Category: Bob Small

Green Party Faces Deceased Incumbent In 32 District House Race

By Bob Small

Green Party candidate Quenoia “Zarah” Livingston, a healthcare worker and community organizer, is running against a dead man in Pennsylvania’s 32 District State House race, which is in Allegheny County.

The 85-year-old incumbent Democrat Tony Deluca died Oct. 9 of lymphoma and the GOP didn’t field a candidate.

Ms. Livingston is a leader of No Cop Money PA

They are fighting against what some see as the “Pennsylvania Police State.

These positions are taken from her campaign web site.

She says she would “ban fracking and retrain industry workers for equivalent green trades union jobs and protect our rights to alternative fuel sources, including solar”

She says she would guarantee housing.

She would seek to end a US-Israel law enforcement exchanges which she calls “deadly exchange.”

She wants to raise the minimum wage to $20.

She would earmark funds for fire and emergency services in rural areas.

She would legalize marijuana and magic mushrooms and back safe injection sites and needle exchanges.

If the late Mr. Deluca gets the most votes the seat will remain unfilled until a special election could be called.

Lastly, the only other non statewide candidate for the Pennsylvania Greens is Jay Ting Walker in the 23^rd Legislative District.  See  his website for information.

Green Party Faces Deceased Incumbent In 32 District House Race

Libertarian In 166th District State House Race

By Bob Small

The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania has 14 candidates running for State House seats. State House Candidates including Edward Clifford III in Delaware County.

Clifford is facing incumbent Democrat Greg Vitali and Republican Kimberly Razzano in the 166^th District which is Haverford Township along with the along with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd wards in Marple, and the 1st and 3rd divisions of its 4th Ward. Vitali has held the seat since 1993.

Descriptions of some of his positions can be found at www.pafamilyvoter.com

Clifford is against Pennsylvania joining  the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative as it will “reward wealthy polluters.”

He advocates replacing taxes with GoFundMe.

“Taxpayers should not fund anything,” he says.

He says adults should be allowed to consume any drug they want.

“The racist war on drugs is a complete failure and disaster for us,” he says.

Clifford has a BA in business and finance from St. Joe’s University.

He has worked as a consultant and in related positions for seven different companies, most recently ION Trading. He is very involved with the Boy Scouts of America.

Libertarian In 166th District State House Race

Bill Foster Explains Candidacy

By Bob Small

After the most recent redistricting our 165th Pa house District went from being represented by Leanne Kruger to Jennifer O’Mara, basically an exchange of one Democrat for another.  Then a blank GOP line was seized by Nichole Missino.

 Then retired Swarthmore scientist Bill Foster decided that he would run and realizing the other two party lines were taken over, decided to create his own party.

He gathered enough signatures to acquire ballot status, and thus we have three Candidates running for one seat.  But then the weekly Swarthmorean came out on Thursday.   The letter from former Swarthmore Borough Council member Lauren McKinney began “Will someone explain why we need an independent “middle of the road” candidate to run against incumbent Jenn O’Mara for the 165th District?”

Bill  Foster explains his candidacy on his website: https://www.fosteringourvote.com/

The party system attacks our ability to choose a candidate that will represent most of us, he says.  He feels the major parties “value campaign donation and election victories more than our welfare”.

Bill promises that he will “work for legislation that requires committees to create their agendas in public well before their meetings”. 

The Swarthmore Borough Councol and Committees now have their agendas available online at least 24 hours before the meeting. He is also a proponent of ranked-choice voting.

He believes  “Harrisburg has put so much work onto school boards and their central office administrators that they have become overwhelmed, unresponsive, and inaccessible”.

“We can fix county systems so child abuse information is shared and children are not left in danger,” he says. 

Part of his extensive resume includes a stint with the Peace Corps, five years as a volunteer with the Council Rock School Board (Pa’s 12th largest).  Other volunteer stints include working with Swarthmore Borough, Swarthmore Boy Scouts, and the Delaware County Citizen Corps, and others.

To return to the beginning, why do we need yet another term of Jenn O’Mara as opposed to one of the other candidates, who have never had the chance to change things.

Independent Candidates In Pennsylvania

By Bob Small

There are two independent candidates on Pennsylvania’s 2022 ballot.

James Love Jackson and Rob Ronky are challengers in State House races, running against candidates endorsed by the major parties.

Rob Ronky is running in the 29th District against Tim Brennan (D) and Diane Smith (GOP).

The 29th District is in Bucks County and includes Buckingham, Doylestown, Solebury, Chalfont, New Britain and New Hope.

Republican incumbent Meghan Schroeder decided not to seek re-election in February.

Rob’s career includes stints with Dream with Ukraine.

“I would support open primaries where people can vote across party registration and I would support a national primary,” he says.

He says he wants more money spent on infrastructure including bike lanes and sidewalks.

He wants “kids to be taught a second language earlier than 8th grade” though he doesn’t advocate for a specific language,

He cites him mother and his wife as his role models.

Much the way Dr. Oz has advocated he says “we need officials that can come up with a compromise”.

The other independent candidate is James Love Jackson from the 190th Pa House District. He seems to be running a stealth campaign as there is very little information on him in the internet, besides his name.

Independent Candidates In Pennsylvania

Daniel Wassmer Is Keystone Party Senate Candidate

By Bob Small

Daniel Wassmer is the US Senate candidate in Pennsylvania for the new Keystone Party

“The fact that two parties control all of the dialogue in the US creates a fundamentally flawed system in which ordinary people are left out of the process and the entire political environment becomes a supercharged example of partisanship,” Wassmer said in an Oct. 22 email interview.

He expressed concern about misuse of the legal system especially with regard to appeals and voting.

“Evidence of this manipulation is the perpetual lawsuits followed by both political parties to exclude voters,”  he said.

He said this is often used to exclude third parties.

“People need to understand how corrupt our system has become and who created that atmosphere,” he said.  “Continuing to vote for corruption is not addressing these concerns but merely perpetuating it!”

In a discussion with GoErie.com he made these points:

“Abortions are a medical decision to be made solely by a woman and her doctor.”.

“May I also point out that supposedly hyper environmentalist Jimmy Carter is largely  responsible for freeing gas production in shale deposits here, (regarding fracking)”

“I would prefer to see Coca-Cola and Pepsi banned since we lose more people every morning to diabetes related comorbidity (regarding gun control)”

He sees himself as “an adult in a playground of chaos who will speak the truth..”

Wassmer received a J.D. from New York Law School in 1989, after degrees from Adelphi and Utah State Universities, etc.  He states he has worked as an adjunct professor, artist, and scuba diving instructor. 

On his Facebook page he said that “Also for the record I had reached out to the Oz campaign to debate him in the event that Fetterman was unable.”

For further information about his candidacy:

https://www.facebook.com  ›  Wassmer4USSenate

Daniel Wassmer for US Senate – Facebook

Www.Wassmer4PA.com

Overview Of Alternative Party Candidates In Pennsylvania

By Bob Small

The Pennsylvania Department of State’s website has a way to search by political party and election. Also you can search by position like state sSenate candidates.  One can als search by district.

So I searched for “alternative parties.”

Parties that have at least onecandidate on the ballot in Pennsylvania’s 2022 general election, Nov. 8, are:

Libertarian	17
Green	5
Keystone	5
Independent	2
Fostering the Vote	1
SWP (Socialist Workers Party)	1

There are 31 candidates who are not major party. Most are running to spread their ideas and don’t really expect to get elected.

There are non-listed candidates running, some with party support, most without. Ron Johnson, for instance has the support of the Pa. Constitution Party, but was unable to obtain enough signatures to attain ballot status.  Then there were other candidates, mostly Libertarian and SWP candidates, who had enough signatures until the state. decided, with less than a week to go, that they needed more signatures.  See this video for details.

Imagine, if you will, that the Houston Astros were allowed four outs per inning but the Phillies only were allowed three. That’s how it is between Dems and GOP and the alternative parties.

I only know about Fostering the Vote, because I live in the 165th District and can vote for Bill Foster, which will be a future post. There are more candidates, I’m sure, running  on a very local basis as purely write-ins. Unless they can provide a strong internet basis, as an Everett Stern manages, we probably won’t ever hear of them. 

As of my last count, The Libertarians have 179 Elected Officials, and the Greens 20 in Pennsylvania.

In a better future society we need these candidates running with a more realistic chance of getting elected, though I’m not sure how, and if, this ever happens.

Please update me if I have missed any parties and/or candidates in Pennsylvania.

Overview Of Alternative Party Candidates In Pennsylvania

Erik Gerhardt Wants More Liberty And Less Government

By Bob Small

Erik Gerhardt clearly states his manifesto on his campaign website: The Constitution was written to control the power of the Government, not to constrict the Liberties of its people.

Gerhardt, 37 of Pennsburg, is the Libertarian candidate for US Senator in Pennsylvania.

“We can promote the independence our founding fathers intended by eliminating property taxes,” he said. “Most taxes are nothing short of theft”.

He also stated the “non-aggression principle” (NAP) his party embraces, namely there is no right to use force except in retaliation.  

With regard to abortion, Gerhardt defends the Dodd decision but wants the issue decided in Pennsylvania via referendum. He says he’d like the morning-after pill to be readily available.

“The court’s decision was the right one and the states and their people should have a constitutional question added to the ballot to have the people decide on the issue,” he said.

Gerhardt began working in construction at the age of 16 and started his own business ECG Carpentry, in 2015.

Gerhardt says se need better education for our children, less and fewer taxes and sustainable business plans to not steal from our citizens. 

In this GoErie.co interview, Gerhardt describes his three step plan to assist small business, which include triple deductions for businesses with four employees or less, another health care deduction when they break that threshold and health care not being bound by state lines.

His plan for police reform, as described in this Williamsport Sun-Gazette article, includes jujitsu training for recruits.

Hopefully, this 37 year old from Pennsburg can bring many of his ideas to the public during this election cycle. 

Erik Gerhardt Wants More Liberty And Less Government

Fracking Motivates Green Gubernatorial Candidate In Pa

By Bob Small

It’s crystal clear what movitivates Upper Uwchlan resident Christine “PK” Digiulio candidacy for Pennsylvania governor. 

It’s the Mariner East Pipeline. The Green Party nominee says she wants the  waters around her to remain pure.

She is the co-founder of Watchdogs of Southeastern Pennsylvania (WASEPA) and the Better Path Coalition 

She notes that the Pennsylvania Constitution states The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment Article 1, Section 27

Ms. Digiulio, aka PK Ditty, was an analytical chemist for the US Department of Defense. She is a graduate of Lock Haven University. 

She said that Energy Transfer Partners, the owner of Sunoco Logistics Partners which is building Mariner East, has paid more than $20 Million in fines and penalties related to pipeline construction that began in 2017. 

She calls this the “pay to pollute” regulations of corporations.

Fracking Motivates Green Gubernatorial Candidate In Pa

Hoeppner Socialist And Only Challenger To Dwight Evens

By Bob Small

The Socialist Workers Party (SWP) is one of at least 20 communist/socialist parties listed in Politics1.com

Why so many? The factions run candidates as a way to get their message out.

The separations started in 1938 when CPUSA (Communist Party of the USA) expelled all Trotskyites, under orders from Joseph Stalin. who was then halfway through his dictatorship.  Stalin allegedly ordered the assassination of Trotsky less than two years later.

The three Communist/ Socialist Parties had received over one million votes in the 1932 election, a high water mark for the Left in this country, with James Hudson Mauer of Pennsylvania being the running mate of Norman Thomas.  

Chris Hoeppner is the only surviving member of four SWP members originally on the Pennsylvania ballot, a story that the Constitution, Green and Libertarian Parties are all too familiar with and requires a separate post.

He is the only opposition to incumbent Democrat Dwight Evans in the Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District as the Republicans neglected to put up a candidate.  The district includes  most of center city Philadelphia, along with parts of North and West Philly.  It is the most Democratic congressional district in the nation.  In 2020 it gave Joe Biden 91 percent of the vote.

Hoeppner is a freight rail conductor and a member of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation union (SMART). He lives in South Philly.

Chris was quoted in a September Article of the Militant, the offical newspaper of the SWP regarding the looming railroad strike strike.

“Railworkers need to get our voices heard. The big-business media is only going to tell the companies side of the story,” he said . “The problems we face, particularly the challenges of having a life outside of work, of spending time with our families, is widespread in the working class”.

Hoeppner Socialist And Only Challenger To Dwight Evens