This is largely a retread of a previous diary.
This is, however, a down ticket ONLY type of diary. I’ll leave the top box to those who wish to fight about those battles, and my stated position is “I’m waiting until November.”
So let’s go through. I don’t know a lot about a lot of these races and I really need people to fill in the blanks. I also may leave quite a few races off—many have no primary opponents.
All candidates are taken from the PA Department of State website. Apologies but the tables didn’t copy over all that well from Word.
US President
We know who’s running here. The (W)rec(k) list is littered with diaries for and against both candidates. I have stated for many months this particular contest has been a complete turnoff, and I will not choose a side, at all, so I’m not going to recommend anyone. Pick whoever you want, or leave it blank, or write in Beyonce, or whatever, I really don’t care.
US Senate
There are 4 people running.
SESTAK JR., JOSEPH A.
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FETTERMAN, JOHN K
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VODVARKA, JOSEPH JOHN
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MCGINTY, KATIE
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You can probably count out Mr. Vodvarka making this more of a 3 way race than a 4 way race.
US Congress
If a race says “has no opponent” I mean primary opponent.
PA-01: Bob Brady has no opponent for this Philadelphia seat (he really should though, just my opinion.)
PA-02: I will remark here that this is probably going to be the most interesting of the congressional primaries on 4/26 cause it is the hottest of hot messes. It’d be nice to see PA-02’s residents send Mr. Fattah packing, however I think he’s favored to survive---until he goes to prison that is. This is a Philadelphia seat.
MUROFF, DANIEL R
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FATTAH, CHAKA
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EVANS, DWIGHT
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GORDON, BRIAN ANTHONY
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PA-03: There is no Democrat in this race. Dumb.
PA-04: Joshua Burkholder has no opponent.
PA-05: Kerith Strano Taylor has no opponent.
PA-06: This is a Philadelphia area seat.
PA-07: This is perhaps one of the worst gerrymanders in the nation. Patrick Meehan (R-Drexel Hill---a locale that is barely in the district!) is the sitting Congressman here. It once was Sestak’s district—back when it was roughly contiguous with Delaware County, and before him, Republican Curt Weldon. Now, it’s a hot mess and a tougher fight than it needs to be. Meehan won this district with some 60% of the vote in 2014. I’d be curious to see how well Trump does here. There’s a stereotype about Delaware County (Delco) and the working class inhabitants of its eastern and southeastern townships and boroughs that seem to be Trump’s core constituency.
I grew up in Delaware County.
BALCHUNIS, MARY ELLEN
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GOLDERER, WILLIAM
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PA-08: This is a Philadelphia area district.
NAUGHTON, SHAUGHNESSY M
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SANTARSIERO, STEVEN J
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PA-09: There is no Democrat in this race. Dumb, dumb, dumb. This district does feature a bruising primary against the incumbent, Bill Shuster.
PA-10: Same as above. This district is along the northern Tier of Pennsylvania and was briefly Democratic 2006-2010 likely thanks to former Congressman Sherwood’s inability to keep his hands to himself.
PA-11: Michael Marsicano has no primary opponent. This is the district I currently live in. Barletta’s the Congresscritter. Trump will probably clean up nicely here. Sigh.
At least Barletta’s stopped sending postcards to my house. I tear them up and compost them.
PA-12: This is John Murtha’s old seat.
LARCHUK, STEVEN B.
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MCCLELLAND, ERIN R
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PA-13: Brendan Boyle has no primary opponent. This is a suburban Philadelphia district.
PA-14: This district is roughly contiguous with Allegheny County, including all of the city of Pittsburgh. Mike Doyle’s been the Congressman here since 1995.
DOYLE JR., MICHAEL F.
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BROOKS, JANIS C
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PA-15: Richard Daugherty has no primary opponent. This is Charlie Dent’s seat and covers the Lehigh Valley westward along I-78. No one ran against Dent in 2014, which was terribly dumb.
PA-16: This is Joe Pitts’s seat, covering parts of very conservative Lancaster County and still-suburbanizing Chester County. He’s retiring. Maybe a pickup in the fall? It’s a surreal year, anything’s possible.
HARTMAN, CHRISTINA M
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WEGMAN, GARY STEVEN
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PA-17: Matthew Cartwright has no primary opponent. This district is Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
PA-18: No Democrat is running in this race. So lame, especially considering the right Dem for this district could actually work well. This district is in far southwestern PA.
PA Attorney General
This is a three-way race. I personally like Josh Shapiro.
ZAPPALA II, STEPHEN A
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SHAPIRO, JOSHUA D
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MORGANELLI, JOHN
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PA Auditor General
Eugene DePasquale has no primary opponent.
PA Treasurer
KNOLL, ALBERT BAKER
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TORSELLA , JOSEPH M
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PA State Senate
Here, I will only mention races that are primaries. If your district is not mentioned there’s no primary opponent---or no Democrat running at all. State Senate Districts run east to west, generally.
State Sen 1: Only think I know about Lawrence Farnese is back when marriage equality was a thing roiling legislatures, he introduced a bill banning divorce. It amused me, because it gave a right middle finger to trash like Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler). This is a Philadelphia seat.
FARNESE JR, LAWRENCE M
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MORLEY JR, JOHN H
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State Sen 3: This is a Philadelphia seat.
STREET, SHARIF T
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WILLIAMS, DESHAWNDA LENEE
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State Sen 5: This is a Philadelphia seat that came open when Michael Stack became Lieutenant Governor. John Sabatina is the incumbent at the moment.
SABATINA JR, JOHN P
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BOYLE, KEVIN J
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State Sen 15: Teplitz was a surprise pickup last-go-around, taking a seat that includes suburban Harrisburg. This was the district that originally was drawn as a most egregious gerrymander, crossing 5 or 6 counties, and designed to keep an increasingly unpopular Republican senator in office. It went to court, was redrawn, and that senator is now retired (and to be quite honest, I don’t think anyone in either party really liked him. Good riddance.) In November, let’s hope Teplitz keeps it. I don’t think Alvin Q. Taylor will give him much of a challenge. This (I think) is my state senate district (I only say I think because I feel I would remember voting for Teplitz, and I don’t remember at all. Also I haven’t missed an election in 11 years.)
TEPLITZ, ROBERT F
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TAYLOR, ALVIN Q
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State Sen 35: This is a Johnstown area seat, and includes Bedford and parts of Clearfield Counties. Sen. Wozniak is the incumbent here.
CARNICELLA, GERALD S
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WOZNIAK, JOHN N
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PA House of Representatives
Like the State Senate I will only mention races that are primaries. If your district is not mentioned there’s no primary opponent---or no Democrat running at all. There does appear to be some type of bloodbath brewing in the Philly delegation, which would make sense if you follow the news of the mess that the Attorney General’s office—and statewide judiciary—has become. If there is---fill in those deets! State House numbers are generally west to east. All the seats from 170 on are in the city of Philadelphia (except 183, which is in suburban Allentown).
State House 15: This is currently a Republican held seat in suburban Pittsburgh. Let’s hope the winner of this race picks it up.
NICHOLS, DENNIS E
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ROSSI, MICHAEL
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State House 19: This district covers the city of Pittsburgh. Jake Wheatley is the incumbent.
WHEATLEY, JAKE
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WOLFE, JESSICA Z
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ABNEY, AERION
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TAYLOR, EBONY S
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State House 20: This district covers part of Pittsburgh and its immediate suburbs. Adam Ravenstahl is the incumbent. If the name is familiar, it’s because his older brother was mayor of Pittsburgh from 2006 to 2014.
RAVENSTAHL, ADAM J
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WEISMANTLE, BRIAN
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State House 22: This district is in the Lehigh Valley and includes part of Allentown. It was moved there in 2014 during redistricting.
SCHWEYER, PETER GEORGE
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DOMINGUEZ JR, NORBERTO E
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State House 24: This district includes Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg, a majority black working-class suburb of Pittsburgh.
GAINEY, EDWARD C
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ANDERSON, WILLIAM
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KOGER, TODD ELLIOTT
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State House 31: Steve Santarsiero represents this district in Bucks County. He is currently running for Congress in the 8th District.
WARREN JR, PERRY S
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LIPTON, ALEX
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State House 46: This is an Allegheny and Washington County district. It is currently a Republican held seat.
SZPARA, JOSEPH R
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WHITE, JESSE J
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State House 49: This district coversparts of Fayette and Washington Counties in southwestern Pennsylvania. Peter Daley (D) has represented this district since 1983 and is retiring. So that solves the mystery of why there are so many in this race.
BENYAK, ALAN D.
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HENDERSON, DONN R
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BARLI MR., RANDY J
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GARAY, BRENDAN ANTHONY
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KEPICS, ROBERT
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ALTERICI, MARK L
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State House 52: This is another Fayette and Westmoreland County race. The incumbent is a Republican elected last year, but prior to that this was a fairly reliable Democratic seat. In November, could be a pick up, or perhaps the demographics changed just enough that this may become a Republican seat for awhile.
MARI, JAMES M
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WILLIAMS, LLOYD ALLEN
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State House 58: This district is in Westmoreland County. It is represented by Rep. Ted Harhai (D), who is retiring.
MRLACK JR, CHARLES
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MANDERINO II, JAMES JOHN
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MCDONALD, ROBERT A
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POPOVICH, MARY E.
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State House 72: This district is in the Johnstown area.
BURNS, FRANK
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WESTRICK, MARTIN J
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State House 103: I must remark here that the Dems left a number of suburban Harrisburg seats in go without putting anyone up at all. Dumb. PA-103 is the city of Harrisburg and some of the industrial suburbs along the Susquehanna to the south.
KIM, PATTY H
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SOTO, RICHARD
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State House 107: This district is in Columbia, all of Montour, and part of Northumberland County in central PA. It was represented by Robert Belfonti (D) from 1979 to 2010 and then flipped to being a Republican held seat.
PFAFF, CHRIS
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KRANKOWSKI, MICHAEL L
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State House 112: This is a Lackawanna County seat. Of note are Frank Farina and Kevin Haggerty. Redistricting cost Kevin Haggerty of this seat now held by Frank Farina in 2014. Now there’s a rematch.
LUKASEWICZ, THOMAS J
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FARINA, FRANK A
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HAGGERTY, KEVIN
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State House 115: This seat is in Monroe County and was moved there from Lackawanna County. Currently a Republican held seat.
MADDEN, MAUREEN E
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REAMES, ANDRE
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State House 127: This district includes much of Reading. Thomas Caltagirone is the incumbent, has been so since 1971, and I suspect he’ll die representing this office.
CALTAGIRONE, THOMAS R
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SCOTT, MALLORY BURTON
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State House 150: This is a Montgomery County district represented by Mike Vereb (R).
WEAVER, LINDA J
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BURDA, STEVEN
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State House 164: This district covers part my home town. It was solidly Republican until 2011 when Mario Civera Jr resigned to take another job. Margo Davidson is the incumbent here. I feel she’s done as good a job as she can considering most of the townships and boroughs in her district seem to be run by people with no imaginations (and I’m being entirely non-partisan in this.)
COLES, SEKELA
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DAVIDSON, MARGO L
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State House 170: This is one of the few reliably Republican Philadelphia City districts, although Brendan Boyle (now in Congress) represented it from 2009-2015.
NELMS, FRANCIS M.
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DARRAGH, MATTHEW J
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State House 175: This is a Philadelphia district. Michael O’Brien is the incumbent.
OBRIEN, MICHAEL H
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SULLIVAN, SEAN R.
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State House 179: This is a Philadelphia district.
DAWKINS, JASON T
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CLAY JR, JAMES W
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State House 181: This is a Philadelphia district. Curtis Thomas has held the seat since 1989.
THOMAS, W CURTIS
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WALKER JR, KENNETH T
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State House 182: This is a Philadelphia district. Brian Sims is the incumbent here. The district covers Center City. One of the three challengers (Ben Waxman) will probably give him a run for his money.
WAXMAN, BENJAMIN ROBERT
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LANNI JR, LOUIS D
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SIMS, BRIAN K.
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SNYDER, MARNI JO
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State House 183: This district is in the Lehigh Valley and covers parts of Lehigh and Northampton Counties. It is represented by Republican Julie Harhart (who is retiring this year).
ARMSTRONG SR., PHILLIPS M.
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POWELL, TERRI L
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State House 186: This is a Philadelphia district. Jordan Harris is the incumbent.
HARRIS, JORDAN A
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CHATMON, NATHAN
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BULLARD, LEONARD WARREN
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State House 188: This is a Philadelphia district. James Roebuck is the incumbent, and has held the seat since 1985.
ROEBUCK, JAMES R
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PRETTYMAN, QUENZEL A
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State House 190: This primary really caught my eye. Vanessa Brown is the incumbent here, and she took office in 2009. I’m not really sure what’s going on here. I suspect it’s related to the corruption scandal that’s intertwined with Kathleen Kane’s drama. Vanessa Brown is caught up in that.
LOGAN, WANDA
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HOWARD, REGINALD LOUIS
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THOMAS, DARRYL E
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BROWN, VANESSA L
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SMITH, THEODORE A
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JOHNSON-HARRELL, MOVITA
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BAILEY, RAYMOND H
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State House 192: This is a Philadelphia district. Lynwood Savage is the incumbent here.
CEPHAS, MORGAN B
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SANTANA, EDWIN
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JOHNSON, JESTINE
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JONES, STEVEN
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SAVAGE, LYNWOOD W
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State House 194: This district includes Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County and part of Philadelphia. Pamela DeLissio is the incumbent.
DELISSIO, PAMELA A
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STEVENS, SEAN PATRICK
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State House 195: This district is in Philadelphia. Donna Bullock is the incumbent here, and she was elected in a special election last August to fill the seat vacated by Michelle Brownlee, who pled guilty to felony conflict of interest charges. Ah, Philadelphia.
MOORE, JIMMIE
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BULLOCK, DONNA
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JONES, DONNELL LAMAR
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IZZARD, JAMAR T
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JONES, DONNELL LAMAR
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State House 200: This is a Philadelphia district. Tonyelle Cook-Artis is the incumbent.
COOK ARTIS, TONYELLE K
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RABB, CHRISTOPHER M
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CURRY, BOBBIE T
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State House 202: This district is a Philadelphia district. Mark Cohen is the incumbent, and has been in the House since 1974. Rep. Cohen is an interesting and fun guy to talk to. According to his facebook page most of the “establishment” has endorsed his opponent.
SOLOMON, JARED G
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COHEN, MARK B
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BALLOT QUESTION:
The Ballot question will be on the November ballot. It concerns judicial retirement age, currently locked in at 70. In November, I plan on voting to overturn this (the referendum raises it to 75), as I personally think a locked-in age is kind of ageist. I fully plan on being functional well past 70—I have to make it to see Halley’s Comet’s return after all, so this seems fair.
In Philadelphia there are a number of Ballot questions specific for that city.
- Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to abolish the Philadelphia Traffic Court?
- Shall the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to provide for the creation, appointment, powers and duties of an independent Commission on African-American Males, which would study and recommend responses to challenges facing African-American Males in Philadelphia?
I would recommend YES on the first and NO on the second, after reading the Committee of 70’s assessment.