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BLUE PENNSYLVANIA: THE 2022 CAMPAIGN HAS ALREADY STARTED

The month is January, 2023, and Democrats and progressives are expressing their anger at a question that is about to appear on the May, 2023 ballot. The question would require all voters to show “valid identification” at the polls. What constitutes valid identification is anyone’s guess, but the question will probably pass because ballot questions almost always pass.

The question did not need Governor Shapiro’s signature because these Constitutional amendments only require that their underlying bills only pass two consecutive sessions of the legislature. Since both houses have been Republican for the past two sessions, the question will therefore appear on the May, 2023 ballot.

This is only an inkling of what could happen if the Democrats do poorly in the 2022 general election. And, although those races are 14 months away, we need to start to create strong Democratic momentum for key races in Pennsylvania.

Consider, for example, the school board races. Since candidates can cross-file in the primaries outside of Philadelphia, Democrats generally appear on both the Democratic and Republican ballots and vice versa. As a result, it is possible for some Democrats and Republicans to appear on both tickets in the fall election. In the various Montgomery County school board races, we find 12 Republicans running on the Democratic ticket, but only eight Democrats running as Republicans. Hatboro-Horsham is one of those districts where two Republicans are running as Democrats, but no Democrats are running as Republicans. Hatboro-Horsham currently has a 5-4 Democratic majority on the school board, and the district has about a 1,000 Democratic voter edge over Republicans. The Republicans running as Democrats could easily cloud the prospects of Democrats keeping their dominance of the district.

Why the district is so important is that it lies mainly within Republican Todd Stephens’s legislative district and Stephens will likely run again in 2022. Therefore, please help the Dems of Hatboro-Horsham to pick up a legislative seat by maintaining or possibly increasing their majority on the school board. We need canvassers to tell folks who the real Democrats are, and here’s the good part. You can canvass at any time that fits your schedule. The canvassing turfs are generally small (~20 doors), so, it is perfect for the novice canvasser. We will arm you with campaign literature (in addition to school board races, and we will give you information on municipal and judicial races as well). You will also receive information about the candidates, and the platforms on which they are running. If you are interested, contact me at cposes1@gmail.com. I may even be able to arrange a carpool.

ATTENTION SPANISH SPEAKERS: Another important school district race in Todd Stephens legislative district is North Penn. The North Penn School Board candidates need your help. In order to reach Spanish speaking voters we need language capable volunteers. Will you help us phone bank and canvass this important group of voters? To join our team, contact our Spanish outreach coordinator Kim at k.c.grieser@gmail.com. We have already started an innovative phonebank to identify a messaging strategy and will follow with targeted calls and canvassing.

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