Democrats hold banquet

Committee’s spring event draws about 100 to family center

By Holli Sunderland, Sentinel reporter, hsunderland@lewistownsentinel.com
LEWISTOWN — The Mifflin County Democratic Committee’s Spring Banquet held Saturday brought about 100 people to the Moose Family Center to talk politics and the upcoming Pennsylvania primary election.

An impromptu poll of which presidential nominee would gain these voters’ support in the upcoming primary was conducted by The Sentinel with 87 of the attendants. The sway of supporters leaned toward Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., with 49 votes, or 56 percent, while Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., carried 13 votes, at 15 percent.

The remaining 25 undecided votes, equivalent to 29 percent, may just indicate why Pennsylvania polls remain to be a mystery for pundits and pollsters alike.

While an Obama win would make him the more likely candidate for the nomination, a large margin win by Clinton could close the gap in Obama’s lead bringing her closer to the sought after Democratic nod for the presidency.

During the evening, Mifflin County residents offered reasons for their support of each candidate.

“I’m for Obama,” said Marjorie Aguilar, 58, of Burnham. “I just feel he’s more trustworthy. I like his speaking and his ideas for change.”

While Clinton may be facing issues of trust in her campaign among some voters due to her reported approval of the North American Free Trade Agreement and her account of her trip to Bosnia, John Rhone, 43, of McVeytown, said he feels she is the best candidate to represent the working class.

Rhone said he is a lineman with the Northeast International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

“I think she’s good for the working person. She seems like she wants to do more for (the) working class,” he said.

Other residents offered thoughts on how nominees might gain more headway with Pennsylvania voters.

“Fix NAFTA. Get these trade agreements worked out,” said Connie Drass, 60, of Lewistown.

“We need to do something with health care,” said Carole Peters, 61, of Reedsville.

Some also believed commercial advertisements may sway voters in the primaries.

“There’s a lot (of people) that only go by commercials,” Aguilar said, indicating that Obama commercials seem more commonplace than Clinton campaign ads, which could affect who receives the most votes.

During the course of the evening, two of five candidates expected to arrive made an appearance at Saturday’s banquet. Also in attendance was a spokesperson for the Clinton campaign, but no one from the Obama campaign was present.

Joanne Tosti-Vasey and Tim Wilson, Democratic candidates for state representative in the 171st Legislative District, spoke to those in attendance. Other candidates scheduled to attend the evening’s event had sent a surrogate in their place.

Tosti-Vasey’s main focus of discussion was universal health care. She drew from her own personal experiences as she discussed the issue.

“We had to play Russian roulette to decide who would get the healthcare policy,” she said, referring to a decision she and her husband had to make at one time. She also spoke of high-priced medical bills to pay for cancer treatments she received.

“I don’t want anybody to go through that kind of pain, struggle and stress,” she said.

Tosti-Vasey’s platform issues also included minimum wage increases with inflation, increasing employment, supporting farmers and unions, equitable funding across school districts and the possibility of redistricting some voter blocs in the Commonwealth.

Wilson, who is an engineer for SRI International, in State College, seeks the same 171st District seat.

“I grew up on my family’s farm,” he said, later noting that he advocated farmers rights and what he called a “need to make sure we invest in sustainable agriculture.”

He also attempted to reach out to Mifflin County voters by discussing the loss of manufacturing jobs from NAFTA, and the need for a turnaround of such occurrences.

“They’re not coming back. We need to find new jobs,” he said.

He also said that America is not ready for single-payer healthcare, but he does support healthcare for all children.

“For most of my life, I’ve seen Pennsylvania decline, and I want to change that,” Wilson said in closing.

Prior to Tosti-Vasey’s speech, Mifflin County Democratic Committee Chairman Shannon Bilger gave his own endorsement to Clinton.

“I hope you all realize how important it is to vote for Clinton,” he said, noting that Clinton’s husband recently spoke in Lewistown and her campaign had sent a spokesperson to the committee’s banquet.

One Lewistown woman offered her thoughts regarding the Democratic contest for the presidential nomination.

“It certainly has generated a lot of interest, which is good,” Jackie Fisher, 71, said. “I think there is a new interest (in politics).

“Interest in the political process will raise our political awareness about other people and other problems and the importance of voting,” Fisher said.

”If people don’t know what they’re voting for, they need information and education. It begins with education and awareness, then education leads to action,” she said.

Pennsylvania’s primary election is scheduled for April 22.