CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — Clarion County Democrats welcomed candidates for Lieutenant Governor, as well as 5th District candidates on Saturday morning nomination petition signing event held at the Park Inn by Radisson in Clarion.
(Pictured above: County Chairman Joe Billotte, U.S. House of Representatives, with 5th District candidates Kerith Strano Taylor and Wade Jodun.)
The candidates for Lieutenant Governor in attendance included Aryanna Berringer, Kathi Cozzone, John Fetterman, Craig Lehman, and Raymond Sosa. Madeleine Dean was unable to attend, but she sent Brad Koplinski to speak on her behalf.
In addition to petitions for Lieutenant Governor candidates, several petitions for precinct chairs were also available, and although they do not yet have petitions available for signing due to the redistricting, two 5th District Congressional candidates also attended.
At the beginning of the event, Bill Miller, Third Precinct Chair, announced the county Democrats’ plans for another upcoming event, a Town Hall, tentatively scheduled for early March. Miller said they will be inviting all of the candidates, both Republican and Democrat, so they can have a petition signing for everyone.
“Please share with people that Clarion County is open to listening to other viewpoints. We’re not all about one viewpoint. We’re neighbors with others of different opinions, so we wanted to make sure we support everyone in the community in the process,” Miller said.
Each of the Lieutenant Governor candidates shared information on their background, qualifications, and what they “could bring to the table.”
Aryanna Berringer. Photo courtesy of facebook.com/joinaryanna.
Aryanna Berringer, an Iraq War veteran and mother of three, spoke about growing up in poverty, joining the military, and finally deciding to run for public office.
“If we are ever going to change the hearts and minds of politicians who sit around that table making all the decisions, then it is about time someone who comes from the very backbone our Democratic Party has a seat at that table, too. That’s why I’m running,” explained Berringer.
(Pictured above: Executive Committee member Braxton White and Lieutenant Governor candidate Kathi Cozzone.)
Kathi Cozzone, a Chester County Commissioner since 2008, discussed her experience and understanding of the relationship between state funding sources and the services provided at a county level. She also focused on her experience as vice chair, stating, “the Governor will need a partner who understands and knows how to work across the aisle, and I’ve done that in my community.”
Madeleine Dean. Photo courtesy of facebook.com/RepMadeleineDean.
Madeleine Dean’s representative, Brad Koplinski, touted Dean’s experience, beginning as a local township commissioner and eventually moving onto the Pennsylvania State House in 2012. He highlighted Dean’s “Four E’s” — education, economy, ethics, and the epidemics of opioid abuse and gun violence.
John Fetterman. Photo courtesy of facebook.com/JohnFettermanPA.
Braddock Mayor John Fetterman addressed his experience and successes in Braddock — taking it from a dying borough, riddled with gun violence and a lack of local business, to a growing economy. During his time, Braddock went over five years without a single loss of life due to violence in the community. He emphasized, “I very much believe that the most important thing in 2018 is getting Governor Wolf reelected,” and went on to say, “My pitch to you today is help me help Governor Wolf bring back those Democrats that we lost in 2016.”
Craig Lehman. Photo courtesy of facebook.com/commissionercraiglehman.
Craig Lehman — former President of the County Commissioners Association of PA and Chair of the PA Democratic Caucus of County Commissioners — described how his Navy service became the foundation of his professional life. He focused on his qualifications to manage fiscal issues, saying, “If you don’t put your fiscal house in order, you can’t deal with real important issues as effectively as you could.”
Raymond Sosa. Photo courtesy of raysosapa.com.
Raymond Sosa, former Chairman of the Governor’s Human Rights Advocacy Committee, also relayed his experience as he was appointed by three different U.S. Governors to lead districts in coordinating Emergency Management and Response. Sosa said, “The reason why I decided to hop into this campaign is because I saw specific things that made my blood boil enough for me to put my finances and my time in the race,” discussing the need to “help the middle class, improve education, reduce recidivism, and help farmers.”
After all of the Lieutenant Governor candidates had an opportunity to speak, the two U.S. Representative, 5th district candidates in attendance, were also given a chance to review their platforms.
Wade Jodun, a former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manager, discussed his experience as a federal whistleblower and his insider’s knowledge after working in government programs. He declared, “It is time to put this government back to work for you. We have been disenfranchised because of gerrymandering, because of the corrupting influence of money in politics, and it is time to weed that corruption out.”
The event closed with Kerith Strano Taylor, a third-time candidate for Pennsylvania’s 5th congressional district. Strano Taylor admitted she had no plans to run again this year, after two previous campaigns, until a network of supporters, a team of volunteers, began working on her campaign and urging her to run again. She explained how her experiences acting as the guardian ad litem to all of the foster children in Jefferson County strengthened her view of the issues the country faces.
“The policies that have been coming out of Washington, D.C. — and the policies coming out of Harrisburg — are not serving the people that live close to the bone in our communities.”
