One of the best kept secrets in Delaware County is that the majority votes for Democrats in the big races. Even though the Republicans have held onto a registration and local political majority, they consistently lose the biggest races.
Let's take a look:
What do Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Ed Rendell, John Kerry, Bob Casey, Joe Sestak and Greg Vitali have in common? 3 out of 5 Delco Voters picked them when given the choice.
There are 5 seats on Delaware County Council. The current five GOP council members, and their 2007 candidates (aka "The Three Stooges") ALL supported George Bush, Rick Santorum and Curt Weldon. Does they sound like people that represent the values and the voters of Delaware County?
Shouldn't the voters have THREE Democrats out of FIVE seats? Particularly, since Innelli, O'Keefe and Landau ALL supported the Democrats that the Delco voters have consistently selected. Currently, the majority of the voters have ZERO representation on Council. (And, yes, when the GOP took over Council 30 years ago, they changed the Charter to remove the guarantee of minority party representation).
What do the voters want?:
1) More open government and less patronage.
2) Responsible Budgets, not bloated, no-bid contracts to GOP cronies.
3) County-wide Health Department.
4) Fair employment, without regard to party, for civil service jobs. (And, no strong-arming employees to work the polls.)
5) Council members that reflect the same political principles as the majority of voters in the "even-numbered" elections.
It is critical that Delco Voters elect the ENTIRE DEMOCRATIC TICKET: Innelli, O'Keefe and Landau for County Council and Frank Daly and Mike Farrell for Court of Common Pleas.
In the weeks to come, I will profile each of the Five County-wide Democrats on the ticket, some of the local races, and explain how the GOP's "Three Stooges" would continue the current misrepresentation on County Council.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Sunday, August 12, 2007
A New Blog for Delco
Delco voters wishing they had more of the same the hard hitting (and scathing) political commentary found on PA7Watch, now have a new destination for local Delaware County politics. While PA7Watch was focused upon the 7th Congressional District and Joe Sestak, PADelcoWatch will concern itself with Delco County Council and local township politics.
For the core of the problems in Delco, one doesn't have to look far to find the GOP strangle-hold that has led to widespread corruption, cronyism and chaos.
For too many years, Delco residents have been ashamed of the strong-arm politics, patronage and waste that have squandered our hard-earned tax dollars. No-bid contracts have become the norm. Courthouse and other government employees are routinely coerced into contributing time and/or money to elect officials of the GOP political machine. It's run like an old-style protection racket. Those that don't comply lose their jobs, rather than their stores, but the effect is the same.
I've heard more than one story of people forced to switch their voter registration to Republican or make a "contribution" in order to get a court case put on the docket. Not surprisingly, a cottage industry has grown around the facilitators of this system.
Many voters are under the FALSE impression that their trash won't get picked up or they'll be denied government services if they don't register Republican. Has ANYONE ever seen (or pictured) the trash collectors with a voter registration list and skipping over some houses? Are there years worth of trash piles outside the Democratic households? Of course not. Voters need to stand up to these hoodlums, and from now until Nov. 2007 they can make their voice heard.
And what of the Delco Times? While they report on stories they can't ignore, they ignore stories on which they can't report. The Delco Times has dropped the ball investigating even the low-hanging fruit of corruption. Why? .... My guess, the oldest reason: money. The Delco Times is beholden to its advertisers more than its readers. The threat of a pullout by GOP controlled advertisers is enough to kill any serious investigation. And there is no left/liberal editorial counter-balance to the right-wing rantings of Gil Spencer.
One of the things I hope to accomplish with this blog is bring some these stories of corruption out in the open, publish the evidence (screen shots and document scans), and have voters wonder why they have continued to tolerate this disgraceful nonsense.
As for Delco GOP cronies, stooges, shills and lapdogs intending to post here: you might want to wear a cup.
For the core of the problems in Delco, one doesn't have to look far to find the GOP strangle-hold that has led to widespread corruption, cronyism and chaos.
For too many years, Delco residents have been ashamed of the strong-arm politics, patronage and waste that have squandered our hard-earned tax dollars. No-bid contracts have become the norm. Courthouse and other government employees are routinely coerced into contributing time and/or money to elect officials of the GOP political machine. It's run like an old-style protection racket. Those that don't comply lose their jobs, rather than their stores, but the effect is the same.
I've heard more than one story of people forced to switch their voter registration to Republican or make a "contribution" in order to get a court case put on the docket. Not surprisingly, a cottage industry has grown around the facilitators of this system.
Many voters are under the FALSE impression that their trash won't get picked up or they'll be denied government services if they don't register Republican. Has ANYONE ever seen (or pictured) the trash collectors with a voter registration list and skipping over some houses? Are there years worth of trash piles outside the Democratic households? Of course not. Voters need to stand up to these hoodlums, and from now until Nov. 2007 they can make their voice heard.
And what of the Delco Times? While they report on stories they can't ignore, they ignore stories on which they can't report. The Delco Times has dropped the ball investigating even the low-hanging fruit of corruption. Why? .... My guess, the oldest reason: money. The Delco Times is beholden to its advertisers more than its readers. The threat of a pullout by GOP controlled advertisers is enough to kill any serious investigation. And there is no left/liberal editorial counter-balance to the right-wing rantings of Gil Spencer.
One of the things I hope to accomplish with this blog is bring some these stories of corruption out in the open, publish the evidence (screen shots and document scans), and have voters wonder why they have continued to tolerate this disgraceful nonsense.
As for Delco GOP cronies, stooges, shills and lapdogs intending to post here: you might want to wear a cup.
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