A general election is coming up in Pennsylvania on Nov. 5. With that in mind, let’s turn our attention to the little blue pocket that could in Delaware County (Delco).
Delco is in southeastern Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia. It has historically been a working class, yet strongly Republican county when it comes to local races, despite the fact that the county has supported President Obama and candidates Clinton, Kerry, and Gore. However, the local Republican machine’s seemingly endless reign was interrupted by 2017’s election of two Democrats to the Delaware County Council: Kevin M. Madden and Brian P. Zidek. Notably, these wins brought Democrats their first two seats on the council since the Civil War!
In 2019, there are heated races for three seats up for grabs on the Delaware County Council: Democrats Christine Reuther, Elaine Paul Schaefer, and Dr. Monica Taylor face Republicans Jim Raith, Mike Morgan, and Kelly Colvin. Six judgeships and the district attorney’s office, sought after by Jack Stollsteimer, are also on the countywide ballot. Winning these seats could transform Delco, as there is not one Democratic judge in the entire county.
Side note: Delco is also home to the Slinky. The Slinky, y’all!!
So, more Democratic seats in a historically Repubican county? Yes, please! But what else makes this down-ballot election so important? Well, this county council can have a vast impact on humanitarian issues that Pennsylvania faces. With that in mind, one organization is working hard to fill these seats with Democrats.
Turn PA Blue (TPAB) is a Pennsylvania-based organization that mobilizes thousands of volunteers to help Democratic state legislative candidates win in swing areas across the Keystone State. How do they do it? Well, TPAB recruits volunteers from solidly blue areas and puts them to work in a meaningful way across district lines (and even state lines) to flip seats in the state’s General Assembly. Those seats aren’t up for grabs quite yet, but Turn PA Blue is focused on building power from the ground up, working on targeted local elections in 2019 and setting the stage for a blue wave, at every level, in 2020. With only three seats needed to take control of the state Senate next November, and nine to flip the House, TPAB is playing the long game, and it is playing to win!
“A lot of people want to just sit out 2019 and start up in 2020,” Jamie Perrapato, Executive Director of Turn PA Blue, tells Daily Kos. “But that’s not an option. There are no off years, not anymore. We can’t just show up before the presidential election and expect voters to fall in line. We need to earn their trust as well as their vote.”
Since 2017, Turn PA Blue has been staffing polls and organizing hundreds of volunteers across southeastern Pennsylvania, with an eye on Delco. It is organizing canvassing events and outreach programs, including weekly get-out-the-vote (GOTV) events.
Again, this organization knows the importance of flipping seats, and it’s putting its best efforts forward to ensure Delco goes blue in 2019, which will set the stage for flipping one state Senate seat—plus two state House seats—in 2020. Winning in Delco is crucial to these efforts, as this down-ballot race potentially has some big repercussions to county residents.
It’s no secret that far too many Pennsylvanians face poverty. Statewide, 18% of children live in poverty, while the extreme poverty rate in the state as a whole is 8.0%. In Delco, the poverty rate is significantly higher—10.4%. Two of Delco’s poorest areas, Darby and Chester, include over 15,000 people living in poverty, and those are just the two communities with the highest poverty levels in the county. Communities of color, children, and people with disabilities continue to be disproportionately poor.
A major issue in Delco is the availability of jobs. All three Democratic county council candidates are running on platforms of job creation. But more can be done!
Residents want jobs, but they also need to be able to get to them. If one cannot afford a car, one must rely on public transit; in Delco, the lack of efficient mass transit is one factor that’s keeping a lot of people out of work. Poor public transportation limits opportunities and resources. It systematically creates and perpetuates inequality. With transportation access directly impacting social and economic well-being, expanding transit options can especially help low-income families, communities, and business owners.
That’s why residents are asking for expanded access to Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) services. SEPTA provides transportation services to Philadelphia and Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware counties. It is essential transportation for residents of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Yet for many, it’s not accessible.
Democratic seat gains in Delco would mean a shift to Democratic control of SEPTA’s board. This is so important for residents living in poverty. Expanded SEPTA services enacted with Democratic oversight would enable residents to get to the jobs they seek. And what’s good for the goose (people want jobs—help them get there!) is good for the gander (wow, look at the economy grow).
Delco also needs lawmakers and judges who will oversee management of and eliminate the atrocities that occur at the state’s last private prison, which is in—you guessed it—Delaware County. Last December, the Delaware County Board of Prison Inspectors approved a five-year agreement with GEO Group to operate the George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Thornton. Currently, Delaware County pays GEO nearly $50 million annually to manage George W. Hill’s 1,883 beds. The prison is overseen by an unelected board, and because the management is through a private company, there is no accountability or transparency regarding conditions in the facility.
Talk about a disgraceful and shameless company: GEO Group continually faces reports of human rights abuses, and has time and time again been shown to horrifically mistreat incarcerated individuals. Like other private prison companies, GEO Group claims it is saving the government money (something that remains to be seen), but its true focus is on protecting its own profits. In order to lower operating costs, private prisons cut corners, hiring fewer employees and paying and training them less.
And the cherry on this crap sundae? GEO Group also profits from detaining migrants at the U.S. southern border. GEO Group and CoreCivic, another private prison company, earned a combined $985 million in 2017 from contracts with ICE that pay them to operate concentration camps throughout the U.S.
GEO Group’s private prison in Delco has been riddled with issues, including ongoing reports of violence and inmate suicides. The prison has reported multiple security failures, and faces litigation related to insufficient staffing and the improper care of prisoners.
The candidate for district attorney, Jack Stollsteimer, is running on a platform of ending the privatization of prisons and reforming cash bail. Likewise, all three Democratic county council candidates are also running on platforms that include reforming the state’s lone private prison.
From transportation to inmate rights, and everything in between, it is so vital that Democrats take control of the county council in Delaware County. There are massive decisions to be made that affect not only the county, but the entire state of Pennsylvania. Delco residents have a chance to elect leaders who can work on issues of job access and human rights.
In a state that has long suffered from partisan gerrymandering, now is the time for these little blue pockets to grow … and organizations that take the time to build trust are going to be the ones that make it happen.
For up-to-date info, be sure to follow DelcoDems on Twitter. Find out how you can join Turn PA Blue’s efforts right here!
Note to residents: The deadline to register for the general election is Tuesday, Oct. 7, and you can register to vote online here, and absentee voting is easier than ever in 2019!
[Nothing in this article denotes endorsement of any individual candidate.]
***
Little Blue Pockets is a new series highlighting local progressive efforts to transform historically red areas, leading up to 2020—and beyond. Find out more here and find our newest content here.
