Chesco Dems see new interest in Trump era

Members of the Chester County Democratic Committee met to endorse candidates for county elected offices that will be on the ballot in the upcoming Municipal Primary Election, and found a new enthusiasm among people worried about the age of Donald Trump, leaders said Thursday.

“There’s a new army of people that are showing up and want to get involved,” said Lani Frank, the committee’s vice chairwoman and a member of the party’s state committee. “We saw an increase in the number of guests (at the committee’s Wednesday convention), people interested in learning about the local Democratic Party is all about how to get involved.”

Frank said that a host of groups had been formed in the county since Trump’s election, grass roots organizations tackling a variety of issues such as gerrymandering, health care, and immigration “It is a challenge to see so many groups that are forming around various issues. We are talking about the basic levels of understanding about the politics that have created the situation we are in,” she said.

In addition to the 200 or so credentialed members of the county Democratic committee, Frank and others said there were an estimated 100 non-members who attended the convention at Stetson Middle School outside West Chester.

The committee, by acclamation, endorsed two candidates for county row offices – Patricia Maisano of Kennett Square for county treasurer, and Dr. Christina Vandepol of West Chester for county coroner.

But Frank also expressed some frustration that the committee had not found candidates who would commit at this stage to run for the two other county row offices that will be on the ballot in November – county clerk of courts and county controller.

Of those two posts, the controller is crucial to the function of county government since the position is intended to act as a fiscal watchdog over the county commissioners and other row offices. The position is now held by Republican Norman MacQueen, who is seeking re-election to a second term.

“It’s hard to run as a Democrat (for county office),” said Frank, who herself ran for county recorder of deeds in 2015. “Democrats have never won a county race outside commissioner. But we think times are changing, and we still have time to recruit candidates.”

Frank mentioned that the results of the past presidential election showed some signs of encouragement for the party, including a victory for state representative by West Chester Mayor Carolyn Comitta and a 25,000-vote plurality across the county for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Success, she said, could occur if Trump’s presidency proves toxic to local Republicans.

“It’s a question of whether Republican voters are going to be willing to keep an open mind about the candidates they support,” she said. “We welcome them.”

Frank pointed to Vandepol as someone who could make her mark in November. “Eminently qualified” for the position of coroner, she had come to a recent candidate recruitment seminar and workshop the Democrat gave to teach those interested how to get involved. The session included discussions by Frank and other county Democrats about their experiences, but also training by national and state campaign strategist

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Vandepol worked part-time for several years as an emergency room doctor in rural hospitals in Colorado, Kansas, and New Mexico and as a critical care physician in a large city hospital in Denver. Afterwards she started work in clinical research in international pharmaceutical companies and biotech ventures in Chester County and elsewhere. In 1997, Vandepol founded En-Pharma Consulting, a company that provided physician services for clinical research and development projects.

Since retiring from clinical research, Vandepol has been an active Chester County volunteer, serving as a member of the Chester County Department of Aging Services’ Advisory Council, and a tutor for adult English learners with the Volunteer English Program of Chester County.

Since early 2015, Vandepol has taught courses in Human Anatomy and Physiology at Delaware County Community College (DCCC).

Maisano, a local businesswoman, is the founder and CEO of Ikon International, a healthcare advocacy organization for the elderly and disabled. A master’s degree graduate of Sheffield State University, she has been a volunteer board members for the Kennett Area Senior center and the Brandywine Valley YMCA. She is married to former Magisterial District Judge Daniel Maisano.

Individual area Democratic committees will be meeting tonight and over the coming days to help potential candidates circulate nominating petitions and hold endorsement meetings.

To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.

“Democrats have never won a county race outside commissioner. But we think times are changing, and we still have time to recruit candidate.” — Lani Frank