Tuesday, November 7th will be the most important election of your life.
Naaah. It won’t, and don’t you get tired of hearing that every damn year?
I sure do.
This 11/7 is mostly a local election for Philadelphians, and the outcome is unlikely to change your life much.
But you should still participate, as you should every year, and it is shameful that only about one-third of you bother.
The right to vote was secured by millions of American military, many of whom died. In vain, if you don’t vote.
As always, I avoid telling you how to vote, but I will tell you how I will vote, and my reasons. If you follow my suggestions, fine.
If not? Shrug.
For mayor, David Oh.
Why? Well, he is a Republican Reformer in a city that screams for reform.
Yes, I supported Cherelle Parker in the primary, as the best candidate to send harridan Helen Gym to the showers. I was relieved when Gym was eliminated, although she would have been the Democrat Oh had the best chance of beating. Gym was way too far Left for most Philadelphians, which is why she finished third, behind two moderate Dems.
What’s wrong with Parker? Aside from arrogance, I detailed some of her notable shortcomings in a previous column you can read here.
Parker is a product of the Democratic machine that has overseen — some say created — all of the ills that afflict Philadelphia — poverty, crime, lousy schools, spotty mass transit, drugs, litter, just plain dread.
As for David’s assets and his platform, you can click on www.DavidOh.com
A recent Lenfest poll reported that 65% of Philadelphians think the city is on the wrong track.
That is 2 out of 3 Philadelphians. Why in the world wouldn’t you vote for change?
You know the cliche about insanity — doing the same thing over and over and hoping for a different result. So why not do something different?
Oh, because Oh is a Republican? I know, some of you think R is like a scarlet A. Can he single-handedly run the city into the ground? Of course not, but he can set priorities — like lower taxes, more cops, better schools, law enforcement, no “legal” drug houses, no more PC.
Really, what have you got to lose by making him Philadelphia’s 100th mayor, and first Asian to lead the city?
The next-most important choice is for City Council, and this can get complicated. Citywide, there are seven At-Large Council seats, and voters get to vote for only five.
When the City Charter was created in 1951, the Democratic reformers designed this formula in order to guarantee two seats to a minority party to act as a brake, no matter how small, to prevent the majority from going completely ape shit, to use a technical term.
Since then, pretty much, the Democrats have had five seats, and the Republicans had two — in addition to the one District Council seat in the Northeast held by Brian O’Neill since Moses began to shave.
In the last election, lightning struck. The Woking Working Families Party knocked off moderate Republican Al Taubenberger, replacing him with Marxist progressive Kendra Brooks. And this year they want to keep that seat and capture the seat vacated by David Oh, when he resigned to run for mayor.
It is possible WFP candidate Nicolas O’Rourke will win that seat, along with Brooks.
We must not allow that to happen.
Why?
Not because Brooks and O’Rourke are bad people. They are not, but they are socialists.
What’s wrong with that?
This — the system is designed to have opposing points of view to battle test their ideas.
But the Working Families Party is not in opposition to the Democrats. They are Democrats on speed. Instead of putting a brake on Democrats, they throw gasoline on the fire. They will pull the Democrats toward the Left, and that is not where Philadelphians want to go, as proven by the rejection of uber progressive Gym.
That’s why Democratic City Committee Bob Brady blew a gasket when some misguided city Democrats endorsed Working Families Party candidates.
But it’s hard for him to herd city cats when Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, a supposed moderate who can get along with Republicans, endorsed Brooks, which is mildly shocking, given his bipartisan rep. Sen. John Fetterman also endorsed Brooks.
I don’t hate socialists. My parents were socialists who wanted a better world and saw socialism as a path to it. And when they were teenagers and young adults, growing up in an economy wrecked by Wall Street greed, they may have been right.
But today? No.
Even if we had the money to fix every social problem by throwing money at it, I would not sign up for that. I believe working for what you get makes you appreciate it more. Effort builds character and citizenship.
But we don’t have the money for it, and socialists think they can milk business and “the rich” with no consciousness that business and “the rich” can leave to avoid being plundered. And they will.
The best way to thwart the WFP is to vote only for Republicans — civic leader Drew Murray and small business owner Jim Hasher.
One exception: I will vote for Democrat Jim Harrity, a regular blue collar guy who worked various menial jobs, then survived alcoholism, to become a trusted member of his community — Kensington.
Four other Dems will be elected without much trouble. The key is to turn away the socialists.
For City Commissioners, three openings and three candidates. I am voting for Democrat Omar Sabir and Republican Seth Bluestein, but not for chair Lisa Deeley. Why? She would not talk to me about motor voter, which I believed is flawed. Elected officials have to be willing to discuss their positions. She’ll get reelected anyway, so this is just my protest.
I am voting for Democrat Christy Brady for controller because she worked under Rebecca Rhynhart, who did a great job.
For sheriff, Republican Mark LaVelle because every Democrat who has touched that job has been either a thief or a screwup.
Register of Wills, Democrat John Sabatina Jr., because of his law background in this field.
There is one proposed charter change, for the city to create an office of people with disabilities. I am voting yes.
For judges, there’s a lot and I make my judgment based largely on the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Bar Associations’ recommendations. The Bars are not perfect, but they have a better idea of judicial performance than do I.
Everyone here is recommended or highly recommended.
If you don’t see the name, I am voting no.
Supreme Court: Democrat Daniel McCaffery
Superior Court: Democrats Jill Beck, Timika Lane
Commonwealth Court: Democrat Matt Wolf
Common Pleas: Democrats Natasha Taylor-Smith, Kay Yu, John Padova, Chesley Lightsey, James J. Eisenhower
Municipal Court: Democrats Barbara Thomson, Colleen McIntyre Osborne
Finally, there is a flock of judges up for retention. I am voting yes on all of them, with the exception of Common Pleas Judges Ann Marie Coyle, Holly Ford, J. Scott O’Keefe, who get a NO.
Whoever you like, do vote.
Come on Stu… I like you and miss you at the DN but man up and write the Josh retraction story. You praised him, now put on your reporters cap and tell us the facts and you were wrong. Thanks
I have made a couple of references to Josh going rogue — such as reversing his life-long support of the death penalty, and in this column endorsing Kendra Brooks.
Your request would have more weight had you used your real name, as I do.
Stu, Your quote from above:
“Parker is a product of the Democratic machine, (my words…which supports the monopolies of so many combative and non-competitive unions) that has overseen — some say created — all of the ills that afflict Philadelphia — poverty, crime, lousy schools, spotty mass transit, drugs, litter, just plain dread.”
So true as we have witnessed and endured for decades; so why is Bob Brady, the leader and creator of all this rot, dangerous and murderous decay, still Head of the Party which has and still is supporting and causing all of this mayhem?
Brady is the head of the party because he is elected by the ward leaders and he has a winning record. Simple as that.
I agree with most of your choices but not all. Yes David Oh is the best candidate on the ballot for Mayor. Yes… vote the socialist candidates off city council and out of city government. I support Drew Murray and Jim Hasher for city council. I disagree with your choice of Dan McCaffery for State Supreme Court, Carolyn Carluccio is my choice and I feel a much better candidate. We need to stop voting for candidates that are allegedly beholding to Philadelphia Business Trade Unions and start voting for the best candidate. Northeast Philadelphia has been represented by City Councilman Brian O’Neill for many years and he still gets the job done. He is by far the choice for City Councilman in District 10. For Sheriff I would vote for anyone that ran against the present sheriff. I support Mark LaVelle for Sheriff. As far as voting yes for all judges up for retention… that is a mistake. Try to look into the judges and pick the ones that deserve another term, there are some that need to be sent packing. One Judge that I know that needs to be retained is Judge Ann Marie Coyle.
You may like Ann Marie Coyle but the Bar rated her “not recommended.” I like law and order, but she seems to go too far.
We seem to agree on much, but remember — I clearly said I was not telling YOU how to vote, just how I would vote.
Vote for Oh and break the democratic stronghold that has killed this city!
Philip, are you saying we should vote for Oh simply because he is not a Democrat?
If so, I feel that is not a good enough reason. Voting for anyone simply because you oppose a political party does not take into account who will do the best in office. In my opinion the quality of the person is much more important than what political party he or she is associated with.
Don’t follow Philly issues much, since I’ve been gone for about 30 years, but you’re right about one thing. Vote! I’ve missed maybe one off year election in 50 years. Educate yourself about what you’re voting for and get out there. It’s important.
I have never missed an election, and never will — especially now with voting by mail.
Change of subject — NEVER voting by computer. Too easy to hack. Another topic for another day.
“There is one proposed charter change, for the city to create an office of people with disabilities. I am voting yes.”
Stu, I have no opinion on the merits of such a position, but I do have an opinion on changing the charter. It shouldn’t be changed to add this position.
Philadelphia’s charter is cluttered with amendments mandating various offices and other, trivial matters that were the pet issues of this or another council member. Charters are supposed to be a framework within which the legislature (City Council) fills in the details. The charter is not the place to mandate offices because the practical effect is to preserve today’s perceived needs in amber so that they cannot be easily changed when circumstances change. No, this one change won’t be that significant in and of itself. But this is far from the first – and won’t be the last – amendment of this sort. The city seems to amend its charter with alarming frequency. My M.O., when I was a Philadelphia voter, was to vote against all charter amendments on principle.
I understand your point. Two sidenotes — Very few people vote on the propositions, and they always win.
Seriously, isn’t this “socialist” cry a tad over-played? Socialism is defined as follows: “Socialism is a political philosophy and movement encompassing a wide range of economic and social systems which are characterized by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership.”
It is clear that NO ONE wants that, Stu, and that no candidate who supports such things would ever be elected here in America, the home of Capitalism. I would suggest that using such words to described those candidates is both inaccurate and incendiary.
I’ve scoured the website of Nicolas O’Rourke, and I see no evidence there that he wants the government to control the means of production. He favors tackling climate change (so do I). a living wage for workers (so do I), affordable housing (so do I), the elimination of gun violence (so do I), criminal justice system reforms (so do I), and the protection of reproductive rights (so do I). Yes, you need to figure out how to achieve those things in a fiscally responsible way, but that’s the challenge of all governance. And let me be clear: anyone who calls me a “socialist” for supporting these things is a) dead wrong and b) they can go phuck themselves. This is clearly NOT an endorsement of O’Rourke, whom I do not know from Adam. It is simply an example of why I believe the socialist tag is simply ridiculous, inaccurate, and over-used.
The VAST major of Americans favor social programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security itself. Even public transportation and police and fire departments could be considered “socialist” programs, as they are not designed to generate profits. Where do you stand on those so-called “socialist” programs? Where do you stand on a society taking care of people who (legitimately) cannot care for themselves? I believe a civilized society MUST do those things, and if that makes me a “socialist” (hint: it DOESN’T), then fine.
Now to be clear, I do not have a dog in this hunt. I could care less who wins the mayoral contest in Philadelphia. My only hope is that whomever does takes the job seriously and does the best for the people of the City. In fact, that’s all anyone should ever hope for.
As you note in passing, PAYING for these things is the real issue. Like Bernie, Brooks and O’Rourke are “Democratic socialists.” He admits it, they don’t.
And all the “socialist” programs you mentioned were passed by Democrats, which is the party my socialist parents ended up voting for when the Socialist Party collapsed, because there was no need for it.
Freeze, you can set the minimum wage as high as you like. What you can’t do is force employers to pay people more than they produce. (That’s a recipe for going out of business).
My first job was scooping ice cream in high school. I didn’t need a living wage – I lived with my parents.
Having voted by mail last week I am at peace with my choices. So happy that Gym was defeated in the primary. I believe Cherelle Parker understands the crime crisis and her support of legal stop & frisk will reduce gun violence. However, I believe we need drastic change in leadership that has been missing in our city government for years. It’s time to change and give Mr. Oh a chance to improve our quality of life. I only voted for two council members along with my district council-member who ran unopposed this time. I know Judge Coyle from my years in the PD and found her to be honest and loyal to her oath of office. The sheriffs office should be eliminated and combined with the prison system, let’s put that on the ballot. The super liberal wing of the Democratic Party (WPP) has caused centrist Democratic voters to leave the party. So if O’Rourke and Brooks win I believe more centrists will abandoned the Democratic Party. The educated and indoctrinated youth have changed the voting alignments in Philadelphia.
Asked one of my poker group who he voted for (mail in). He said ‘The other person, not Oh.’ I asked him why and he said he always votes Democrat. I reminded him of the state of the City, and he shrugged. That, in a nutshell, is what’s wrong with Philadelphia: the voters.
Vince I agree with you, in principle. Please see my response to Philip.
Definitely vote!!! In my opinion if you are able to vote and do not then do not complain when things do not go your way!
I am writing in Stu Bykofsky for Mayor, the only honest one in the group!
Very flattered. Message me your mailing address and I will send you a campaign pin.