This morning comes the announcement that two more Republicans have cast their hats into the ring for the 5th District seat.
These waters are getting a bit more than simply murky!
New bid #1 for the day comes from former College Township councilman Daniel Klees. He currently works for Penn State’s Applied Research Lab. He’s “exploring all his options.” What ever that means???
New bid #2 comes from Union Township resident, and recent Penn State grad: Craig Lucas. According to the CDT, he likes Fred Thompson for President, and is no fan of either Shaner or Walker:
“Without referring to them by name, Lucas alluded to two other young men who have announced plans to seek the Republican nomination — 28-year-old Matt Shaner, of Patton Township, and 32-year-old Derek Walker, of Clearfield County, both members of affluent families. “These are a couple of people who inherited some of their status and haven’t had to work a 40-hour week,” Lucas said. “But the people of this district, especially when you get outside of State College, are hard-working, conservative people.”Now, you know that I hate to defend Mr Shaner, but on one point Mr Lucas is off the mark. Referencing residents of the district as “conservative people” in his comment, to me, infers that he believes Shaner is not conservative. I would suggest that Mr. Shaner is the most conservative person running for this seat. What else could one expect from someone who ran the 2004 reelection campaign for Bush, worked for former right-wing poster child — Rick Santorum, and whom earned the kudos of former candidate Toomey?! Shaner is conservative by definition.
I am waiting for the inevitable announcement of Don Hilliard as a Democrat.
Frankly, that is not something I am waiting eagerly to hear, but I expect it nonetheless.
I have had the opportunity to hear Mr Hilliard speak, and to say I am underwhelmed by this man would be a grave understatement. As I understand it, he won more votes than Kerry in the last major cycle. That is a sad state for this state, as I found him to be vastly unprepared, unpolished, and fairly inarticulate when he spoke at a local Democrat function the last time he ran.
Do you have a preferred candidate?
Hi Gary!
Do you have a preferred candidate? It seems like everyone’s jumping into the race, but it doesn’t seem like anyone I’d want to vote for if I lived in the 5th… who’s your favorite?
Preferred Candidate?
Not yet.
Frankly, I am waiting to see who else jumps in to the race.
If I had to choose from those that are already in, I might actually be inclined to jump party and vote for Exarchos. With the stellar exemption of his authorizing the purchase of paper-trail-less voting machines, I didn’t see his service to Centre County as in any other way flawed. But to be frank, I didn’t pay as much attention to the county commissioners as I did the bigger fish in the sea.
I am really curious to see if Keith Bierly gets in the race?
One thing I know for certain at this moment, I am changing my party affiliation to GOP for the primary so that I can vote AGAINST Matt Shaner. Without question, there is no room in Pennsylvania for a junior version of Rick Santorum!
The thing about county commissioners
What I’ve noticed about county commissioners is that there isn’t nearly as much partisanship as you might expect. It’s pretty much 3 or 4 or 5 people trying to do what’s best for their county, finding money, running the day-to-day operations and delivering services. Mike Fitzpatrick is a good example. He was a very conservative, but one wouldn’t really have known that looking at his tenure as a Bucks county commissioner because the kind of hot button issues that arise in state or national races really never come up a the county or row office level.
pd
Gary
Keith Bierly is definitely not entering. See this article, which also has a lot more info on Vilello: http://www.lockhaven.com/page/content.detail/id/50…
Also, today, the Mayor of Clarion, John Stroup, announced his bid for the Republican nomination. With the Centre area vote split among 5, possibly 6, Republicans, Stroup has a good shot at carrying the rest of the district.
See here: http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/story/338585…
I agree with you about Shaner, Hilliard and Exarchos.
Hilliard not Running
I can confirm that Don Hilliard is definitely not running this time for the 5th CD. Frankly, I think we all owe him a debt of gratitude for running in 2006 with no financial backing from the DCCC and on a shoe string budget. He campaigned hard up here in Tioga County coming to our fairs and festivals and hitting the diner circuit but it’s hard to cover such a big territory without adequate funding. Let’s hope the the candidate this year gets more party support financially.
Don Hilliard
I agree with anonymous. Don Hilliard worked very hard to cover the entire district. He overcome numerous difficulties to run in the first place. My question to anyone who wants to be critical, Have YOU ever put your name on a ballot?? The view from the cheap seats ( or is it shots ) is usually pretty good
Just a Comment
Instead of being so critical of candidates. Why don’t you offer to help those that at least have the GUTS to put their name and reputations on the line. We had problems with Hilliard but he at least listened and made changes where he could. As for the others we will just have to wait and see. But instead of being part of the problem be part of the solution and help. Getting good candidates is tough enough without shooting them down before they even get going.
Wow...Nerve Hit!
So sorry!
I thought the point of “personal opinion” was that it was personal. I stand by mine, and totally respect yours.
I didn’t realize that I was in a place where my mother was going to stand over my shoulder and tell me “that if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all?”
That seems counter to the electoral process as I understood it?
All politicians are subject to criticism. What I see as part of the problem is when We the People don’t question authority, voters, and those who put themselves on the block for scrutiny. Instead, we tend to “attack” one another, and not direct our energy at those who wish to represent us.
It is not a gift to win an election; it must be earned.
In a nomination, and after, candidates are looking to get those who are predisposed to vote for them to solidify that predisposition. Being a Democrat doesn’t automatically guarantee you get my vote. I need to know what you bring to the table, how you will represent me, and how much I feel you really understand the job for which you apply; this is after all nothing more than a glorified job application. And like in any other business, just because you apply, doesn’t mean you get the job. You have to have the resume, and or skills to get the job done. Then, and only then, do you get the nod from the voter. And even then, a candidate is still at the mercy of the voters opinion. We can fire them too.
I was taught in high school civics that my role as a citizen was to pay attention, ask questions, evaluate candidates, vote, and repeat in every election cycle.
If that’s not our job as citizens in the electoral process, then I don’t know what it is!? There are no “cheap seats” in the process, just cheap shots that cheapen the process.
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