become the first Hispanic lieutenant governor.  He has served as chairman of the governor’s Human Rights Commitee for a decade.  Ray supports BLM (Black Lives Matter) and the GLBT (Gay Lesbian Bisexual Trans) community.

He also says that the lieutenant governor position must remain an elected position, never an appointed one, as has been suggested.  “Anything less is an assault on our democracy.”

Ray also believes in a merit-based commutation of life sentences for prisoners “so that they can rebuild their lives”.  

There are a few other websites that mention Ray Sosa, and the current ones show his support for President Biden, which is to be expected from most Democrats.

Saccone And Sosa Seek Lt. Gov Nod

Candidates Coleman And Daniels Discussed In Lt. Gov Roundup

By Bob Small

And here are two more Republican candidates for lieutenant governor. The primary election is May 17. Previous stories can be found here and here and here.

Jeff Coleman has one of the most extensive websites of any of the candidates and a plethora of experience and recommendations. He has over 50 (!) recommendations from people including Matt Brouillette, Rep. Donna Oberlander, and Sam Rohrer. Rick Santorum said  “In a time of division, we need leaders like Jeff who can bring people together.”

Coleman is the son of missionaries who served in the Phillipines during the 1986 overthrow of Ferdinand Marcos.

During his time in the Pennsylvania House, he helped lead the fights against gambling expansion and higher taxes. In an unusual move, after only serving two terms, he decided to retire from the State House to devote more time to his family.

In 2005, Coleman and his wife Rebecca founded Churchill Strategies to help conservative candidates and causes.  He’s a graduate of Liberty University and Rebecca is a member of the Borough Council in Lemoyne. 

He is also the author of the book “With All Due Respect, Recovering the Manners and Civility of Political Content”.

Teddy Daniels wears many hats.  He’s an America Firster, combat veteran, pro-Trumper, and a retired police officer.  He’s a recipient of the Combat Infantry Badge and the Purple Heart. In 2002, he was named Law Enforcement Officer of the Year by a Maryland American Legion post.

At West Virginia University, he was a starting guard for its nationally-ranked football team.

He has been a leader in the legal marijuana market and is listed as a security advisor for Cannaspire.

In the last election, Daniels served the Trump campaign as the Northeast US Director of Vets for Trump. He has aligned himself with gubernatorial candidate Douglas Mastriano.

However, Rolling Stone Magazine has posted an article that includes accusations of domestic abuse, child support arrears, suspensions from his police job, and other offenses.   The Feb 16 article made it clear that Teddy Daniels had declined an interview request and refused to answer a series of written questions. 

There are also other articles echoing these charges,  Voters may want to review these and form their own opinions.

Candidates Coleman And Daniels Discussed In Lt. Gov Roundup