It’s Petition Circulating Time

Posted on January 26, 2012 by kjohnson

Tuesday was the first official day to circulate nominating petitions for the slate of wonderful candidates we have this year! If you haven’t received petitions yet, headquarters will be open the following times for you to stop in and pick some up:

Friday, January 27th from 6:00-8:00pm
Saturday, January 28th from Noon-3:00pm

Our headquarters are located at 46 W. Louther St., Carlisle.

Petitions are available for:

Barack Obama
Bob Casey, Jr.
Eugene DePasquale (Auditor General)
Rob McCord (Treasurer)
Gene Stilp (11th Congressional District)
Bill Vinsko (11th Congressional District)
Ken Lee (4th Congressional District)

We ask that all petition circulators give us their names and phone numbers so we can keep track of completed petitions.

Please note: The recent Supreme Court ruling on redistricting does not affect our work for our statewide or federal candidates, so continue to gather those signatures! The new deadline for completion is Thursday, February 16th. You may continue to circulate for general assembly candidates, but our advice as of today is to observe existing legislative district lines that have been in effect since 2002. If this changes, we will notify you with different instructions.

Thank you for your dedication to getting our candidates on the ballot. It’s going to be a great year.

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New Law Allows County Commissioners to Eliminate Jury Commissioner Position

Posted on December 19, 2011 by kjohnson

The members of the Cumberland County Democratic Committee would like to commend the Pennsylvania General Assembly for its final passage of HB 1644, which will empower County Commissioners to eliminate the position of Jury Commissioner, a much needed reform to reduce government waste. Governor Corbett signed the bill into law on Thursday, December 15th, and its provisions are effective immediately.

Earlier this month, the Cumberland County Democratic Committee unanimously voted not to send a name to the County Court of Common Pleas to fill the Jury Commissioner vacancy left by Rick Rovegno. The Committee also called upon our elected representatives in the General Assembly to empower our County Commissioners to eliminate this wasteful expense. Due to the computer automated selection of jury members and the talented workforce that oversees that process, the position of Jury Commissioner is no longer necessary and eliminating it is the just and responsible action to the taxpayers of Cumberland County.

It is for these reasons that we also call on Republican Jury Commissioner Lowell Gates to
uphold his 2009 campaign pledge to return his salary to the County treasury, a promise he has thus far failed to keep.

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Statement from Chairman Fedor on Congressional Redistricting

Posted on December 14, 2011 by kjohnson

The Republican controlled state legislature unveiled the newly
redistricted Congressional boundaries for Pennsylvania just hours
before the expected final votes with no time, and seemingly no
interest, for public comment. The General Assembly is expected to
approve the new map before the holiday recess, after which point
Governor Corbett will sign it into law.

While the entire state map has been blatantly gerrymandered to protect
Republican incumbents by solidifying their home districts, perhaps no
district is more egregious than the new PA-11th, which has been forced
upon the majority of Cumberland County.  Lou Barletta (R-Luzerne
County) won a tightly contested race for Congress in 2010 after three
attempts to win that office, and has been rewarded by having his
Northeastern Pennsylvania district redrawn to exclude the Democratic
strongholds of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. It now snakes through nine
counties—Cumberland, Perry, Dauphin, Northumberland, Montour,
Columbia, Luzerne, Carbon, and Wyoming. Voters from Shippensburg to
Mechanicsburg could now be represented by a Congressman from Hazleton,
PA—100 miles northeast on I-81.

via PoliticsPA

“Including Cumberland County in a district reaching as far north as
Luzerne and Wyoming Counties diminishes the voice of Cumberland County
voters in Congress,” said Michael Fedor, chairman of the Cumberland
County Democratic Party.  ”With the majority of this district’s
population base north of Schuylkill County, the concerns and interests
of Cumberland County voters—Democratic, Republican, or
Independent—will surely be a distant afterthought to Lou Barletta. I
am disappointed to see such games played with our Democracy.”

Barletta is best known for vastly overreaching laws he enacted as
mayor of Hazelton, aimed at illegal immigration, but which were found
by numerous courts to be unconstitutional. In Congress, he has voted
to slash Social Security and Medicare benefits, to defund National
Public Radio, and voted to repeal recent health care reforms that
closed the “doughnut hole” in Medicare and outlawed discrimination
against citizens with pre-existing health conditions.

“I am very interested to hear from Democrats willing to fight to make
Lou Barletta unemployed next year,” said Fedor.

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“Leave It Vacant”: Cumberland County Democrats Call For Open Jury Commissioner Post

Posted on December 2, 2011 by admin

Democrats call upon GOP Jury Commissioner to Keep His Promise and Return the Salary for a Wasteful, Unnecessary Position

CARLISLE – By a unanimous vote, the Cumberland County Democratic Committee has chosen not to send a name to the County Court of Common Pleas to fill the vacant slot of Cumberland County Democratic Jury Commissioner. The Committee believes the post should remain vacant and ultimately be eliminated.

The vacancy will be created by the resignation of Rick Rovegno, who has been an outspoken advocate for eliminating the position by law. Rovegno said since taking the office he has performed no functions in the job and has annually returned his salary to the county treasury.

“The reality is Jury Commissioner is a job of a bygone era,” said Michael Fedor, Democratic County Chairman. “The jury selection process is entirely automated through computers and overseen by a talented and well-trained county workforce. Our vote tonight to send no name to the Court indicates our firm belief that the responsible action to the taxpayers of this county is to leave the job unfilled and finally see to its elimination.”

The Cumberland County Democratic Committee also instructed Chairman Fedor to send letters to the County’s General Assembly delegation, urging them to work towards swift final passage of HB 1644 so it may land on Governor Corbett’s desk for signature. The bill would empower the County to eliminate the two elected Jury Commissioner positions before they are up for election again in 2013.

via abc27

“We also call on Jury Commissioner Lowell Gates to fulfill his promise to the taxpayers and return his salary immediately as Rick Rovegno has done. It was a pledge he made in 2009, and it should be kept,” said Fedor.

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Cumberland County Democrats Gear Up For 2012 By Electing New Party Chair

Posted on December 2, 2011 by admin

CCDC Chair Michael Fedor

CARLISLE – On Thursday night, the Cumberland County Democratic Committee gathered to decide what direction the party will be taking in 2012 by electing a new county chair. Michael Fedor was elected to fill the unexpired term of former chair Gail McDermott who resigned in August. Vice Chair John Alosi had been leading the Party since McDermott’s departure.

“I am humbled by my election last night. I have big shoes to fill and no shortage of challenges awaiting me,” said Michael Fedor following the election. “We owe a debt of gratitude to John Alosi for his leadership over the past several months.”

As to where the Democratic Party goes next, Fedor said, “I’m looking forward to focusing our energy at the grassroots level to elect strong Democrats in 2012 who will stand up for justice, liberty, and restoring our American economy so people can get back to work.”

The Cumberland County Democratic Committee is dedicated to running a strong campaign in 2012, when Cumberland County Democrats will work to re-elect President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Bob Casey, Jr., and navigate what appears to be nearly a dozen newly drawn districts for Congress and the General Assembly in the county. Pennsylvania will also be electing statewide row officers in 2012 for Attorney General, Treasurer, and Auditor General.

“It’s a new day for the Democratic Party,” said Sandy Wolfe, a respected, long-serving member of the Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee from Cumberland County. “I believe we will accomplish great things in the years ahead with Michael Fedor serving as our chairman. He has the experience and drive to coordinate the extraordinary efforts ahead of us, and I’m looking forward to working with him.”

Michael Fedor sought the Democratic nomination in 2011 for County Commissioner and lost in a narrow Primary Election to Sean Shultz and Commissioner-Elect Jim Hertzler. Michael is also a former Duncannon Borough Council member and served as the Secretary of the Perry County Democratic Committee. Currently, Michael works as Director of the Central Pennsylvania Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, and lives in Hampden Township with his wife, Serena, and their two sons.

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