Chester County is BLUE for the first time in history!
See the Chester County Democratic Committee Website for details.
Voting
“What’s gonna fix our democracy is you … you and your vote.” BARACK OBAMA 9/7/2018
“Here’s the good news: In one month, we have the chance—not the certainty, but the chance—to restore some semblance of sanity to our politics. Because there is only one real check on bad policy and abuses of power. And that’s you—you and your vote.”
“What’s gonna fix our democracy is you … The threat to our democracy doesn’t just come from Donald Trump … the biggest threat to our democracy is indifference … ”
BARACK OBAMA
September 7, 2018
2018 Mid-Term Election Results!
Congratulations to Chester County Democrats for an Outstanding 2018 Election Result!
See the press release below for County level winners.
Congratulations also to statewide winners:
Governor Tom Wolf and new Lt. Gov. John Fetterman
US Senator Bob Casey
Press release from CCDC:
CHRISSY HOULAHAN MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST DEMOCRAT AND WOMAN TO WIN 6th CONGRESSIONAL SEAT
Two State Senators, Six PA Representatives Including First African American Democrat Plus Special Election of Old 7th Congressional District Confirms Blue Sweep
West Chester, PA (November 7, 2018) – Chester County is known for its rich history and news of a blue wave of historic proportions is being felt this morning. Air Force veteran, systems engineer and businesswoman Chrissy Houlahan spearheaded a Democratic wave that included the entire Democratic ticket from Governor and U.S. Senator to two PA State Senators and six PA State Representatives. The county elected its first Democratic African American State Representative, Dan Williams. The 2018 Midterms brought another stunning first – Democrats now hold the majority of the Chester County delegation in Harrisburg!
“We wake up today to multiple historic accomplishments,” declared Dick Bingham, Chester County Democratic Committee Chair. “With a gap of 11,500 fewer registered Democrats than Republicans, the wins across the county were astounding. Thanks to the coordinated efforts of thousands of volunteers and a dozen strong candidates, we turned the county blue despite the heavy Republican advantage. We went from one to six State House Representatives. We moved from one to three State Senators. And we celebrate our first Democratic Congresswoman, ever, heading off to Washington.”
CONGRESSWOMAN HOULAHAN
Speaking to a standing-room-only audience at Phoenixville’s Franklin Commons late last night, Houlahan began her remarks by thanking her opponent, Greg McCauley for answering the call to run. She then noted the “new and improved” 6th Congressional District where her “people-driven campaign” covered all of Chester County and parts of Berks County.
“This victory is not mine but it is yours, it is ours,” she told the cheering crowd. “Our politics and our government have been turned upside down. Now we can turn it right side up.”
She then touted the five top causes she campaigned on over an almost two-year run including: quality and affordable and accessible healthcare for all; a living wage; a great education that everyone is owed and due; a safe planet, safe community and safe schools; and finally decency, respect and the knowledge that truth matters.
SPECIAL 7th ELECTION
For a few weeks, Chester County will have a Congresswoman in 2018 representing the state’s old 7th District. Democrat Mary Gay Scanlon won the election in Pennsylvania’s 5th congressional district and the special election. The latter district, which includes parts of Berks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster and Montgomery counties, was restructured to the new 5th District. Scanlon won the open congressional seat in the 5th district, which had been under Republican control for eight years but was redrawn by the state Supreme Court.
WAITING SINCE 1855
According to the county’s newspaper, Daily Local News, Democrats would have to go back 163 years to recall a winning election night for a national office.
“A former county district attorney, Hickman, a Quaker, ran on the party ticket in 1855 and was elected to three more terms, first as a Democrat, then as a so-called Anti-Lecompton Democrat opposed to slavery, and finally as a Republican in 1861 when that party led the charge against slavery and elected Abraham Lincoln president. Hickman did not seek a new term in 1863, and the GOP has been winning elections for Congress in the county since, even as it has been split into halves and sometimes thirds because of redistricting.”
HARRISBURG-BOUND
Voters elected the following Democrats to the PA State Senate and House seats:
Tim Kearney – PA Senate District 26
Katie Muth – PA Senate District 44
Dan Williams – PA House District 74
Danielle Friel Otten – PA House District 155
Carolyn Comitta – PA House District 156
Melissa Shusterman – PA House District 157
Christina Sappey – PA House District 158
Kristine Howard – PA House District 167
CONTACT: Bill Phifer, CCDC Communications Committee, PressRelations@chescodems.org, 484-639-2345
Our 2018 Winners!
US Senate: Bob Casey (incumbent)
Bob Casey was raised to believe that “all public service is a trust, given in faith and accepted in honor,” and he has brought that to every office he has held, including Pennsylvania Auditor General, State Treasurer, and U.S. Senator.
Pennsylvania Lt. Governor: John Fetterman
John Fetterman is a progressive voice for working people on issues like inequality, racial justice, and ending the failed war on drugs.
Pennsylvania House District 74: Dan Williams
Dan Williams has been the Senior Pastor of New Life in Christ Fellowship Church in Coatesville for 27 years.
Pennsylvania House District 157: Melissa Shusterman
Melissa Shusterman is a mom, a wife, a businesswoman, and a Schuylkill Township resident.
SPECIAL ELECTION: Former US House District 7: Mary Gay Scanlon
SPECIAL ELECTION: If you lived in US Congress District 7, you have a special election for the 7th on November 6th. In addition to voting for Chrissy Houlahan for District 6, you will vote for Mary Gay Scanlon to represent you from November to January in the US Congress.
US House District 6: Chrissy Houlahan
Chrissy Houlahan is an Air Force veteran, business leader, and educator. She is endorsed by Vice President, Joe Biden.
Pennsylvania Senate District 26: Tim Kearney
Tim Kearney is an architect, a teacher, and a small business owner.
Pennsylvania House District 155: Danielle Friel Otten
Danielle Friel Otten is a mother, a businesswoman, and a community leader.
Pennsylvania House District 158: Christina Sappey
Chris Sappey worked for PA representatives Barb McIlvaine Smith and Carolyn Comitta and PA Senator Andy Dinniman for a total of 12 years.
Pennsylvania Governor: Tom Wolf (incumbent)
Tom Wolf is a York native, father, business owner and baseball fan. Tom is fighting for better schools, jobs, and government.
Pennsylvania Senate District 44: Katie Muth
Katie Muth is a healthcare provider, an adjunct professor, and a working-class candidate for Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania House District 156: Carolyn Comitta (incumbent)
Carolyn Comitta is a two-term Mayor of West Chester, an educator, and the current PA House Representative for District 156. Carolyn is endorsed by President Barack Obama.
Pennsylvania House, District 167: Kristine Howard
Kristine Howard is a mother and Rutgers Law School grad currently working in child protective services. She seeks to improve state programs for education, healthcare and career opportunities for all, including two-income families and single women. She has recently been endorsed by President Barack Obama.
© 2018 Chester County Democratic Committee
This time, Sully Sullenberger SPEAKS
‘Dangerous’ to sit out vote: Obama rallies Democrats for Bob Casey and Gov. Wolf at The Dell
By Chris Brennan, Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/21/18
Former President Barack Obama warned Democrats against sitting out the midterm elections during a North Philadelphia rally Friday for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, Gov. Wolf, and the party’s other candidates in Pennsylvania.
He singled out young, African American, and Latino voters amid concern that the traditional drop in turnout from presidential years could harm the Democratic Party’s chances of gaining ground in Congress and statehouses amid low approval ratings for President Trump.
And he chided Trump, without naming him, for bragging about improving economic conditions that started before the Republican moved into the White House last year.
“So when you hear right now, folks, right now, taking credit for this economic miracle, c’mon, they act like it all just started. Please,” Obama told a raucous crowd of about 5,000 at the Dell Music Center….
read more at Philadelphia Inquirer
Receiving a letter like this makes our day!
Especially Nathaniel’s!
Hi,
My daughter Reece and I just wanted to send you a quick email to say thanks. Reece is in girl scouts, and is currently working towards earning her “Inside Government” badge. She’s been learning about the branches of government, how to be an active citizen, etc.. Her troop leader suggested they do some research at home and explore some political and government sites and she found your page https://wcborodems.org/links/ . It’s been so helpful to her I wanted to reach out and thank you. I haven’t seen her this invested in something in a long time, and I’m grateful she’s committed to such an important topic. Maybe she will run for office someday:).
When I told Reece I was going to email and thank you, she suggested that I let you know about this other article she found on “The Powers of the Executive Branch” at https://online.maryville.edu/online-bachelors-degrees/organizational-leadership/powers-of-the-executive-branch/ . She thought it would be a good addition to the resources & websites on your page. She used your resources so much she wanted to help contribute in some small way – hopefully you find it as useful as she has!
Thanks again!:)
Warmly,
Brooke & Reece
Remarkable First-timers
By Frank Bruni and Liriel Higa
Usually you only get to dream about a candidate like Chrissy Houlahan. People in the Philadelphia suburbs actually get to vote for her.
She’s brainy: a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Stanford, a master’s in technology and policy from M.I.T. She’s bold: service in the U.S. Air Force. She has entrepreneurial bona fides from her years as the chief operating officer of an athletic wear company but also had a top job for a group promoting childhood literacy. She’s a wife and mother, with two grown daughters.
So why, at 51, has she set her sights on the House of Representatives, when she never ran for any office before?
The answer is Nov. 8, 2016. To vote for Hillary Clinton, she put on a pantsuit. Her gay daughter wore all white, honoring suffragists. That night they broke out the Champagne. “I thought that history would be made,” Houlahan recalled.
When it wasn’t, her father, a Holocaust survivor, cried, fearing what Donald Trump’s victory could mean for the vulnerable and the powerless. Her daughter panicked about L.G.B.T. people. “Unnerving,” Houlahan called it, and her response was “to be part of the solution.” She has since raised about $3 million and emerged as one of the Democratic Party’s best bets to turn a red seat blue.
There are many ways to measure the urgency with which Democrats are approaching the 2018 midterms but perhaps none better than the mettle, motivations and number — much larger than in recent congressional elections — of first-time candidates who have jumped into the fray.
They’re creatures of an atypically tense moment with especially high stakes. They’re mirrors of the anxieties that so many Americans feel. They’re emblems of a yearning for new faces and approaches. They’re the year’s biggest stars and stories.
THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM
The Chester County (Pennsylvania) Democratic Committee believes in Freedom, Fairness, and Opportunity for all Americans, regardless of what they believe, who they are, and where they came from. Join CCDC in making Chester County a better place for all!
We have a chance to fundamentally shape the future of our country.
But that will only happen if all of us work together — starting right now.
Every four years, the Democratic Party puts together our party platform, the ideas and beliefs that govern our party as a whole.
What follows is our 2016 platform — our most progressive platform in our party’s history and a declaration of how we plan to move America forward. Democrats believe that cooperation is better than conflict, unity is better than division, empowerment is better than resentment, and bridges are better than walls.
This party platform was voted on and passed by our membership at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in 2016. The platform will be updated and re-approved at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
Download 2016 Party Platform PDF
Platform Contents
To read the entire platform, choose a section to jump ahead or scroll down.
Raise Incomes and Restore Economic Security for the Middle Class
Fight for Economic Fairness and Against Inequality
Bring Americans Together and Remove Barriers to Opportunities
Protect Voting Rights, Fix Our Campaign Finance System, and Restore Our Democracy
Combat Climate Change, Build a Clean Energy Economy, and Secure Environmental Justice
Provide Quality and Affordable Education
VOTE Tuesday, May 15, 2018! Get your SAMPLE BALLOTS HERE!
Make voting easier on yourself. Get familiar with this SAMPLE GENERIC BALLOT FOR WEST CHESTER.
The Chester County Democratic Committee (CCDC) endorses the candidates marked with black ovals.
Consult your precinct committeepersons for information about State and WC Democratic Committee candidates.
To answer questions, Democratic committeepersons are working the polls all day; they are there to help you.
Don’t know your Precinct number or polling place?
The PA Department of State does.
2018 Primary Generic Sample Ballot PDF
for West Chester Borough
No surprise: Civility and trust down nationally since November
by Nathaniel Smith, Politics: A View from West Chester, July 3, 2017
The chart below is from “Americans Say Civility Has Worsened Under Trump; Trust In Institutions Down” by Jessica Taylor, NPR.org, July 3, 2017.
It would be interesting to have figures for Chester County. It would be a good bet, though, that residents here overall are fairly satisfied with their county and municipal governments, with law enforcement and the courts system.
In this swing county, which had the good taste to give Trump under 43% of its vote (national average: 46%), people remain engaged, as we’ve seen from the profusion of rallies and the number of candidates running for office this year and already lining up for 2018. We go to public meetings (witness the outpouring regarding the proposed pipeline cutting through the County), talk with our elected representatives, and speak at Borough Council and supervisor meetings (the PA Sunshine Act is taken seriously here).
Voter turnout was relatively good in the May primary, and one can hope for a larger than usual vote this coming November. A lot of Americans, last November, found out what happens when they don’t vote!
Civility remains the norm, even in public rallies, and it is heartening to see a targeted elected official emerge on occasion for a (civil) chat with demonstrators.
About the fairness of elections, Chester County is also fortunate…
read more at Politics: A View from West Chester
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