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Ready for the Home Stretch
Posted 5-3-1999
The debates are over and it was a sincere effort by the League of Women Voters and the
NAACP to bring the County Commissioner's race to the citizens of Westmoreland County.
Unfortunately, there were few takers. The biggest crowd we had was about 150 people at the
third debate in Latrobe. The other three had about 75 people each and most of those people
were supporters of a particular candidate. Without people attending, the only spreading of
the news came from the reporters that covered the debate. You know what that means, rather
than the public knowing in any detail what transpired, they get each reporter's capsulized
version of the debate. Only the Tribune Review and Standard Observer covered each debate.
The Valley News Dispatch covered only the last debate at Kiski High School and that
reporter did a pretty poor job of coverage. The Post Gazette covered none of the debates.
They wonder why they don't sell more newspapers in Westmoreland County yet they simply
don't cover the second largest county in Western Pennsylvania with any detail or
enthusiasm.
In the debates no candidate hit any home
runs. Most responses were routine and it was clear that two candidates are the status quo
candidates and they would clearly want to continue the actions of my two colleagues. Those
candidates are a woman from each party, Maryln Davis on the Republican side and Trudy
Brigode on the Democratic side. If you want more of Marolt and Vidmer, those are your
candidates.
Frankly, I probably know better than anyone
what Vidmer and Marolt are really like, and I've had enough of both. It is truly time for
a change. Westmoreland County deserves more. Our county deserve leaders that will work
hard all day, every day. You deserve leaders who believe government should serve everyone
and give opportunity to all citizens and businesses. I don't care what my colleagues or
their candidates say, that simply hasn't been the case. We need a government that doesn't
jump to attention each time Greg Zappala says it is time to refinance debt and we need a
government that feels it is our obligation to you to talk to several investment bankers to
see if the message is common among them. We need to at least let several firms share
responsibility so that they compete to serve us most efficiently.
The last two weeks of the election are
critical for everyone's campaign. I'm staying busy and trying to shake as many hands as
possible. I go on cable television beginning May 4th with the maximum number of
advertisements purchased. I will also utilize other media to get my message out. We've
also planned a number of rallies around the county beginning with last Monday in Rostraver
Township where we had an overflow crowd of folks attend. These events really start the
ball rolling for our election day push at the polls. Check the Calendar on this site out
for the event nearest you and please attend. We are ready for the home stretch and hope
you'll get out and support me and another candidate that shares my desire to improve
county government. |
