Get out & vote by November 7th! Radical Republicans on our ballots mean there are no "off years" anymore!
Who to vote for PA Judge when the ballot doesn't say what party they are; plus an analysis of aftermath of Montgomery County's Democratic scandal.
Here’s why the current election (going on now by mail, or on November 7th if you vote in person) is so important. Though this would have been a “sleepy” election in the 20th Century, not anymore. The PA State Supreme Court must remain in Democratic control for these reasons:
— When (not “if”) the Trump 2024 campaign challenges the results of the vote count in Pennsylvania, a Democratic majority in the PA State Supreme Court may save American Democracy from authoritarianism
— A Democratic majority on the PA State Supreme Court ensures continued reproductive freedom in Pennsylvania
— A Democratic majority on the PA State Supreme Court does not invite Republican legislators in Harrisburg to try to return to our former gerrymandered maps.
Please vote for Democratic candidate Dan McCaffrey for PA State Supreme Court on or before November 7th.
But, wait, there’s more!
If “down ballot” races are won by Democrats, it creates a “farm team” to provide qualified candidates for higher offices.
It no longer works to refrain from voting for candidates you “don’t know.” Republicans always feel comfortable voting for candidates they are not familiar with, just because they’re Republicans. Yet Democrats often hesitate to vote for candidates they are not familiar with, and this is particularly true in “down ballot” races.
This dichotomy in the willingness of Democrats and Republicans to vote for a candidate they “don’t know” is why Republicans keep a strong back bench, despite their rotten ideas and their lousy “policies”.
You have the power to change this situation, just by being more comfortable voting for a Democratic candidate you “don’t know.”
What about the pay-to-play scandal that happened in the local Democratic party back in May before the primary?
I’m happy to report that, unlike Republicans, who are leaning harder into corruption as a way of doing business, the Montgomery County Democratic committee took the May 2, 2023 article from The Philadelphia Inquiirer seriously and are cleaning up their act regarding pay-to-play for local law firms. No more sweetheart deals with townships. Additionally, the activism of yours truly, plus dozens of other committed commiteepeople throughout Montgomery County, rattled the leadership.
The new leader (who was voted on by committeepeople before the scandal broke) is Montgomery County Treasurer, Jason Salus. Salus, after this election, has plans to work harder to solicit small-dollar donations in order to have cleaner elections. You can help with this effort by being more open to the idea that local politicians need your financial support. You can’t give no money to local politicians and then complain when these same local Democratic politicians, desperate in their races against Republicans who are cash-rich from larger donors, turn to large law firms for campaign donations that may have unknown or unspoken future strings attached. That’s my autopsy of what happened to create the pay-to-play scandal.
Below is the sample ballot for Upper Gwynedd-6. It’s simple to vote all the way down the ballot since the November match-ups are only between Democrats and Republicans. This is not a “hard” page 1 of the ballot.
For more information, visit the candidates’ websites at the following links:
The “hard” part of the ballot this time is the judicial retention. In a nod to old-fashioned political values, judges are considered a non-partisan seat. When they run for the first time they state their party, but then when they are voted for retention, the County no longer lists their party on the ballot. You and I know better about 21st century realities. So I’ve made it very simple on Page 2 of the below sample ballot to see who’s a Republican and who’s a Democrat.
If you vote in person, I hope to see you outside the polls on November 7th!
