Two candidates are vying to win the Democratic primary for the 156th District state House seat.

Cassandra Jones or Bret Binder will emerge April 25 to challenge incumbent state Rep. Dan Truitt, R-156th of East Goshen, in November.

Binder said his campaign is focused primarily on education, the environment and the economy. He opposes the proposed budget cuts to education and said other areas need to be addressed first.

As to the environment, Binder said the state must do a better job of controlling areas such as Marcellus Shale natural gas extraction.

“Texas and West Virginia tax around 5 to 6 percent, and they’re not considered to be unfriendly to big gas and oil,” Binder said. “We can certainly charge at least that amount or more.”

From the revenue raised through this tax, Binder said, he would give some to education and save the rest in a reserve fund.

Jones said her primary goal is restoring funding to education.

“I just think we are so off balanced and when you start to connect the dots from education to jobs or education to prison or education to poverty, it just doesn’t make sense to cut funding in those areas,” Jones said. “And if we’re going to cut funding, we better have a good plan on how we’re going to streamline our education process.”

Jones said her proven track record, experiences and involvement set her apart as a candidate.

As a borough councilwoman, Jones said, she has helped close a $1 million budget gap and build a $12 million parking garage. She said she has helped raise voter turnout and registration in the east part of the borough 40 percent.

Jones said she has voted in favor of the people most of the time and never for anything that would be a detriment to the community. Jones said she also prides herself in being a person who cares about the welfare of all people.

“When people know that you care, then they’ll listen to you because they care about what you know,” Jones said.

Binder said he first became interested in running from his time spent clerking Pennsylvania Supreme Court. There he would become frustrated at how unconstitutional and poorly drafted some of the laws were. He then decided he would like to actually be a part of writing the law better.

This legal background is what he says sets him apart from the other candidates and even the state house.

“I really do care about this, I have a true passion for it and I believe I can do better for Pennsylvanians,” Binder said. “I’ve been willing to put in the time, I love going out and knocking on doors.”

Binder, 33, grew up in Lower Merion and is a resident of East Bradford. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in economics and went to Villanova Law School. He clerked for a few years with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and now has his own law practice in East Bradford. He also partly owns a desert shop in Havertown and a bowling alley in Philadelphia.

Jones, 55, has lived in the West Chester Borough since 1999 and has two daughters. She is serving her fifth year on Borough Council and her first as council vice president. She has worked for Cheyney University for the past seven years as a project manager and program director. Jones has also held positions in government that include involvement in the National League of Cities, the Human Development Committee and the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials.

As we celebrate Black History Month, a number of well-known civil rights figures typically come to mind — Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall and many others. Although they deserve their acclaim, February 2012 is the perfect time to reflect on Bayard Rustin, Chester County’s own civil rights hero, during the centennial of his birth.

Known as the “Architect of the March on Washington,” Bayard Rustin was a major force in the Civil Rights Movement. Not only was he was born and raised in West Chester, but his experiences here deeply influenced his philosophies and career.

Born 100 years ago to Florence Rustin and Archie Hopkins, he had little or no relationship with either. Instead, Bayard was raised by his grandparents, Julia and Janifer Rustin, as their own son.

Julia and Janifer Rustin were very active in the community. They helped found the Chester County branch of the NAACP and the West Chester Community Center (now the Charles A. Melton Arts and Education Center). They were actively involved in the Bethel A.M.E. Church, the Gay Street School and other organizations. Rustin’s grandparents’ local activism, coupled with their strong Quaker beliefs, had a strong influence on his desire to work for social justice throughout his life.

The West Chester of Rustin’s childhood was socially complex. Despite Chester County’s history of the Underground Railroad and abolitionism, it was deeply divided over issues of race. West Chester’s elementary and junior high schools were segregated, white restaurants would not serve black patrons, and theaters were segregated. Local branches of the Ku Klux Klan were active in the county.

Rustin, however, did not accept the status quo. As a high school student he protested against segregation at the Warner Theater on High Street. He and his black and white track teammates fought against unequal housing while travelling to competitions. He attracted like-minded students who followed him in protest against discrimination and segregation at local restaurants, soda fountains, department stores and the YMCA.

Rustin was a star student at West Chester High School (now Henderson), where he played football and track, participated in French, classics and science clubs, and excelled in speaking and essay contests. Rustin delivered a commencement address for his class of 1932 and was an amazing singer. Being comfortable in the spotlight was a natural role for Rustin, and his commanding presence and oratorical skills continued throughout his lifetime.

Rustin’s songbird-like tenor voice won him a scholarship to Wilberforce University in Ohio, the nation’s oldest historically black private university. He later attended Cheyney University where he formally declared himself a Quaker and became involved in the American Friends Service Committee.

In 1937, at age 25, he moved to New York City and by 1941 was working for the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR). Rustin felt at home in the interfaith organization, which was led by the well-known pacifist and social justice activist A.J. Muste. As youth secretary of FOR, Rustin travelled the country promoting nonviolent activism in support of social justice. During this period he also joined the Young Communist League, but left the group when it shifted its focus from social inequality.

Rustin wasn’t just teaching principles, he acted on his beliefs. In 1942 he was beaten by police officers in Nashville, Tennessee after refusing to sit in the back of a bus. During the WW II draft, he refused to serve and went to prison to make a statement in support of pacifism.

In 1947, Rustin helped coordinate the Journey of Reconciliation, the nation’s first Freedom Ride. In this well-organized protest, 16 black and white individuals rode busses through the South refusing to sit in segregated seating. Rustin and others were arrested in North Carolina and sentenced to a chain gang. He wrote about his experiences for the New York Post, which helped expose the injustices of chain gangs.

Through the 1950s, Rustin’s work bolstered the rising Civil Rights Movement. He helped organize the 1955 Montgomery bus boycotts to end segregated seating. In 1957, he established the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In fact, many credit him with teaching King the Gandhian nonviolence methods that became King’s trademark.

What Rustin is most remembered for, however, is his role in organizing the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Rustin’s responsibility was to coordinate and oversee logistics for this massive event – from the speeches, security and slogans to tracking busses and procuring 80,000 ham and cheese sandwiches for the crowds. Around 250,000 people packed the Washington, D.C., mall for the March, which was punctuated by King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The March was considered an enormous success and a week later, Rustin’s image graced the cover of Life magazine.

Through the 1960s, Rustin remained active through the A. Philip Randolph Institute, which focused on interconnected labor and civil rights issues. He traveled the world, visiting various countries to expose injustices and support peaceful protest. But even after all of his international success, Rustin remembered his roots. In 1965, he spoke at the West Chester Community Center to 750 citizens concerned about unequal treatment for black students in the school system. He returned in 1966 to help organize fair housing protests in West Chester.

Controversy followed Rustin throughout his career. As a gay man, he was often stigmatized within the Civil Rights Movement and discouraged from taking a more public role. Martin Luther King Jr.’s advisers, for instance, warned King that he should distance himself from Rustin. Others criticized him for his brief membership as part of the Young Communist Party and unwillingness to serve in the military. Many in the area recall how these factors fueled the 2003 controversy over naming West Chester Area School District’s third high school after Rustin.

Today, the Chester County Historical Society (CCHS) commemorates the centennial of Rustin’s birth and his legacy through the exhibition Bayard Rustin’s Local Roots. Former CCHS Collections Manager Andrea Cakars curated the exhibition in collaboration with many community members and representatives from the Melton Center. Visitors will learn about Rustin’s story, view numerous photographs and artifacts, and even hear recordings of him singing spirituals. The lessons are powerful – that West Chester’s own Rustin, virtually unknown to many today, played a major part in the Civil Rights movement. Additionally, visitors learn that segregation in West Chester was a stark reality in the not-so-distant past, and many still living helped topple it. Upcoming programs include:

• March 3 – opening event including a free luncheon with the West Chester Gospel Choir and Reverend Anderson Porter (RSVP required).

• May 5 – book signing with Sarah Wesley and Catherine Quillman – “Walking the East End: A Historic African-American Community in West Chester, Pennsylvania.”

• May 12 – walking tour featuring Bayard Rustin sites and historically black-owned businesses and landmarks with Wesley and Quillman, starting at the Melton Center.

• May 19 – “Brother Outsider” film showing and discussion panel (RSVP required)

• June 9 – walking tour of the East End by Penny Washington, starting at the Melton Center.

For information about the exhibit visit www.chestercohistorical.org. or call 610-692-4800.

– Rob Lukens in the president of the Chester County Historical Society. His column appears monthly in the Daily Local News.
## End of DLN article.

Here’s our own Bill Scott in 1963 on the dustjacket of Haskins’ book about Rustin…

The West Chester Borough Council Vice President will run in the 2012 primary for the state legislature.

West Chester Borough Council Vice President Cassandra Jones will run for the 156th Pennsylvania Legislative seat in the April 24 primary election.

Jones, who represents the borough’s second ward, will run as a Democrat against East Bradford resident Bret Binder.

Both will be challenging incumbent Republican Dan Truitt.

Jones won her second term as a borough council member in last November’s election. She defeated Republican challenger Scott Brion by earning 83 percent of the vote.

Jones was also named the borough council vice president at January’s reorganization meeting.

Current state representative Dan Truitt originally won his seat in 2010 when he defeated Democrat Barbara McIlvaine Smith by 212 votes.

Christopher Amentas, of East Fallowfield, is running to unseat Andy Dinniman in the state senate general election.

The Pennsylvania Senate is considering legislation that could disenfranchise thousands of Pennsylvanians and prevent them from making their voices heard on election day.

In June, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed HB 934, which would require Pennsylvanians to show a valid state or federal photo ID before they are permitted to vote. HB 934 is an expensive voter suppression bill that would make it harder for older citizens, young adults, people with disabilities, racial minorities, and lower-income people to vote. The bill passed almost entirely on party lines and now moves on to the Senate.

That’s why I created a petition to the Pennsylvania Senate on SignOn.org, which says:

Oppose House Bill 934 because it is unnecessary, it is a waste of taxpayer funds, and it will deprive citizens of their right to vote.

Will you sign the petition? Click the link below to add your name, and then pass it along to your friends:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=270700&id=35716-5273859-LJiOdOx&t=2

Thanks!

–Marian Schneider

[Ms. Schneider is a Chester County attorney with offices in Berwyn and Wayne.]

If approved and built, this pipeline, Keystone XL, would carry one of the most carbon-intensive sources of oil on the planet.

For the next 24 hours, The Climate Reality Project is joining with 350.org, MoveOn, League of Conservation Voters, Patagonia, Sierra Club, Energy Action Coalition and others to garner 500,000 signatures in a community-wide effort against the pipeline. Bill McKibben of 350.org will be on The Colbert Report tonight and will update the world on our progress — so sign now, and then pass it on. We’ve come together before to stop production of this dangerous pollutant — and with your help, we can do it again:

Join me in telling the U.S. Senate to say NO to one of the most carbon-intensive oils on the planet:

http://forms.climaterealityproject.org/keystone

If you care about the climate, you have to care about stopping this dangerous pollutant and the pipeline that carries it. After extensive research, the EPA estimates that annual carbon pollution from the Keystone XL pipeline could be at least 82% higher than average crude refined in America — if not more.

What does that number really mean? That’s the same amount of pollution as adding 4.8 million cars to our roads: an additional 27 million metric tons of carbon pollution.

Instead of pouring money into the production of more dirty oil, we need to work with Canada to invest in clean energy and energy efficiency. Clean energy is already the fastest growing industry in the U.S. and one of the fastest growing industries around the world.

It doesn’t matter where you live, or if the pipeline crosses into your home state. An increase of carbon pollution anywhere leads to climate change everywhere.

I just returned from an expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula, where the temperature has risen by over 8 degrees in the last 60 years. And more than that, the glacial retreat caused by this temperature increase means sea level is rising and dangerous changes are happening around the globe. To put it simply: it means we are all living on thin ice.

Take a minute and sign this important petition and tell the Senate to say NO to Keystone XL:

http://forms.climaterealityproject.org/keystone

Thanks,

Al Gore
Founder and Chairman
The Climate Reality Project

WC Borough Committee Members,

It is my pleasure to announce that our own Cassandra Jones will be seeking the endorsement of the Chester County Democratic Committee as a candidate for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 156.

We are fortunate to have her running in this important race against Dan Truitt. Please join me in wishing Cassandra well as she begins this new chapter.

And, Cassandra, on behalf of the West Chester Democratic Committee, may I offer you our full support and enthusiasm.  Please let us know how we can help!

Gas companies employing a form of drilling known as “hydrofracking” have contaminated PA’s water supply with benzene, toluene, formaldehyde and other dangerous contaminants in the process; dumped under-treated wastewater in rivers and streams from the Monongahela to Neshaminy Creek.

The drilling happening across Pennsylvania will continue to affect our environment as long as Pennsylvania allows gas companies to drill wherever they want. At this point, our Governor wants to take away a local municipality’s right to create zoning ordinances to curb fracking activity, and the legislature refuses to impose an impact fee on the gas industry to help pay for future environmental consequences. So once again, taxpayers will be left with the clean-up bill.

That’s why I signed a petition to The Pennsylvania State House, The Pennsylvania State Senate, and Governor Tom Corbett.

Will you sign this petition?

Please click and sign now:

http://signon.org/sign/demand-a-moratorium-on-1?source=s.em.mt&r_by=2033857

Thanks!
Barb
Barbara McIlvaine Smith

On December 5, 2011, the NAACP released a new report revealing direct connections between the trend of increasing, unprecedented African American and Latino voter turnout and an onslaught of restrictive measures across the country designed to stem electoral strength among communities of color.

The report, Defending Democracy: Confronting Modern Barriers to Voting Rights in America, details a plethora of voter suppression initiatives, most of them pushed in states with large African-American populations and where voting turnout has surged. The joint report by the NAACP and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund examines scores of legislative proposals, ballot initiatives and voting laws enacted or proposed since the 2008 election.

Copies of the report will be sent to the federal and state agencies that monitor, administer and enforce voting rights, including the US Department of Justice, the Federal Elections Commission, and the Election Assistance Commission, as well as Secretaries of State and Attorneys General in all 50 states. In addition, the report will be delivered to the appropriate committees of jurisdiction in the House and Senate, and entities within the United Nations.

“It’s been more than a century since we’ve seen such a tidal wave of assaults on the right to vote. Historically, when voting rights are attacked, it’s done to facilitate attacks on other rights. It is no mistake that the groups who are behind this are simultaneously attacking very basic women’s rights, environmental protections, labor rights, and educational access for working people and minorities,” said NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. “Voting rights attacks are the flip side of buying a democracy. First you buy all the leaders you can, and then you suppress as many votes as possible of the people who might object.”

Successful registration, education and get-out-the-vote campaigns in the last Presidential election cycle helped overturn electoral barriers and generated Black voter turnout at record high numbers across the country. Calling the response “historic in scope and intensity,” the report highlights voting barriers that range from new and enhanced voter identification requirements to provisions that will curtail voter access to registration. Other proposals challenge mass registration drives, limit voting periods and tighten the ability of newly registered voters to cast ballots.

The report maintains that the vote-blocking measures are not only a threat to individual voters, but are also an assault on Latino and African American communities that are enjoying demographic growth and the prospects of majority voting status in many districts.

“This assault — which is comprehensive in its reach and was launched in time to affect the 2012 elections — threatens to undermine the record levels of political participation witnessed during the historic 2008 Presidential Election, by blocking access to people of color, the poor, the elderly and the young,” the report warns.

“These block the vote efforts are a carefully targeted response to the remarkable growth of the minority electorate, and threaten to disproportionally diminish the voting strength of African-Americans and Latinos,” said John Payton, LDF President and Director-Counsel….

keep reading and download the full report at NAACP

State Reapportionment Commission Hearing
Testimony by Mayor Carolyn Comitta
Borough of West Chester

November 23, 2011

Good afternoon, honorable members of the Reapportionment Commission. I am Mayor Carolyn Comitta and I bring you greetings from the citizens of the great Borough of West Chester!

I am honored and proud to be the first bi-partisan-elected Mayor of West Chester. As such, I truly represent ALL the voters of the Borough.

Along with me today, are two colleagues who will also testify: permit me to introduce Rich Miller, graduate student at West Chester University, and Bret Binder, resident of East Bradford Township.

In order for you to fully comprehend the significant negative impact of the proposed redistricting on the Borough of West Chester and its neighbors, we believe that it is important for you to hear the complexity of concerns raised from our three perspectives.

Each of us will testify that we believe the proposed split of the Borough of West Chester is in direct violation of the Pennsylvania State Constitution. Mr. Binder will discuss this matter in detail. On display are two boards, prepared by Mr. Binder, that show the existing and the proposed boundaries of the 156th and the 160th, along with the specific text from the State Constitution that we contend is being violated under the proposed redistricting.

West Chester is a 1.8 square mile, compact, historic urban municipality and is the County Seat of Chester County.

The Borough of West Chester has its own charms and challenges that are distinct from its neighboring municipalities. It is a complex community complete with a thriving retail and restaurant district, our county government center, industrial areas, diverse neighborhoods, and a university campus.

In addition, West Chester serves our region as the urban center for social, legal and financial services, culture, higher education and healthcare.

Currently, all of the Borough of West Chester, and all of West Chester University are included in the 156th. The proposal is to split the Borough into two separate House Districts. It would be an anomaly for half of the Borough, the seat of Chester County, to be moved to the 160th, which is essentially a Delaware County District!

If it is not a good idea to split a County, as Senator Costa has stated in his November 18th “Exceptions to the Preliminary Plan,” it is certainly not a good idea to split a county seat, especially one that is an urban center providing a myriad of essential services for the region. For example Judge McEwen, the proposed splitting of the Borough of West Chester would be akin to splitting half of Media and putting it in a predominantly Philadelphia District!

In the spirit of open-mindedness, it is fair to ask, “Hey, couldn’t it be a good thing to have TWO people standing up for you in Harrisburg!”

Good question! And as you can guess, I bring you some good answers!

The West Chester Borough Council frequently works closely with our state representative to address state-regulated issues such as: alcohol (the Borough has 39 liquor licenses!), community development, aging sewer and road repairs, environmental regulations and public safety, such as equipment and training for our highly acclaimed police and volunteer fire departments as well as our state university challenges and opportunities.

Moreover, West Chester Borough is under a Common Pleas Court Order regarding redistricting our Ward system, which has not yet been completed. Keeping the Borough in one House District will eliminate the possibility of conflicts with the State Plan.

Managing two districts within the Borough raises some important practical questions! If two House districts split our town, we can imagine West Chester Borough Council or West Chester University students asking:

“Do we need both Representatives to support this idea?! How do we get them together to discuss this issue?! Where do we meet? Do our two reps agree or are there conflicting Delaware County issues at play etc., etc…?”

There is also the significant confusion and hardship generated for the elderly and for students and minorities (not to mention the rest of us!).

For the past 35 years, our state representative has had their District office in the Borough within walking distance of over 19,000 of their constituents—including the elderly, low income and students, many of whom don’t drive. The proposed split would require half of West Chester’s citizens to drive 40 minutes to Chichester to their representative’s office!

In conclusion, instead of doubling our representation, we believe the proposed redistricting would significantly diminish our voice in Harrisburg and would compound the effort needed to address the Borough’s diverse health, safety and welfare issues.

We ask this final question: “Is it in the best interest of the people, is it constitutional, is it ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to split the great Borough of West Chester, risking diminishing the leadership and regional services of one of the urban jewels of our state??”

We believe it is absolutely necessary to keep the Borough together—and to keep its State University together—under one House District in order for us to have the best chance of not just surviving but flourishing into the 21st century. Mr. Binder will share an alternative plan that will do just that.

Our future is in your hands. The people of West Chester thank you for your thoughtful consideration. Thank you.

[As submitted to the Legislative Reapportionment Committee]

I object to the planned redistricting of Pennsylvania Legislative District 156 because splitting three municipalities is neither desirable nor necessary, as outlined in our state constitution.

The district now has one split municipality, East Bradford. The current plan calls for splitting three, East Bradford (while switching all precincts in that township), Westtown and West Chester.

In fact, retaining the integrity of all municipalities serves the goal of proportionality by population, more easily and honestly — reunite East Bradford’s southern precincts with its northern half in the 156^th District, leave West Chester in the 156^th, and leave Westtown in the 160^th District.

That this simpler solution exists not only gives the lie to the idea the current plan is “necessary” but opens the plan to serious legal challenge.

Please reconsider your plan to split these three municipalities. Instead, leave them intact and reunite East Bradford, allowing all to have adequate, cohesive, and honest representation.

Jim Salvas
Secretary, West Chester Borough Democrats

Please give your opinion to the Legislative Reapportionment Commission, Judge Stephen J. McEwen Jr., Chair.