Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is the quintessential battleground state — it has been a swing state in every presidential election for more than 70 years. And it is a state where deep political work must be done to reverse the stranglehold
| Pennsylvania Legislature | ||
Democrats |
Republicans |
|
| Senate | ||
| 2006 | 21 |
29 |
| 2008 | 21 |
28 |
| Today | 20 |
29 |
| House | ||
| 2006 | 94 |
109 |
| 2008 | 102 |
101 |
| Today | 104 |
99 |
Pennsylvania is the slowest-growing of any major state in the nation. Since few new people move in, progressives must build lasting political relationships that address people's core needs and take into account their core values. Pennsylvania is a conflicted state — voters hold conflicting views on economic and social issues in different parts of the state. In short, a "one size fits all" political strategy will not work here.
That's why Progressive Majority's long-term, state-based approach to candidate recruitment and development is so well-suited to meet this challenge. Our work to identify community leaders and activists, authentic candidates who care about what's best for people and who will lead on a local agenda, is what's needed here.
2009 Elected Candidates
Carolyn Comitta
Elected to West Chester Mayor (Open Seat)
Carolyn Comitta was elected to mayor of West Chester, Chester County. Carolyn was a West Chester Borough Council member and is a member of the National League of Cities and of the Pennsylvania League of Cities. As chair of the Borough Council's Public Safety Committee, Carolyn was recognized nationally for cutting-edge public policy. Carolyn works as a member of World Information Transfer, Inc., promoting health and environmental literacy in conjunction with the United Nations. The mayor's office had been held by conservatives since 1992 and had never been held by a woman. Since 2007, progressives have dramatically increased democratic registration in West Chester - so much so, that there are now more registered Democrats than Republicans and Independents combined.
Aurea Ortiz
Elected to Bethlehem Area School Board - Region 1 (Open Seat)
Aurea Ortiz is a 47-year old counselor for at-risk youth in Bethlehem, where she runs the Alcohol and Drug Abuse youth program. Bethlehem, known worldwide for the now closed Bethlehem Steel Works, is located in the Lehigh Valley northeast of Allentown. Although part of the area has a high Democratic performance, the region is highly swing and routinely votes for whomever wins the statewide elections, and the county board has a narrow 5-4 Democratic majority. Bethlehem is an area that is becoming highly Latino/a, yet like most areas the elected officials haven't kept up with that diversity - there were no Latino/a representatives on the board. She ran for the Bethlehem Area School Board to unite all sections of the community, regardless of race, gender or religion, to come together to help all of the community achieve a quality education. She won election in one of three new district seats created as the result of a federal voting rights act lawsuit in 2008. The lawsuit produced a total of six new at-large seats and three district seats. We recruited Aurea to run for office with the assistance of several Latino organizations. The election of Aurea has established a Latino presence on board in this city with a 30% population of people of color.
2008 Elected Candidates
Daylin Leach
Elected to State Senate - District 26 (Open Seat)
Delaware and Montgomery Counties
Daylin Leach was the State Representative for the 149th Legislative District and was elected this year to the 17th Senatorial Seat, which was held by moderate Democratic Sen. Connie Williams, who recently announced her retirement from public office. District 17 includes parts of Delaware and Montgomery counties. It is a critical 'must protect' seat for progressives in the conservative-controlled Senate. Born in Philadelphia, Daylin graduated from Temple University with a degree in political science and went on to the University of Houston Law Center and later taught constitutional law, legal ethics and First Amendment law at Cedar Crest and Muhlenberg colleges. He has been involved in progressive politics since childhood, volunteering on campaigns since age 12. He served as president of the Pennsylvania Young Democrats in the early 1990s and in 1993 he even co-hosted a weekly political TV debate show. First elected to the Assembly in 2002, Daylin serves on both the Judiciary and Policy committees and is Democratic secretary of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee. He and his wife live in Upper Merion with their son and daughter.
Tom Houghton
Elected to State Representative - District 13 (Open Seat)
Atglen, East and West Nottingham, Elk, Franklin
Tom Houghton is an attorney who was elected to the 13th Legislative District, representing Chester County. Tom was elected to serve on the London Grove Board of Supervisors in 2001 and became chair in 2004. As chair, Tom has lowered property taxes by nearly 9%, preserved farmland, and passed an ordinance to obtain impact fees from developers to fund parkland. He also allowed for the expansion of Yeatman's Mother Earth Organic Mushrooms and Gourmet's Delight, a group that instituted industry best practices and eliminated harmful air byproducts. In 2006, Tom ran against the incumbent, now retiring, and received 47% of the vote.
Matthew Bradford
Elected to State Representative - District 70 (Challenger)
Montgomery County
Matt Bradford is running for the 70th House District in Montgomery County, which includes East Norriton, Worcester, Towamencin, Lower Salford and Skippack. We have been working with Matt on strategy, message and fundraising, in order to ramp up his campaign. The district is a likely pick-up based on the fact that the Republican registration edge has been cut. Matt's opponent is Jay Moyer, a one-term incumbent with strong ties to conservative Gov. Tom Ridge's administration. Matt makes a strong case for sound economic development and equitable allocation of state dollars to support education initiatives in his districts' public schools. Matt has been an outspoken champion for quality public education as solicitor for the Norristown School Board, and he has a pro-labor track-record as solicitor for the Norristown Municipal Authority. He is also a former Chief-of-Staff to one of our most ardent progressive champions and 2007 farm-team member, former Congressman and current County Commissioner, Hon. Joe Hoeffel. Matt has strong ties to labor and is a past member of the United Steel Workers Union. Matt is personally committed to an aggressive door-to-door direct-voter-contact-program starting now and continuing thorough Election Day. He has been endorsed by the Montgomery County Democratic Committee. In order to expand the one-seat Democratic majority in the State House, we have targeted critical pick-up districts where progressive candidates are likely to win. The 70th State House District fits the criterion.
Barbara McIlvaine Smith
Elected to State Representative - District 156 (Incumbent)
West Chester, East and West Goshen and two southern precincts in East Bradford
Barbara McIlvaine Smith was re-elected to the 156th Legislative District, Chester County. Barbara is a lifelong resident of Chester County whose family roots date back to 1683. Barbara is an enrolled member of the federally recognized Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma. In 2001, she was elected to the West Chester Borough Council and served as the vice president from 2004-2006. Barbara is a member of American Association of University Women; Sierra Club; League of Women Voters; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; National Organization for Women; and The National Women's Political Caucus. Barbara is the first Democrat in 30 years to hold the 156th legislative seat, and we helped her build on her historic 2006 win.
Tony Payton Jr.
Elected to State Representative - District 179 (Incumbent)
Philadelphia neighborhoods of Frankford, Hunting Park; Parts of Olney, Feltonville and Oxford Circle
Tony Payton Jr. won reelection in the 179th Legislative District, representing Philadelphia County. The 179th District is one of the poorest in the state, and African Americans and Latinos make up a majority population. Since his election to the General Assembly in 2006, Tony has been at the forefront of education reform in Pennsylvania. He introduced legislation to create the Pennsylvania Youth Commission and authored the REACH scholarship initiative. The REACH Scholarship would provide free tuition and fees to students in the State University System who maintain a 3.0 grade point average and a 90 percent attendance record. In 2007, Tony received the Philadelphia Tribune Leadership Award as one of the city's most influential African-Americans.
Babette Josephs
Elected to State Representative - District 182 (Incumbent)
Philadelphia neighborhoods of Center City, Logan Square; Parts of Bellavista and Grays Ferry
Babette Josephs won re-election to the 182nd Legislative District, Philadelphia County. She is a senior Democratic legislator and serves as the Chair of the House State Government Committee, which will oversee re-districting in 2010. Babette is dedicated to civil liberties and is responsible for a number of laws and pieces of legislation, including hate crimes protection for against crimes based on sexual orientation. Babette authored the law that guarantees confidentiality of HIV records. She also helped pass a law providing for automatic recounts in close state election races, and has been at the forefront fighting against those who seek to limit first amendment rights. Her current efforts are aimed at increasing state funding for public libraries and the arts. Babette is working to secure adequate and permanent funding for public transit, improved access to health care for low income working adults, increase the minimum wage and to end discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgendered individuals in health care, housing and employment.