Lots happening behind the scenes in Pennsylvania's 5th District, among the Republicans at least. 2 of them have dropped out, and another has entered. Dan Klees will not run due to a family illness, and the eminently underqualified Craig Lucas says he will instead work on the campaign of G.T. Thompson, Centre County Republican Committee chairman. So who's left? The Centre Daily Times has the rundown:
Two of the seven — Elk County Coroner Lou Radkowski and Clarion Mayor John Stroup — are from the district’s western region.
The other five are from the more populated southern and eastern parts: former Centre County Commissioner Chris Exarchos, State College businessman Matt Shaner, Clearfield County financial consultant Derek Walker, Stroehmann and Thompson.
The Stroehman mentioned is the newest to join the pack. He is from the extreme eastern part of the district and comes from family money (like at least 2 of the other Republicans in the race, Shaner and Walker):
More on the flip
Jeff Stroehmann, the great-great grandson of the founder of Stroehmann Bakeries, said Monday he will run for the Republican nomination for the 5th Congressional District seat.
Stroehmann, 42, a former supervisor of Lycoming County’s Woodward Township, is vice president of warehousing company Moran Industries and owns and operates an earth-moving company, Stroehmann Earth-working Services. He lives in Linden, between Jersey Shore and Williamsport on U.S. Route 220.
This R+10 district may be seeing some big changes in 2 years:
The quiet from the northwest reinforces a general expectation that when Pennsylvania, as expected, loses one of its 19 congressional seats after the 2010 census, the 3rd District now held by U.S. Rep. Phil English, R-Erie, will shift eastward to encompass much of what is now in the 5th District.
Such a shift could re-position Centre County, which is now in the district’s southeastern corner, toward the district’s center, increasing the prospects of Centre County candidates. Centre County is the district’s most populous county, and State College its most populous municipality.
As it is currently set up, Republicans outnumber Democrats by 45,000 in the 5th District.
On the Democratic side, there are still 2 announced candidates: Iraq veteran and journalist Bill Cahir and 3-term Lock Haven Mayor Richard Vilello. (the 2006 candidate Don Hilliard has opted out of a run). I've been doing some Googling!
Vilello, a building inspector, ran unopposed in the 2007 and 2003 elections for mayor. He was appointed in 2007 by Rendell as one of 3 co-chairs of The Governors Advisory Council on Rural Affairs, and also served on that body at least in some capacity going back to 2004. In addition, Vilello serves as the Central District Officer for the Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities. I haven't found anything about his stances on the issues specifically. In his announcement, he played up infrastructure issues:
"I think it’s time to send someone with local experience and quit wasting money," he said. "Every day in the paper you read about millions and billions of dollars for this and that project, for fixing infrastructure all around the world, and we’re not fixing our own infrastructure.
"The local schools get stuck with No Child Left Behind, and the people who pass laws have never been in a school except when they sat behind a desk.
"The health care system is a mess and rural health care always gets the short end of the stick," he added.
Bill Cahir has made some worrisome statements about "energy independence" and Iraq.
Like Peterson, Cahir said he also is an advocate of alternative energy sources.
"We need to invest more resources in domestic oil exploration. I also am a big supporter of nuclear power as a means of generating electricity," he said.
Anyone who knows anything about Peterson knows that to say he was an "advocate of alternative energy sources" is a sick joke. Drilling and digging anywhere and everywhere - that's what Peterson supported. I'm hoping Cahir was only trying to speak well of the retiring Peterson in this instance - and that he simply didn't mention real alternative energies that he also supports.
On to Iraq:
"The Democrats in Congress don’t have the votes to override the president on this issue. But we have to look at the fact that we now have a number of things going our way in Iraq," he said. "The surge (in U.S. military personnel) is going to run its course by July. The next president and the next congress will inherit Operation Iraqi Freedom."
"As a two-tour veteran, I think I have ideas on where to go next with that mission. As a Marine reservist, I’m not going to criticize the commander-in-chief — I support the mission.
"We need to capitalize on the security gains we’ve made (in Iraq), rather than any kind of a rapid withdrawal. We need to honor the alliances we’ve developed with the Sunni sheiks who are supporting us, and take a look at what the sensible policies are right now," Cahir said.
Apparently he's of the "we don't have the votes" variety. Yuck.
The various articles about him do suggest that he would be a much better ally on healthcare and education issues, at least. I'm torn because I suspect Cahir will be the stronger candidate in this district, giving us a chance at a pick-up. But do I want the constant heartbreak of having a Blue Dog represent me? Would it be worse then the resignation I felt with Peterson?