Shapiro Richards Meet and Greet, Spiegelman Version

This evening I went out to a “meet and greet” for Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards, the Democratic candidates for Montgomery County Commissioner. First the politics then a few personal observations, but I encourage you to hang on till the end because those personal observations pertain, in part, to food.

The event was held at Roman Delight in Abington and sponsored by John Spiegelman, candidate for Abington Township commissioner (Ward 11). Other candidates in attendance while I was there:
Richard Haaz – Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas
Josh Shapiro – Montgomery County Commissioner
Leslie Richards – Montgomery County Commissioner
Linda Hee – Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds
Will Holt – Montgomery County Sheriff
Jack Kessler – Magisterial District Judge
Daniel Kaye – Abington School Board

Remarks by candidates:
Leslie Richards – as a civil engineer (at a women-owned firm) she has worked to make lives better, by building bridges and parks. On the Whitemarsh Board of Supervisors she has done the same thing, without raising taxes.

Josh Shapiro – There are 800,000 people in Montgomery County, and it is the 3rd largest county in Pennsylvania. In the last presidential election 70% of eligible voters voted, but in the last county commissioner race 70% stayed home. The bickering in DC and Harrisburg is similar to the bickering in Norristown. Elect Shapiro and Richards to get things done. Remember that you get to vote for two names for county commissioner. Two Republicans and two Democrats will be on the ballot. Vote for both Josh Shapiro AND Leslie Richards.

Shapiro (introducing Spiegelman): I met John Spiegelman on my first campaign for state representative. He was interesting in winning but also in what happens after the election.

John Spiegelman: Ward 11 is indeed the heart of Abington, encompassing the hospital, the public library and several of the township’s schools. Spiegelman wants to put together a comprehensive "quickest possible way to contact" list for the entire ward and will use this list to send out township board agendas, etc. before the meetings so people can share opinions, decide whether or not to come out to speak, and work together. He wants to keep the Abington dollar in Abington, for instance creating a small-business-friendly environment to help turn empty, blighted commercial areas into business that will draw from within Abington and beyond to neighboring communities, creating Abington jobs and a thriving community while keeping taxes low. He also thinks the township commissioners should take a stand against developers and other outside forces.

You can find the entire Democratic slate for county races at www.montco2011.comhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Personal observations: It is an unfortunate truth that the food at many political events is unexceptional. I don't know if it is the presence of candidates or bloggers or what, but sometimes even the carrots are bad. So I hadn't planned on eating at this event and planned to heat up some leftovers when I got home. But one look at the deep dish Sicilian pizza at Roman Delight changed my mind. It was GREAT! I haven't had deep dish Sicilian pizza in awhile, living in a thin crust household. Roman Delight makes great pizza. This cannot be said too many times. Roman Delight makes great pizza.

Even better, Spiegelman, the host, had an unusual, but very welcome, parting gift. Forget refrigerator magnets, palm cards, the like. Spiegelman gave out chocolate bars in the shape of his yard signs, complete with his name embossed on it. It's the first time I've seen that. The chocolate bars were made to order by Lores Chocolates of Philadelphia.

As the movie Babette's Feast so clearly pointed out, good food can make good company. The room at Roman Delight was packed and people had to squeeze past each other to move around. I found a chair in a corner to people watch. It was very much a community meeting, a neighborhood get together. Everyone I saw seemed to be having a good time.