Forum for congressional candidates set for April 29
POTTSTOWN » All four of the candidates running for the newly created 4th Congressional District seat will be in Pottstown on Sunday, April 29, for a candidate’s forum.
The forum will be held at 5 p.m. at Trinity Reformed United Church, 60 N. Hanover St., and is sponsored by POWER, an interfaith social advocacy group.
The three Democrats running in the May 15 primary are Madeleine Dean, Shira Goodman and Joe Hoeffel. All three come from Abington.
The only announced Republican running for the seat is Daniel David, a Skippack businessman who has never held public office.
David, 49, is co-founder of GeoInvesting, a financial research firm who gained national attention spotlighting a $15 billion scam in U.S. financial markets.
He is featured in the new Magnolia Pictures documentary, “The China Hustle.”
Dean, 58, is a state representative for the 153rd District, which includes Abington and was first elected to serve in the General assembly in 2012 in a special election
She recently announced endorsements from Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, SEIU, IBEW Local 98, Plumbers Local 690, and Steamfitters Local 420, having also previously gained the endorsements of UFCW Local 1776 and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 542.
Dean was appointed by Governor Tom Wolf to sit on the Pennsylvania Commission for Women. Dean is also the chair of the House Democratic Southeast Delegation and co-chair of the gun safety group PA Safe Caucus.
Goodman, is the former executive director of CeaseFire PA, an anti-gun violence advocacy group.
She is an attorney who spent years lobbying for changes in the criminal justice system with an advocacy group called Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, and led CeaseFire PA since 2012.
Goodman, 47, told WHYY said she began considering a run for public office after the election of President Donald Trump.
Hoeffel, 67, is an attorney and former congressman, representing the former 13th District from 1999 to 2005. Hoeffel did not seek re-election to the U.S. House so he could challenge then-U.S. Arlen Specter but Hoeffel lost that race.
In 2007, Hoeffel was elected as a Montgomery County commissioner, a post he had held prior to serving in Congress.
A former member of the Pennsylvania Legislature from 1977 to 1985, Hoeffel has also run, unsuccessfully, for Pennsylvania governor and lieutenant governor.