Notes from Out and About, Money, and Mailers

Instead of a lot of little posts this will be one big miscellaneous post

Notes from Out and About

At any given time there are about 5 political events on my radar; if I'm lucky I can get to one of them. Over the past few months I've been to a small number of low-dollar fundraisers, rallies, house parties, etc. As a rule I don't write about events held in private residences (it just seems rude) and at many events there are opportunities to say a few words to candidates but not have extended conversations, so they don't lead to a separate blog post.

This is kind of a hodge podge of notes from a variety of events.

Joe Hoeffel, of of the Democratic candidates for governor, is unflappable. I've seen him speak while a young child sitting hear the podium runs a toy car or truck very near his feet, and keep going when a young adult with a developmental challenge wants to speak at the same time. Working with the state legislature is probably very similar.

Walter Waite, Democratic candidate for the 161st state house district, is well-spoken, and resembles "Sully" Sullenberger. This is the district currently held by Bryan Lentz who is running for Congress. I've exchanged words with him at a couple of events.

Margo Davidson, who had been a state senate candidate, decided to run for the 164th state house when the previous candidate exited the race. I heard Davidson speak at the Mid-County Delaware County Democrats forum and talked with her briefly at a smaller event.

Bryan Allen, in a primary race for the 6th state senate district in Bucks County, is personable and can work a crowd well.

I finally met Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. He made a point of stopping to shake hands and say hello, though that may be because I was at a table with a group of influential people (it was my table first; one of their group asked me a directional question which lead to everyone joining me).

Who Got My Money

Going out to political events often means parting with some money. This can be a factor of convenience and information (knowing what events are happening and picking those easiest to get to), but it also indicates some personal interest. I'm not paying money to attend an event for someone I don't like. Some events are sponsored by parties and feature more than one candidate; they are not listed here. That being said, here is a list of campaigns I have donated to in some fashion:

Joe Hoeffel (governor)
Bryan Lentz (7th congressional district)
Manan Trivedi (6th congressional district)
Patrick Murphy (8th congressional district)
Allyson Schwartz (13th congressional district)
Josh Shapiro (153rd state house)
Rick Taylor (151st state house)
Bob Casey (senate)

Mailers and Calls

Unions affiliated with the one I belong to have sent out robocalls encouraging me to vote for Sen. Specter. Someone with State Sen. Anthony Williams gubernatorial campaign (he's running for his state senate seat at the same time) called to trash talk Dan Onorato, another Democrat running for governor. Joe Hoeffel's campaign called. Specter, Onorato, and Williams have also sent mailers.