November 2 – Next Tuesday is the day – Election Day.
No, it’s not a presidential election, but it will determine school board members, council members and supervisors in local races.
And don’t forget the judges in Pennsylvania.
The vast majority of citizens vote only in presidential elections, but keep in mind those who run for local school boards, borough councils and townships will also make decisions that will affect us all.
Thus, the headline: Elections MATTER.
And next Tuesday is the day to have YOUR voice be heard.
Pat Ryan of NewsTalk 103.7FM pointed out, “This party on the other side of the aisle, the left side of the aisle, would like nothing more than to get their arms around and remove parents from the dialogue and from what you can see. The less parental involvement, the better and over my dead body. So we’ve got a pretty important school board race here.”
Stephanie Harbaugh is running for Chambersburg Area School Board in Region 5.
PA Representative Rob Kauffman said, “Stephanie Harbaugh is the only Republican, the only conservative, on the ballot in that school board race.”
Ryan said, “We’ve got Joan Smith as a write-in here as well.”
Kauffman said, “She is conservative, and a Republican, the only conservative, the only Republican that is running for that seat. She’s not on the ballot. There’s one person on the ballot, who is not a Republican, who is not a conservative.”
Michele Jansen of NewsTalk 103.7FM said, “It’s Ben Raber. He’ll show up on the ticket as a cross field. He shows up as Republican and Democrat on the ticket, but he’s not a Republican, for sure.”
Ryan demanded, “Let’s have your stand. I don’t know how we fix this. I want to know where you stand. If you are for the left side of the aisle and continuing what you’ve done on Joe Biden’s behalf and Obama’s third term here, then stand up for it and own it.”
Kauffman said, “There is legislation to undo that ability to cross file. Historically, there were some things in the judiciary, in school boards, that it was just not ever intended years ago to be a political thing. It was meant to be serving the parents, the students at the school board. In the judiciary, we are simply interpreting the law. I think that’s the genesis of why there was that cross filing. I think now in modern society, we need to recognize that there are bright lines, even in the school boards, in the judiciary, and so I think the ability to cross file blurs those lines that we need to know are there.”
Jansen said, “Unfortunately it’s political divisions. Unfortunately, people will vote for politics, but it’s also ideology and that really is what bothers me the most.”
Ryan agreed, “Exactly. It’s the ideology. If that’s the ideology that you’re holding, if that’s the camp that you’re in, then own it and champion it.”
Jansen said, “Conservatives say, we follow the Constitution. If you have somebody that’s devoted to following the Constitution, it doesn’t matter what their personal ideology is, they know I cannot force my ideology on other people. So if people want to just argue, well, Republicans are going to force their ideology, their Christian nationalism, no. If you follow the Constitution, you don’t do that. So they’re actually devoted to not putting anybody’s ideology, that’s why public schools should be untouchable when it comes to ideology.”
Then there’s the mess in Quincy Township. Political signs showed up in yards last week that wanted citizens to write-in a homeless man for township supervisor that boasted Free Beer on Fridays.
Kauffman said, “I don’t even know what’s happened in Quincy Township. I feel bad for the people of Quincy Township because I don’t even know what that’s about.”
Jansen suggested, “I think it’s bitterness at the loss of an election. I think sadly, there’s this Hatfield and McCoy between Kerry Bumbaugh supporters and non-Kerry Bumbaugh supporters. There’s good people on both sides and let’s be clear about that. But right now, it feels like those who lost are just so angry that if I can’t have it, nobody’s going to have it. Let me throw another monkey wrench into how we’re running the township, so that that poor township will continue to have issues and problems.”
Kauffman said, “With all due respect to folks involved, Kerry Bumbaugh is deceased. Quincy Township is a beautiful Township and there’s so much potential in that township and this continuous bickering and whatever this is, is just not moving Quincy Township forward. There’s so much there to work on and make Quincy better and it can be a fantastic township if people could get along.”
Jansen added, “Let the guys who won the elections and who it’s anticipated, let them have a shot. Let’s see how these three work together and right now it’s already getting better. They’re already making progress. Let’s just let the people who voted for the people in the primary, let them vote in November on legitimate candidates, not a joke candidate. Then if they screw up, then vote them out and vote other people in. That’s the way it’s supposed to work, not a joke, let’s humiliate them by having somebody that sadly, I think is being used in that as a joke candidate. Give people a chance. Let’s see if they work.”
Kauffman said, “When I saw the free beer on Friday sign, when someone sent it to me, I sent it back, you photoshopped this right? This isn’t real. And they’re like, no, no, no, that’s real. When you have to ask, was that photoshopped? Because that couldn’t possibly be a real effort.”
Ryan said, “Let that resonate with you if you’re in Quincy Township. Who are the people that are asking you to put that sign on your front lawn and what exactly is the mission? That’s a beautiful township. It’s the size of a postage stamp. There’s some good eggs out there. Are you being used once again by a small group of people that are just trashing the place?”
Fred Young, chair of the Franklin County Republican Committee, said, “It’s important everybody comes out to vote, especially our Republican voters from top down the ballot. One of the really contested races we have top down is for the judicial candidate. We have Megan Martin running for the Commonwealth Court, very qualified. She’ll do an excellent job and we need to get her elected as Maria Battista is running for Superior Court, along with Harry Smail. You can vote for two in that. Each voter will be able to cast their ballot for two judicial candidates for the Superior Court. So Maria Battista and Harry Smail are both running for that, they’re the Republican nominees. Then you get to cast your vote for one candidate for the Supreme Court and that’s Carolyn Carluccio. She’s wonderful. Nobody in the state is more qualified, in my opinion, to be a Supreme Court Judge than Carolyn Carluccio. Her resume is gigantic.”
Jansen said, “We’re not changing the balance with this, but we want to make sure we get a Republican in there. The reason we’re encouraging the Republican votes for the court and I would say this to Democrats, too, unless they want a court that’s activist, they want a court that applies the narrative and equity ideology rather than equal application of the law, which is the only thing judges are supposed to do.”
Ryan added, “Jill Beck who blocked at the radio station because she didn’t like that I was snooping around asking, oh, you’ve got a lot of fundraising going on out there. I wonder what’s going on and then she puts a block on her Twitter account. Real class act. Jill Beck is Jill Biden, by the way.”
Beck is running for Superior Court.
Young said, “She’s running against Maria Battista and Harry Smail.”
Ryan suggested, “Let’s just keep her parked wherever she is and not push her past the finish line. If she doesn’t have enough courage to handle a couple of tweets, then she certainly can’t stand up to some of the worst of the worst, I guess.”
Jansen said, “When it comes to retention, we never put the parties that they were originally affiliated with with retention. I know they almost always get back in because we’re too stupid to pay attention to these things, to understand maybe you shouldn’t retain all the judges. I would say when Judge Jack Panella, say no. Because again, Democrats affiliated originally and I don’t know what is going on with the Democrat Party and the judiciary but it seems to be a-okay to apply your politics and or ideology when you’re making court decisions. This is something we all should stand up against.”
Young said, “Both Republicans and Democrats, it doesn’t matter when it comes to voting for a judge, when they run in these primaries and on these ballots, they have to have a party affiliation. But judicial candidates and judges are supposed to be nonpartisan. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. They’re supposed to enforce and apply the law equally to everyone. All four these candidates have already committed and said they’ve been asked many times, the four Republican candidates have already committed to not legislating from the bench. That’s important. They’re asked all the time, what’s your position on abortion? Well, they have a personal opinion, but to be a good judge, they need to not legislate from the bench. They enforce and apply the law that’s been passed in the legislature by your House reps and your Senators and ultimately your governor to sign into law or not.”
