Posts tagged ‘joe hoeffel’

Dan Onorato’s campaign made a boo-boo.  Somebody on the inside either leaked, or let slip, a memo detailing plans to go after Joe Hoeffel and/or State Senator Anthony Williams, both of whom are gubernatorial candidates.

Now, going after an opponent is no big deal, it’s to be expected.  But the plan was to knock them off the ballot.  The memo indicated that Hoeffel and Williams would either split the Philadelphia vote, which would help Onorato, or the two could possibly be bumped from the ballot, which would help Onorato.

It’s the latter of the two revelations that draws my ire.  Onorato, rather than fight the race out, believed he could backdoor his opponents in an effort to gain victory for himself.  There was nothing to indicate Hoeffel played games or skimped with his signatures.  He needed 3,000, he got 7,000.

This story has played out in Philadelphia and on the PA newsblogs.  The longer it runs, the more shallow Onorato looks.

(Un)Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato has withdrawn his challenge to Joe Hoeffel’s spot on the ballot. Challenging his rival’s right to get votes was a bad idea from the get-go and makes his campaign look totally foolish. Hoeffel played this right by vehemently calling out Onorato’s fear and cowardice. After all, Hoeffel is a huge threat in vote-rich Southeast PA and the best way to avoid a threat is to prevent it from ever being one in the first place.

Onorato’s statement, courtesy of PA2010.com, reads:

“Every competent campaign checks their opponents’ petitions and challenges any questionable ones to defend itself. Based on the obvious motive and opportunity for one particular candidate to remove the only other candidate who shares his base, one of my supporters filed a legitimate challenge. Since no other challenges were filed as were anticipated, we are pleased that the challenge has been withdrawn and that the candidate field hasn’t changed. “

This makes no sense whatsoever. They are pleased that it was withdrawn but they were right to do it in the first place? Onorato is pretty good at making himself look bad. We’ll see what his epic money advantage does for him if he keeps up these kinds of games.

Democratic candidate for Governor Dan Onorato has gone the low road. He is going after one of his challenger’s petitions.

Joe Hoeffel is the progressive in the race and recently came out way ahead in a poll of Southeastern Pennsylvania. This is great news, as the largest contingent of Democratic votes is in and around the Philly area. The poll found that Hoeffel is well-known in that area and is light-years ahead of Onorato.

How do you avoid trouble? Kick trouble off the ballot. Onorato’s campaign filed a ballot challenge. Hoeffel had 7,000 signatures and only 2,000 are needed, so I don’t see how he’ll get knocked off.

If this gets traction in the press, all it will do is make Onorato look like a bully and give Hoeffel a higher profile elsewhere.

Between Research 2000 and Quinnipiac, Specter is doing pretty decently in the polls.  The R2K poll, released yesterday, shows Specter up 6 points against Toomey and Quinnipiac poll showed a 7 point lead last week.

Regardless of polls, this state isn’t going to put in a Republican.  The registration advantage for Dems is too high and Toomey is too crazy.  Not to mention that PA voters recognize that Republicans are the reason that governing in this country has ground to a halt.  They obstruct everything.  A vote for Toomey is a vote for obstruction.  The evidence for this is that Toomey only leads Sestak by 3 points.  Sestak remains relatively unknown and, despite this, remains in striking distance if he wins the primary.

On the Governor’s side of things, Corbett is ahead of Onorato by only 6 points.  This is great news, since Onorato has low name recognition and after the primary, everybody will solidify behind the Democratic winner, which will inevitably provide a bounce.  Corbett’s race isn’t all that competitive, so he won’t be seeing much of a boost.  And if the Veon trials ends up with an acquittal, Corbett will look pretty bad, as that’ll be two corruption cases that he prosecuted wrongly.

I’m really liking Joe Hoeffel more and more.  Hoeffel is calling for a heavier tax on Marcellus Shale drilling, which will double the amount of revenue the state brings in.  This, of course, can be used to plug numerous budget holes, like funding cuts to social services, veterans’ services, libraries, and even help with the pension crisis.

Not only that, but Hoeffel talks about the environmental impact, something that I’m sure people living in communities with drillers will enjoy.  I mean, it’s not fun when you can set your tap water on fire.  He is also against further drilling in state lands, which should’ve never happened in the first place, as the reason the state bought the land is to stop its development and destruction.  You know, to preserve the natural beauty of the state.

From the press release:

“Our commonwealth is getting a lousy deal,” [said] Hoeffel. “The gas will be there for a long time – We need to get it right. We must cover the immediate costs of the industry and make sure Pennsylvania communities thrive long after all the natural gas has been mined. The silver lining is that we can learn from other states and create a fair tax with maximum benefits.”

Hoeffel will dedicate portions of the severance tax to fund:

DEP’s inspection and enforcement operations; new wastewater treatment facilities; the renewal of Growing Greener; communities affected by drilling in their efforts to meet the infrastructure and housing costs the industry has brought them; AND our community colleges, expanding programs and educational sites to build a strong, adaptable workforce throughout the state.

“With environmental regulations that protect our water, a severance tax which allows our towns to adapt to their new industry and a plan in place to protect our state land, Pennsylvania can take pride in its natural gas industry. Landowners, towns, and the commonwealth will prosper. Many Pennsylvanians will be employed working on gas wells and in treatment facilities. And most importantly, Pennsylvania will be prepared for the day the drilling ends. If we prepare, the boom won’t turn into a bust.”

So why, again, do I have to choose pragmatism over idealism?  I like this guy too much, and he is obviously better than Corbett.  With the Dem registration edge and Corbett obviously being bought by drillers (over $300,000 from one drilling company’s family alone), Hoeffel should do just fine.

Lauren Townsend, campaign manager for Joe Hoeffel, took the time to respond to my post on Idealism vs. Pragmatism and I loved her answer.  I thought I would give it prominence.  I’ll speak more on this issue tomorrow, but for now I wanted to highlight this excellent reply.

For all of you out there, here’s the Hoeffel campaign’s stance:

Who to vote for in the Democratic Primary for governor

As pragmatic progressives, there should be no dilemma about who to vote for in the May Democratic primary – the answer is Joe Hoeffel.

Sometimes it’s easy for us to forget that after the May Primary, there will be ONE Democrat running against ONE Republican. Come May 19th, it doesn’t matter whether that one Democrat had the money or connections in March, because at that point the Party — and its resources — will support that candidate. So what matters at that point is that the Democratic Party have an excellent candidate with an excellent message that is a strong contrast to the Republican nominee.

Joe is the best on the issues and is the only candidate who will motivate Democrats to come to the polls in November. This race is about whether Pennsylvania gets a conservative Republican governor for the next eight years OR a progressive.

Joe has the right record and profile for the job. He has stood for what is right and has combined compelling talk with a solid walk on the ground: Joe delivers. As commissioner and when in Congress and the State House, Joe fought for good jobs. As governor, Joe would like to put people to work doing what he knows well: revitalizing our older cities and our roads, bridges, tunnels and transit systems. Joe is also deeply committed to education and is particularly interested in focussing on early education and community college funding – He’d like to work toward doubling the funding of community colleges.

Joe understands that economic recovery and a better quality of life is about learning in good schools, working at good jobs, traveling over good roads and on good public transportation and affording what we need to live our lives without having to make choices between necessities like food and medicine or struggle with day care bills for our children and long-term care bills for our parents and grandparents.

And all the while Joe focusses on revitalizing our economy as our governor, we can count on him to preserve and strengthen – not compromise – our drinking water, forests and our civil rights and liberties.

When Joe speaks to folk who live in the Marcellus Shale natural-gas-drilling-region (and beyond), they respond very favorably to Joe when they hear about his commitment to responsible drilling. Likewise, we get a great response from all who want real health care reform and then learn about Joe’s interest in exploring a Medicare for All – Single Payer system for Pennsylvania. And Joe is the only candidate who has a solution to our education funding crisis and high property taxes; Joe is want to create a progressive, graduated income tax system AND close corporate loopholes so everyone pays their fair share.

These positions are very very well-received. I experienced a great response 2 weekends ago when I visited 4 Central PA counties. And the recent 6-6-6 poll tells us that this race is wide open. There’s way too much to be optimistic about in this race and for Joe Hoeffel’s prospects.

I could go on and on.

Disclaimer: I am a middle-aged single mom who co-manages Joe Hoeffel’s campaign for governor. I’ve been doing organizing and advocacy on progressive and quality of life issues and campaigns since 1984. Yes, I am biased. And now that I’m – gulp – closing in on 3 decades of doing this work I am a healthy blend of pragmatism and idealism. Joe is my horse in this race – he is progressive and he has a shot.

Lauren Townsend
Co-Campaign Manager
Joe Hoeffel 2010
Lauren@JoeHoeffel2010.com

The Lackawanna County Democratic Party has made their endorsements, and boy are they embarrassing.

First and foremost, in the 112th, the party endorsed Ken Smith. Nice. The party firmly believes that tax dodgers deserve to represent the people. Oh, and they obviously believe that methadone clinics are bad. And they also believe there is no problem whatsoever with taking out a taxpayer loan and not paying it back.

Not only is this endorsement embarrassing, it’s further proof that the Party has not a clue.

Kevin Haggerty and Bob Lesh didn’t show up to even ask for an endorsement. Good move. Haggerty and Lesh were out campaigning (which will get more votes than an endorsement) and Lesh said that he believes in open primaries.

The Party believes in tax-dodgers.

Joe Corcoran got a pre-arranged endorsement from the committee for State Senate. I’m sure he’ll love sharing the ticket with Ken Smith. Way to rob your boy of votes!

It gets worse.

Joe Sestak, the candidate running against Arlen Specter for PA’s US Senate seat, showed up to ask for the endorsement. Yes, he actually showed up and talked to the Committee. Did they endorse him? No. They endorsed Specter, who wasn’t there. This is extraordinarily disrespectful to somebody who showed great respect by coming before the committee and asking for support and an endorsement. Somebody should’ve told Sestak it’s irrelevant, but still.

Joe Hoeffel, candidate for Governor showed up, too. And they endorsed Jack Wagner instead.

For the other races, John Moran got the nod in the 114th over Sid Michaels, Kevin Murphy got the nod in the 113th. Carney and Kanjo got the endorsements for their respective Congressional districts.

I wonder if the Party thinks their endorsements matter. I have never heard somebody tell me they vote endorsed, unless they are doing the endorsing, that is. Most people say endorsements make them LESS likely to vote for a candidate. Maybe the local committee should rethink its relevance.

One of the issues that faces the liberal world dominated by bloggers is which type candidate to support. Do we support a liberal progressive who is ideologically closer to our belief system? Or do we support somebody more likely to win against a Republican in the general election? It’s idealism versus pragmatism.

Frankly, I’m somewhere in the middle. If it weren’t for this, we wouldn’t have Jim Webb in Virginia, for example. I also tend to feel that authenticity encourages voters far more than idealism.

On that note, I am not sure what to do about the Democratic Primary this year, particularly in the Governor’s race.
Jack Wagner, who is the establishment favorite and has a lot of statewide name recognition due to his post as Auditor General, is too conservative for my tastes. He is anti-gay and he is anti-choice. Sure, that isn’t the be all and end all, but it’s important to note that on social issues, he is very regressive. He is obviously embarrassed by these positions, as well, since they don’t appear on his website, but do come up whenever he is questioned at a candidate forum.
But does his being more conservative make him more null against Tom Corbett?

I don’t think so. Why? Because Republicans aren’t voting for Wagner anyway. Democrats have this problem where they believe the best way to appeal broadly is to move to the right or to the center. I disagree, as this is inherently inauthentic. I’m not saying Wagner has moved in one direction or another as a result of his gubernatorial run, but I’m saying that Democratic candidates who are as generic as possible do not get votes in the end.

Dan Onorato isn’t much different than Wagner, except that he has more money. He is against same-sex marriage as well. Again, this is regressive. And, to me, it’s a gross display of ignorance. Our Constitution guarantees equal rights last I checked. Same-sex marriage shouldn’t even be a point of discussion, or contention. If straight people who love each other can get married, if there is equality in America, then gay people should, too.
Anthony Williams, the recent entrant who is also still running for his State Senate seat (which tells me he isn’t committed), has a disgusting set of ideas about education that make him a total no-no for me.

The only real progressive in the race is Joe Hoeffel. Aside from being liberal on social issues, he wants a single-payer health care system for Pennsylvania if (or when) the federal government fails to adequately reform the system.

So, I’m stuck. Who can win against Corbett?

I don’t know. But I don’t like generic Democrats representing me in General Elections.

Which is it? Idealism or pragmatism? Which candidate meets in the middle?

Four candidates for governor of PA participated in a forum sponsored by United Way of Pennsylvania yesterday in Harrisburg.  Who wasn’t there?  Tom Corbett.  Why not?  He must think that he doesn’t need to get his views out there.  He must think that he’s got this in the bag.

Good.

More exposure for his opponents.  If he remains this cocky, he’ll start falling behind.

Let him.

Dems Dan Onorato, Jack Wagner and Joe Hoeffel, along with Republican Sam Rohrer actually bothered to show up.  The issue discussed was funding to non-profits, which has been dramatically cut by Rendell in his budget.

I hate to sum it up this way, but, basically, the Democrats said they don’t like cutting aid to non-profits and that they won’t do it if they’re elected.  The Republican basically said non-profits need to strengthen themselves on their own.  Translation: too bad, deal with it.

For those interested, on Monday, March 29^th, the there will be another forum at the Scranton Cultural Center.  I encourage people to go and to learn where the candidates stand.  Maybe Corbett will even show up this time!  But probably not.  Only four of the six have committed to coming.  Stay home Corbett.  Let the real candidates campaign and educate voters.

The poll for the Senate race between Specter and Sestak reveals nothing really new. Sestak still has little name recognition, and Specter is still polling higher. Both lose to Toomey in the likely voter category. But there is time to gain ground, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that just yet.

The interesting one, though, is the Governor’s race. Dan Onorato, Jack Wagner, and Joe Hoeffel are all tied at 6%. That means Onorato’s big money advantage and Wagner’s institutional advantage haven’t really translated into increased support. Anthony Williams, the less-than-ideal Philly candidate, came in at 1%. Good.

Hoeffel is a progressive and a liberal and very unapologetic about it. See, I think voters like people who simply state what they think and fight for what they believe without any caveats. For example, Democrats and the President are seeing their poll numbers sink. I think it’s because they aren’t doing a damn thing because they are too afraid to flex muscle and push something through that’ll offend Republicans. Newsflash: When Democrats breathe, it offends Republicans. What Dems should do is just get some work done. That’s why their numbers tank, because they aren’t being true to themselves. They’re too afraid to.
That’s why I think Hoeffel has a good shot against Corbett, if Hoeffel is the nominee.

The Pennsylvania chapter of the National Organization of Women (NOW) has endorsed Joe Hoeffel for Governor of Pennsylvania. This is a big boost for him, as poor fundraising and the possible entry of State Senator Anthony Williams of Philadelphia will likely blunt his chances.

The endorsement means that NOW’s PAC will be contributing to Hoeffel’s campaign. The financial boost and the organization and institutional support should be a help, as they have a network they can access throughout the major population centers of the state.

With Onorato’s position on abortion shakey, and Wagner being the most conservative in the race, the choice of Hoeffel makes sense.

Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee was not able to rally behind a single candidate for Governor.

The Democratic establishment went overwhelmingly in favor of establishment man Jack Wagner, despite his lackluster fundraising.  Dan Onorato, who is the clear front runner with his millions in campaign funds, came in second.

Joe Hoeffel, the only true liberal, progressive in the race, was knocked out after the first round of voting.

The second round of voting looked like this:

Jack Wagner:  153 Votes
Dan Onorato: 76
Anthony Williams:  48

And 27 people abstained as a way of showing their support for Joe Hoeffel.

State Senator Anthony Williams should raise some eyebrows, because he hasn’t even officially declared for Governor.  He’s a very strong Philadelphia candidate.  Joe Hoeffel is from the Philly area, but not Philadelphia itself.  Williams rose eyebrows when he announced fundraising half a million dollars without even declaring.  He even raised more than Doherty and Hoeffel.  If he were to make it official, expect those numbers to jump.

Now, you may notice that even though Jack Wagner got 153 votes and yet didn’t get the endorsement.  That’s because an official endorsement requires a 2/3 majority.

This rule, proposed by Governor Ed Rendell a few years back, is valuable because if somebody were to get that 2/3 that demonstrates overwhelming party unity.  Democrats are very good at infighting, and this helps stave that off.

Jack Wagner and Dan Onorato currently don’t impress me, particularly after the PA Progressive Summit.  Hoeffel and Doherty were pretty progressive, but Doherty may as well be out of the race.  Hoeffel will have to pull off something big to close the gap.  Williams I know next to nothing about, except that unions rate him pretty highly, which is always good.

With the rumor going around that Chris Doherty may jump ship and run for Lieutenant Governor instead of just plain Governor, we figured it’s time to take a look at the dynamic.

Dan Onorato, from Western PA, has the most money. Simply put, that’s really all he needs to win. He’s the favorite. He polls better, he’s more well-known, and he can spend, spend, spend.

But Jack Wagner is from the same county as Onorato and has more state-wide contacts, because he’s run for state-wide office more than once, this gives him a bit of an advantage (in that realm, anyway) that he can use to try to bridge the gap with Onorato. The other issue for those two is that they’ll likely split the western PA vote.

This is good news for Doherty and Hoeffel. Joe Hoeffel is from the Philadelphia area, and the likelihood that people from Philly would vote for somebody not from Philly is pretty low. Philly has the largest population and largest concentration of Democrats in the state, particularly with the recent flip of the Philly suburbs from a Republican bastion to a Democratic one. This is only good for Hoeffel.

Doherty’s prospects aren’t all that great if he can’t get his name recognition up. His base, here in NEPA, isn’t large enough to compete with Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. No wonder there’s a rumor that he’s looking at switching over to Lieutenant Governor.

The issue that needs to be considered is Tom Corbett. Who can beat him? He’s going to be a conservative governor, if elected, and he would oversee redistricting, which would be a disaster for Democrats. Not only that, but conservative policies in general are a disaster for everybody. The question is do we play to the middle to attract Independents and Republicans?
After thinking this through, I say no. Republicans who were persuadable have abandoned the Republican Party and become Democrats. Independents don’t really look at the world through “liberal” and “conservative” eyes. Many tend to look at people individually and many reflect national trends. They probably lean Republican, given the national climate, but I’m sure a decent percentage are up for grabs, as Pennsylvania tends to be pretty blue.

At the PA Progressive Summit, which I expected to be eye-opening, has been, you guessed it, eye-opening!

Chris Doherty has gone up leaps and bounds in my book when, at the Summit, he said that he favors gay marriage.  Progressive candidate Joe Hoeffel also favors gay marriage.

The debate is only a religious one, as law is blatantly on the side of marriage.  Entrenched Christian values have stonewalled equality, which is shameful and further discredits an institutions with a two-millennia long history of bigotry and discrimination.  Law, particularly the Equal Protection clause in the Constitution (you know, that highest law in the land thing), says very clearly that everybody deserves equal rights.

If straight people can get married, and, under the law, gay people and straight people are equal, then gay people should be allowed to get married.  That’s the long and short of it.

Not only that, but it’s actually an economic boon.  Massachusetts has actually seen an economic boost from gay weddings, which average in the tens of thousands (this is no joke, believe it or not).  Not only that, but gay marriage affects nobody but people that want gay marriages.  Legalization of gay marriage will not force Christian guys to marry Christian guys.  I know that’s what they all fear (or in the case of some, secretly desire — hey, the lady doth protest too much).

Kudos to Doherty and Hoeffel for believing in what’s only right.

In an exciting bit of news, or discovery in my case, one of the Democratic candidates for Governor, Joe Hoeffel, is a liberal and very, very progressive! From marriage equality (yes, gays deserve equal rights with straight people) to coming down hard on Marcellus Shale, this guy’s positions impress me.

The word “liberal” scares a lot of people, but I suggest people go to his site, joehoeffel2010.com, and check out his positions. He wants to close corporate tax loopholes (which cost the state millions and millions), make sure every Pennsylvanian has access to health care (if the Federal government fails, then PA can step up for itself!), and make sure to treat farmers fairly (and not the corporate kind of farm).

I love everything I read. Doherty may be beneficial to the Scranton area, but Hoeffel is far more progressive, and would help the little guy, far more than Doherty’s plans (as listed on his site, anyway).

With the race down Knox, Hoeffel should get a boost, as he’s from the Philly area, so maybe he’ll still be in the game. He also ran for Senate against Specter six years ago. He probably has an organization to access. It’s time for wait and see, but I certainly hope he’s viable.