Underdog GOP? Dominant Dems? A moment in history
I’ve been doing this job too long.
They say if you live long enough, you’ll see things a few things you never thought possible.
Welcome to Election Day
2019 in Delco.
It is something that once would have been unthinkable in Delaware County. Not anymore. When Delaware County voters go to the polls tomorrow, nothing less than the balance of power in the county will be at stake.
Three seats on Delaware County Council will be up for grabs, along with the job of district attorney.
Democrats are looking to build on the momentum they seized two years ago when they won two seats on the county’s ruling body for the first time since the Home Rule Charter was changed in the
mid-’70s. Republicans still hold a 3-2 voting majority on the board, but that could change tomorrow.
Council Chairman John McBlain and Vice Chairwoman Colleen Morrone have served two terms and are barred from seeking a third. Councilman Michael Culp has decided not to seek re-election.
Democrats, fueled by a changing demographic that has reversed years of Republican dominance in voter registration, could seize control of the board.
Let me repeat that. Democrats could take control of the Media Courthouse.
And all those jobs. And all those contracts.
Not only that, but if they run the board – as they did the last time – we’re looking at the very real possibility of a 5-0 Democratic County Council.
John McClure must be rolling over in his grave.
Then again, the legendary head of the Republican War Board never had to worry about such vagaries as turnout, demographics and looking up at ballooning Democratic voter registration numbers.
McClure and his cronies ruled the county with an iron fist, largely on the strength of a near insurmountable 3-1 GOP edge in voter registration.
That was this is now.
There are now more registered Democrats in Delaware County than Republicans. I am not making this up. This is not the “Lefty” editor of the Daily Times wishing bad things happen to Republicans, and pushing the Democrats’ liberal agenda.
These are just the facts, the new world order in Delco.
If the Democrats get their voters to the polls Tuesday, they are going to win, just as they did two years ago in running the board, sweeping two seats on County Council, all three row offices, and a slew of state House and Senate seats in a Blue Wave.
Republicans tried to shake the losses off as a statement by voters against a very unpopular president Donald J. Trump. There is some truth to that, which is one of the reasons why Democrats try to link them with the president every chance they get.
But the numbers don’t lie. The gap tilting toward the Dems is growing, as are the frowns on the faces of the then;
GOP hierarchy.
That does not mean the Dems are a lock to run the board again on Tuesday. But it does mean the days of the Republicans cruising to easy wins in the county are over.
This started a decade ago, when Joe Sestak, with more than a little help from a federal raid that went down the week before the election, upended 10-term incumbent Curt Weldon.
It’s been growing steadily since. Just ask Mario Civera. He represented Upper Darby in Harrisburg for three decades. But he was no fool. Civera took a long, hard look at the shifting demographic in the township and decided to get out, instead running for and winning a seat on County Council. His 164th seat in Harrisburg promptly went Democratic.
Nick Micozzie, who also spent more than 30 years in the state Capitol, was next. It took a couple of election cycles, but his 163rd District seat also is now held by a Democrat.
Last November it was the blue wave that swept over southeastern Pennsylvania, including Delco. With a newly configured 5th Congressional district that covered the entire county, along with a sliver of Montco and a portion of South Philly, Democrat Mary Gay Scanlon rolled to an easy win on turf that had been contoured to assure a GOP win in the old 7th District. Scanlon became the first woman to ever represent the county in Washington, and she had company with fellow Democrats Chrissy Houlahan in Chester County, along with Madeleine Dean in Montco and Susan Wild in Lehigh County.
Interestingly enough, the fight for those three open seats on County Council are not even the most high-profile race on the ballot.
None of the six candidates – Mike Morgan, Kelly Colvin and Jim Raith on the GOP ticket, squaring off against Democrats Christine Reuther, Elaine Schaefer and Monica Taylor – is exactly a household name.
I’ve actually toyed with the idea of sending a reporter up to Baltimore Pike and asking residents to name one of the candidates – from either party – for County Council. I wonder what the results would be?
The most well-known face on the ballot happens to be Republican District Attorney Katayoun Copeland. You could make the argument that right now she is the face of the Republican Party. They have to hope enough Democrats will cross over and back the popular D.A. They will need her to have some serious coattails to help their County Council candidates.
Which, of course, explains why Democrats have been trying to link Copeland with Trump at every turn.
In fact, you can make the argument that despite this being a local municipal election, it is still falling under the shadow of national politics.
Democrats link their foes to Trump at every turn.
Republicans, no slouches in the area of distorted TV ads themselves, have consistently been beating the drum tying the Dems to some big-time national Democratic names. In one ad, the faces of the three Democratic women seeking council seats morph into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others espousing “socialist” policies. This week they have an ad with a Bernie Sanders sound-alike saying how much he loves their liberal, “socialist” policies.
It’s pretty standard GOP fare.
But the obstacles they are facing Tuesday are hardly standard.
This is new ground for Delco Republicans.
They are something that once would have been unthinkable. They’re underdogs.
In 24 hours, we’ll know whether they’re best of show, or just the latest runts of the litter.