Election guide: State races featured on ballot

Posted 11/2/16

by Pete Mazzaccaro

Next Tuesday, Nov. 8, voters around the country will go to the polls to choose between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Local voters will also choose …

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Election guide: State races featured on ballot

Posted

by Pete Mazzaccaro

Next Tuesday, Nov. 8, voters around the country will go to the polls to choose between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Local voters will also choose between incumbent Republican Senator Pat Toomey and his challenger, Democrat Katie McGinty, in what has been a tight, contested race.

The other federal race local voters will participate in is for the vacated U.S. Congressional seat of Chaka Fattah, indicted earlier this year for numerous counts of fraud and corruption. The favorite to replace him is Democratic state senator Dwight Evans, who is expected to easily beat Republican challenger James Jones.

9th Ward voters in Chestnut Hill face a number of other choices in state wide and local races. A guide to the candidates with links to relevant campaign information for those that have it follows.

Pa. Attorney General

(D) Josh Shapiro was a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing District 153, winning his first election to that seat in 2005. He resigned in December, 2011 after being elected Montgomery County Commissioner.

Shapiro has promised to hold fracking companies accountable for water standards, favors dealing with opioid addiction by treating addiction as a disease and not a crime, and favors universal background checks as a measure of commonsense gun regulation. For more on Shapiro’s agenda, see joshshapiro.org/agenda.

(R) John C. Rafferty Jr. is a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing District 44. He was first elected to the chamber in 2002. Before becoming a senator, he practiced as an attorney and has some experience in the Attorney General’s office having served as a Deputy Attorney General from 1988 to 1991.

Rafferty has campaigned on a platform to “return integrity” to the office of Attorney General, promising to keep politics out of the office’s decisions. Rafferty also has said he’d form a “heroin strike force” to enhance treatment and law enforcement around drug addiction. He has promised to prioritize prosecution against child predators and to use the office to improve school safety. For more, see raffertyforag.com/restoring-integrity/

Pa. Auditor General

(D) Eugene DePasquale, the incumbent, was elected to the office in 2012, succeeding four-term auditor Jack Wagner. Prior to serving as Auditor General, DePasquale was chair of the York County Democratic Party from 1998 to 2002. He was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2007, representing the 95th District where he remained until he was elected Auditor General.

DePasquale has said that as the acting fiscal watchdog for the state, he’s committed to finding ways the state can save money and is particularly interested in advocating for investment in the state’s transportation infrastructure. He is in favor of investments in the environment, health care and public safety. For more, see eugene4pa.com/issues/

(R) A former businessman, John Brown is currently a Northampton County executive. He touts a record of cutting waste and fraud at the county to save $37 million. In that time, the county’s general fund has tripled. Prior to his county position, Brown was the mayor of Bangor, Pennsylvania.

Brown said he would like to do the same as state auditor general and promises to use independent audits to find waste and fraud at state and local levels. He said he believes the auditor general should also be part of the solution and propose reforms when waste is found. For more see brownforag.com/issues/

(Green) John J Sweeney is the former chair of the Pennsylvania Green Party and is currently serving a second term as an auditor in Falls Township, Wyoming County, where he owns and operates a small wood-finishing and painting business.

(Libertarian) Roy Minet, retired Lancaster County businessman, is a former member of the Pa. Libertarian party’s board of directors.

Pa. Treasurer

(D) Flourtown resident Joe Torsella has a long list of government work. He is a former Philadelphia deputy mayor, National Constitution Center CEO, Pa. Board of Education chair and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations for management and reform.

Torsella has said he would use the office of treasurer to implement college savings accounts for all children born in Pennsylvania. He also wants to develop retirement savings accounts for private industry employees who don’t have access to retirement plans such as 401ks. Torsella has also promised to make the office of treasurer a leader in transparency and accountability, moving reports and data online for all state residents. For more, see joetorsella.com/ideas/

(R) Business executive Otto Voit has over 30 years of experience in finance, accounting, software and operations. A veteran of the Persian Gulf War, he is currently the president of Keystone Dental Group, a company that manufactures and distributes products for dental and cosmetic industries. He’s held that position for 19 years.

As treasurer, Voit has promised to be aggressive in returning $2.3 billion in unclaimed property the treasury department currently holds. He’s favors a scholarship program for state college students using lottery revenues and wants to start a treasury loan program for the economic development in areas of the state that need it. For more, see voitforpatreasurer.com/ottos-vision/

(Green) Kristin Combs last ran for office as an at-large candidate for Philadelphia City Council in 2015. The Port Richmond resident is public-school teacher at Penn Treaty School. She also volunteers with the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, a nonprofit working to uphold the human rights of all people regardless of color, creed, sexual identity or socioeconomic status.

Pa. House 200th District

(D) Christopher Rabb is an East Mt. Airy resident and a teacher at Temple University’s Fox School of Business and Drexel University's LeBow College of Business. Rabb is a 9th Ward Democratic committeeperson and is the author of “Invisible Capital: How Unseen Forces Shape Entrepreneurial Opportunity,” published in 2010.

Rabb has made full and fair funding for public schools in the state a top priority. He supports policies that emphasize equal opportunity and social justice for all state residents and wants to develop incentives that help small business owners. For more, see chrisrabb.com.

(R) Mt. Airy resident Latryse McDowell is the vice-chair of the Philadelphia GOP’s 50th Ward. McDowell is currently working on a business degree at DeVry University while raising five children with her husband, a graphic artist. Two of their children are autistic, and mental health and autism awareness have become major parts of her campaign.

McDowell wants the state legislature to create state jobs in both the textile and natural gas industries, both of which she sees as areas of opportunity. She favors larger police forces across the state and believes Philadelphia needs an elected school board. For more, see mcdowell4change.com/common-sense-solutions.

Contact Pete Mazzaccaro at pete@chestnuthilllocal.com or 215-249-8802.

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