2016 Presidential Election: The Other Stuff

1200-i-voted-sticker-istockAs the election is almost here, I figured it would be a good time to remind people that it is not just the president that we are voting for, but you know, other stuff as well. This post is going to look at the ballot in Pennsylvania and more specifically here in Ebensburg.

President and Vice President
Hillary Clinton & Tim Kaine-Democratic Party
Donald Trump & Mike Pence-Republican Party
Gary Johnson & Bill Weld-Libertarian Party
Darrell Castle & Scott Bradley-Constitution Party
Jill Stein & Ajuma Baraka-Green Party

I am not going to say too much about this race. Or maybe I will say more about it at a later date. I have talked about some of the third party candidates before and have made my displeasure with Trump known.

United States Senate Pennsylvania
Kathleen McGinty-D
Pat Toomey-R
Edward Clifford III-L
Everett Stern-Independent

I have a feeling that Stern (a former Republican) is running and trying to court the Trump supporters. If you go to his site and read the issues, then you can see some of that Trumpian language. He constantly calls Toomey a liberal and says that he is basically Obama’s assistant. I cannot find anything about Edward Clifford III. Even the Libertarian Party just lists his name, they have no information about his stance on the issues. Personally, I will be voting for McGinty, but if you are a Republican, I would say that Toomey is a good choice for you. He definitely is not a Trump guy.

United States House of Representatives Pennsylvania District-12
Erin McClelland-D
Keith Rothfus-R

I voted for McClelland in 2014 and will do so again. Rothfus is a Tea Party guy and has basically been one of those Republicans who votes against anything and everything for Democrats. Rothfus is a Trump guy. I use the VoteSpotter app, which allows you to see and respond to your elected officials votes. I almost never agree with any of his votes and hope that voters will get this guy out of office.

Pennsylvania Attorney General
Josh Shapiro-D
John Rafferty-R

I wish I could tell you I knew a ton about each candidate. Shapiro seems to be an up and coming member of the PA Democratic Party. He wants to tackle the heroin issue and I imagine many people in this area would love to know how he plans to do it. Rafferty is not a terrible candidate and would probably be a good AG. He definitely does not seem like someone who is trying to ride the Trump Train.

Pennsylvania Treasurer
Joseph Torsella-D
Otto Voit-R
James Babb-L
Kristin Combs-G

Wow, four candidates for Treasurer. If you are voting on cool name fact, Otto Voit should probably be considered. I wish he was just a bit more Prussian, Otto Von Voit. That would be sweet. I will say that Torsella and Voit both have pretty good websites that actually have information about their plans as Treasurer. I was actually shocked. For me, Torsella aligns more with what I believe. Here is an interesting thing, Combs filed to run as a Libertarian, but since Babb was already running, she would have to primary, so she switched to Green Party. Look, if you are voting for Jill Stein (you shouldn’t, but whatever) and think “oh hey, I should vote all Green Party”, well just know that Combs is probably not your candidate. Just out of curiosity, how would a Libertarian Treasurer work?

Pennsylvania Auditor General
Eugene DePasquale-D
John Brown-R
Roy Minet-L
John Sweeney-G

Quick, without looking it up, what does the Auditor General do? The correct answer is audits stuff. Obviously. My friend said that DePasquale is a good dude and that is enough for me. Also, DePasquale has done a good job and will receive my vote. Also, if you are running as a third party candidate for one of these positions, you should probably create a website explaining why people should vote for you. Hell, you should probably have the best website to really let people know what it is you stand for and mean to achieve as a Green Party Auditor General.

Pennsylvania State Senate District 35
Ed Cernic Jr.-D
Wayne Langerholc-R

I believe that Cernic’s dad eats at my restaurant every week. That alone earns him my vote. However, the main reason to vote for him is to stop Wayne Langerholc. I receive mail from Langerholc probably once or twice per month. His little cards spout off very Trump-like statements. I feel like this will be an interesting race. If you are not a Trump fan and you live in this region, please vote for Cernic.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 72
Frank Burns-D
Cecilia Houser-R

Frank Burns has been a good representative for this area. Hell, I actually disagree with him on a few things, but he knows what his voters want and need in this area and he does his best to help all of them. And he sent Lindsey and I the wedding announcement from the newspaper, laminated with a personal note congratulating us. I do not know if all representatives do that, but he did, so it made me like the guy. He does consider himself a fiscal conservative and if you look at his record, Republicans can probably agree with much of his voting patterns. When I first saw Cecilia Houser’s name on signs, I was confused. My brother has a friend and his wife’s name is Cecilia Houser. Then I saw an article in our local paper explaining that this Houser is from Ebensburg. I give her credit, she is young and figured she had nothing to lose since no one was running as a Republican. Look, even if I like a candidate, I do not want to see them go unopposed. So good for Cecilia. I disagree with her on my points, but at least she is out there trying to make a difference.

Okay, those are the people we are voting for on November 8th. Well those of us in this area. I strongly urge everyone to look into each candidate in your area. Do not be fooled by the letter by their name. Some of these people just want to be elected and they do not care which party they run for as long as it happens. Also, if they have a website, I recommend reading past the simple campaign slogans such as “I support the second amendment!” That is great if that is your thing, but remember, a county treasurer does not have as much influence on gun law as say, an attorney general. And from there, you should probably dig deeper. How will they use their power to influence the issues that are important to you?

Author: Ngewo