Archive for May, 2007

It was a gorgeous day at the Pocopson poll yesterday and although the numbers have to be certified and made official — a bit more complicated when dealing with write-ins — it appears I pulled out a narrow win in a unique three-way race, facing one other Democrat and a Republican.

While other the Democratic candidate appears to have run her race entirely by email — she was only at the poll for a few minutes in the morning and evening, the Republican, Steven Conary, already on the ballot for the Republican, was hoping to avoid a November election. The other day, I noted that I hadn’t met him before, but I’m pretty sure I have, between the prison expansion issue and the Olmsted battle.

Mr. Conary and I both spent the entire day at the poll…often alone with no other voters or party officials around. We had a wide-ranging discussion about the township and the issues that face it and from that, it’s clear that whatever else this race ends up being about, it’s going to focus on those issues and an intelligent discussion about future of the township — and not the usual lowest-common denominator races so often in politics these days. I’m looking forward to it.

On a personal note, Steve Conary is clearly a class act, an experienced and intelligent person. I will have to work hard to prove myself a worthy competitor for the people of the township.

Elsewhere, congratulations to my friends, Bill Scott and Kathi Cozzone, who won the Democratic nomination for County Commissioner. For Democrats — and all Chester County residents — this coupled with the Carol Aichele and Terrence Farrell winning the GOP primary over Sandy Moser, should mean the end of “Pay For Play” government in Chester County. From my standpoint, this was the best possible scenario and one that will drive independents and moderate Republicans to the Scott/Cozzone banner.

We’re going to win this one in November, folks. I predict a new commission of Scott, Cozzone and Farrell.

And you have to like Jennifer Levy-Tatum’s chances for Judge, court of Common Pleas, after she nearly beat David Bortner on the GOP side and crushed him on the Democratic side, netting a total of more than 3,000 votes more, county-wide, than Bortner. Wow.

This, friends, is a good day.

Well, it’s a day before Primary Day and the I was captured by the blank ballot.

No one is running for Township Supervisor as a Democrat in Pocopson. I wasn’t going to run against Ezekiel Hubbard because despite the difference in party between us, we agree on issues an awful lot. I had planned on waiting until 2009 — and found myself buried in getting a book out the door with my publishing company, Flushing Fever by Evan Pritchard — and only tangentially paying attention to the primary races.

But it turns out that the lone candidate on the ballot is a Republican named Stephen Conary, a member of the township’s planning commission. There is no Democrat. If no one runs, it would be the first time that there was no opposition in a local November election since 1999, my first year living here in Pocopson.

So, if you’re a township Democrat, I’d greatly appreciate it if you’d write in my name for supervisor. I don’t know Mr. Conary — heck, he might be a great supervisor, I can’t say — but without a campaign to discuss the future of the township, voters will never get a chance to find out. I’m hoping for six months of honest, intelligent dialogue about police, septic systems, sprawl, traffic and local taxes — and what kind of township we’ll have in 2027.

I want to apologize to Evan, because this means his book will be delayed a couple of days while I mount the write-in race.

While I’m here, I’d like to ask my fellow Democrats to support Bill Scott and Kathi Cozzone for County Commissioner. I know both of them — and know they would run a smart, intelligent race — together — against the Republicans. Chester County deserves a real choice for it’s future — and an end to "Pay For Play" government in the county courthouse and Bill and Kathi are the perfect people to get that done.