Hillary Clinton To Run For President

Hillary Clinton is running for president for the second time, a top adviser announced via email to supporters Sunday, ending two years of speculation and flirtations with a campaign that had seemed preordained.

The announcement came about 3 p.m. in an email from campaign chairman John Podesta to donors and other supporters of the former first lady.

“I wanted to make sure you heard it first from me – it’s official: Hillary’s running for president,” the email reads. It also says that Clinton will visit Iowa and other states with early nominating contests soon, and will host a formal kickoff event next month.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Hillary_Clinton_to_run_for_President.html#eV3CfYuR4qkZTb1k.99

Pottstown Borough Council President Toroney Won’t Seek A 5th Term

Editor’s note:  We hope this leadership change will usher in a new era of reduced crime and economic prosperity for Pottstown. The taxpayers have waited long enough to see their tax burden lessened and to feel safe in their homes.

POTTSTOWN, PA – Borough Council President Stephen Toroney announced Monday night that he will not seek election to a fifth term in the November election.

Toroney read from a prepared statement, saying “the decision not to run was easy.”

He did not elaborate.

However, he did choke up slightly when he said “what will be difficult is not serving this borough which I love.”

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20150112/pottstown-borough-council-president-toroney-wont-seek-a-5th-term

Voter Turnout Around 45 Percent, About Average For Governor’s Race, Officials Say

Although nice weather and busy poll stations may have given the impression of above-average voter turnout Tuesday, election officials in Chester, Berks and Montgomery counties indicated it was anything but.

“It was a little lower than it was four years ago,” said Deborah Olivieri, director of the Berks County Office of Voter Services.

“But it’s better than 17 percent,” she said, referring to the anemic voter-turnout in the spring Primary Election.

According to figures posted on their respective websites, voter turnout ranged between a high of 48.2 percent in Montgomery County, where 262,738 votes were cast, to a low of 41 percent in Berks County, where 100,731 votes were case.

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/general-news/20141106/voter-turnout-around-45-percent-about-average-for-governors-race-officials-say

Newest Pottstown School Board Member Is Homegrown

POTTSTOWN — To say that the Pottstown School Board’s newest member is a hometown booster would be a bit of an understatement.

Chosen from among four other candidates last week, Katina Bearden took the oath of office Thursday night and will complete the year left in the term of former board vice president Dennis Wausnock who died last month.

Born in Pottstown, educated in Pottstown, living in Pottstown and raising her family in Pottstown, you might say Bearden is fond of the place.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140919/katina-bearden-becomes-newest-pottstown-school-board-member

A Look At The Pennsylvania Governor Candidates’ Different Plans For The Minimum Wage, Drilling And Marijuana Laws

Standard of the Governor of Pennsylvania http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-pa.html#gov (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

All four Democrats running for governor want to get more revenue from natural gas drilling. But they have different plans for how to tax the extraction and what to do with the money.

All four want to raise the minimum wage, but they don’t all agree by how much.

When it comes to marijuana laws, they aren’t in lockstep either.

The May 20 primary will decide whether state environmental protection secretary Katie McGinty, state Treasurer Rob McCord, U.S. Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz or York County businessman Tom Wolf will get the Democratic nomination for governor.

Read more: http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_25638608/look-at-pa-governor-candidates-different-plans-minimum

Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski To Withdraw From Pennsylvania Governor Race, Source Says

Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski plans to drop out of the race for Pennsylvania governor, according to a source.

Pawlowski, a Democrat who had been seeking to challenge Republican incumbent Gov. Tom Corbett, will withdraw from the race Monday and endorse Treasurer Rob McCord, the source said.

Mike Fleck, Pawlowski’s campaign manager, declined to comment except to say Pawlowski would hold a news conference 11 a.m. Monday to discuss the governor’s race.

Pawlowski did not immediately respond to a phone call for comment tonight.

Read more: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/elections/index.ssf/2014/01/allentown_mayor_ed_pawlowski_t.html

Important Races On Your Ballot Tuesday

Election Day is Tuesday, and there will be a meaningful showdown on the ballot, no matter where you live.

The races that will appear on your ballot this week are very important, and the result will arguably have a greater impact on your life than the choosing of the governor, a senator or even a member of the House of Representatives.

Joyce McKinley, director of the Centre County Office of Elections, noted that just 12 percent of county voters cast ballots in the primary.

“We’d like to see a decent turnout,” she said. “We certainly expect to see better turnout than in the spring, but that was disastrous.”

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2013/11/02/3868613/our-view-important-races-on-your.html#storylink=cpy

Time To Top 20 Percent Turnout In Tuesday’s Election

Map of Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Something perplexing happens in municipal elections like the one coming up Tuesday.

The public officials being elected have the most direct impact on people’s lives.

Yet turnout of registered voters – usually less than 20 percent – is the lowest in the four-year election cycle.

These officials make sure roads are plowed in winter and grass in parks is mowed in summer. They hire contractors for road repairs. They oversee police. They pass zoning laws that dictate where housing developments should go and where businesses should be built, which can impact land values.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=518129

Corbett Compares Same-Sex Marriage To Incest

HARRISBURG, PA – Pennsylvania Gov. Corbett on Friday compared same-sex marriage to the marriage of brothers and sisters.

The Republican governor, whose approval ratings have been low and who is up for reelection next year, made the comments during an interview with WHP-TV in Harrisburg, after being asked about a controversial statement his lawyers had made over the summer on gay marriage.

During the interview, Corbett called “inappropriate” his attorneys’ statement in an August court filing. In the filing, the attorneys wrote that gay marriage is against Pennsylvania law, just as marriage is between children.

The governor then told the news station that he thought “a much better analogy would have been brother and sister, don’t you?”

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20131005_Corbett_compares_same-sex_marriage_to_brother-sister_union.html#A7xRLwC0WQogOpz0.99

Lutherans Fail To Re-Elect Presiding Bishop On First Ballot

20px Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Bishop Mark Hanson 20px Biskup Luterańskiego Kościoła Ewangelickiego w Ameryce, Marek Hanson (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson fell short of the required votes to be re-elected on the first ballot as head of the nation’s largest Lutheran denomination.

Bishop Hanson garnered 440 of the 877 valid ballots cast during a meeting in Pittsburgh today of the 4-million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  Although it was nearly 400 more votes than the runner-up, it fell short of the 75 percent needed to elect on the first ballot.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/lutherans-fail-to-re-elect-presiding-bishop-on-first-ballot-699156/#ixzz2bs4tWndv

Pottstown Primary Candidates – Out With The Old And In With The New. Part II

Roy’s Rants spent a few hours this afternoon talking with two Pottstown Borough Council candidates and a Pottstown mayoral candidate running in Tuesday’s Pennsylvania Primary Election.  We would like to share some of this information to help voters carefully weigh their options.  The outcome of this election will be crucial in either moving Pottstown down the road to revitalization or allowing it to continue in a downward spiral.

Cindy Conard is running for 7^th Ward Borough Councilor against incumbent Joe Kirkland.  Cindy and her husband moved to Pottstown several years ago.  They chose to buy a home and invest in Pottstown.  After sitting on the sidelines and watching the direction Pottstown has taken and the machinations of council, Cindy saw a leadership vacuum existed and wanted to do her civic duty by getting involved.

Cindy brings considerable management experience to the table.  She is paid to solve problems and look for solutions to problems that aren’t readily apparent.  Critical thinking is something Cindy excels at as well as her ability to ferret out the root cause of a problem rather than to simply address the symptoms.

Cindy would like to be part of a council that would: create a shared vision for Pottstown, be fiscally responsible, collaborate with the community, encourage economic development in downtown Pottstown, reduce crime and reduce “red tape” for residents to improve their homes and properties.  And most importantly, Cindy will strive to get people working together to produce results!

Former 6^th Ward Councilor and “man of the people” Jody Rhoads has officially endorsed Cindy Conard!

You can check out Cindy’s official campaign Facebook page here:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cindy-Conard-for-Council-in-the-7th-Ward/232676780206363?fref=ts

 

Sheryl Miller is running for 3^rd Ward Borough Councilor against incumbent Jeff Chomnuk.  Sheryl grew up in Pottstown and graduated from Pottstown High School.  Sheryl moved away for a few years but yearned return to the “town she loves” to live.  Sheryl and her husband bought a home in Pottstown and she has watched her hometown deteriorate.  She also feels compelled to do her civic duty and run for borough council.

Sheryl holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Albright College in Crime and Justice.  Sheryl wants Pottstown to be a safe place.  She would be tough on crime issues if elected to Pottstown Borough Council.  She advocates community policing and wants to promote police visibility by utilizing foot and bike patrols.  She also promotes police officers getting to know residents the community.

Sheryl is concerned about neighborhood safety, clean streets, property maintenance; she advocates responsible spending and supports open government.  Sheryl wants to create policies to improve the quality of life for borough residents.

Sheryl wants to improve communication and cooperation between borough council and the community which would encourage citizen engagement.

You can check out Sheryl’s official campaign Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/SherylMillerForPottstownBoroughCouncil?fref=ts

 

Ross Belovich is running for Mayor of Pottstown against former Mayor Sharon Valentine-Thomas on Tuesday.  The winner of this primary contest will go up against incumbent Bonnie Heath in November.

I did an extensive interview with Ross which you can click on here:

https://roysrants.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/pottstown-mayoral-candidate-ross-belovich-a-breath-of-fresh-air-on-the-political-landscape/

If you have not read this I would ask that you to take a few moments and read the article.

You can check out Ross’s office campaign Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/MayorofPottstown

Ross is an articulate individual with many excellent ideas on how to move Pottstown forward.  The mayor oversees the police department and acts as an official representative of the Borough of Pottstown.  To many people, the mayor is the face of Pottstown.  It is important that this individual present themselves in a dignified and professional manner at all times.

The mayor can be involved with PDIDA, PAID and other boards/entities in Pottstown that promote economic development and revitalization.  The office of the mayor could be used as a force to help affect positive change and present council with researched ideas for their consideration during the monthly Mayor’s Report.

The mayor acts as a tie-breaker in the event a vote on council ends in a draw.  The mayor should be well versed on all matters on the agenda and be able to make an informed decision if called upon.  When only six councilors are at a meeting, this scenario could happen.

Roy’s Rants officially endorses these candidates!

Election Day, Tuesday, November 6, 2012 – Make Sure You Vote!