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“Yes, We Can!”
A Newsletter for Liberals, Progressives and Democrats of Lebanon County
May 2016 Issue
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“You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time--not only with the votes we cast, but with the voice we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring Ideals. “
---BARACK H. OBAMA, 2nd Inaugural Address, January 21, 2013
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Information Update links:
www.lebanondemocrats.com for facts and reference material https://www.facebook.com/LebanonCountyDemocraticParty for all the latest news
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/lebdems to DONATE
www.lebanondemocrats.com/volunteer to VOLUNTEER
CALENDAR
(It goes without saying that calendar info may change without notice.)
Events in the calendar are of interest to Lebanon County Democrats, but are not necessarily sponsored by the LCDC or even the Democratic Party.
LCDC=Lebanon County Democratic Committee, 23 S. 6th St, Lebanon
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Tue, MAY 3
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Last Day for County Board of Elections to receive voted military and overseas absentee ballots (submitted for delivery no later than 11:59 P.M. on April 25)
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Tue, May 3
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Indiana
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Wed May 4
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LCDC Executive Committee, 7 PM
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Tue, May 10
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Nebraska (Rep), West Virginia
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Tue, May 17
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Kentucky (Dem), Oregon
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Wed. May 18
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LCDC Executive Committee, 7 PM
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Thu, May 19
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LEAD Meeting. Noon, Sinkhole Saloon, Palmyra
LEAD is Lebanon County’s premier liberal/progressive discussion group. Meets 3rd Thursday every month, exc. Aug
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Fri, May 20
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Come one and all to the Wine & Cheese General Election Kickoff Fundraiser on May 20th. Hall of Philosophy, Mt. Gretna, PA, 6:30-8:30 pm. RSVP: LebDemHazel@gmail.com. Hosted by the Lebanon County Federation of Democratic Women to benefit LCDC in its campaign and GOTV efforts. No ticket price, but bring your checkbook. Let’s make sure that LCDC brings out a big vote for all our Democrats!
Hosted by the Lebanon County Federation Of Democratic Women
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Thu, May 26
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Annville-Cleona Dem Meeting, Annville Town Hall, 36 N Lancaster St. Meets the fourth Thursday of each month.
Contact Pat Stephens, 867-1275 for more details.
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Wed, JUNE 1
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LCDC Executive Committee, 7 PM
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Sun, Jun 5
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Puerto Rico (Dem)
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Tue, Jun 7
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Deadline for at-large and PLEO delegate candidates to file statement and pledge with PADems for DNC
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Tue, June 7
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California, Montana, North Dakota (Dem),
New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota
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Fir-Sat, Jun 10-11
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PA Dems State Comm Meeting
Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel, 700 Lackawanna Ave, Scranton, PA 18503, PADems determine DNC delegates at large and PLEOs. Summer Meeting
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Tue, Jun 14
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District of Columbia
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Wed, Jun 15
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LCDC Executive Committee, 7 PM
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Thu, Jun 16
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LEAD Meeting. Noon, Sinkhole Saloon, Palmyra
LEAD is Lebanon County’s premier liberal/progressive discussion group. Meets 3rd Thursday every month, exc. Aug
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Sat, Jun 25
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NYC Bus Trip
Bus will leave Kmart Quentin Rd at 6am - 7PM for Bryant Park. Bus will leave Bryant Park at 7pm. Other details to follow. Save the date!
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Wed, JULY 6
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LCDC Executive Committee, 7 PM
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Wed Jul 20
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LCDC Executive Committee, 7 PM
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Thu, Jul 21
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LEAD Meeting. Noon, Sinkhole Saloon, Palmyra
LEAD is Lebanon County’s premier liberal/progressive discussion group. Meets 3rd Thursday every month, exc. Aug
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Mon, Jul 25-31
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Democratic National Convention, Philadelphia
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Mon Jul 25-31
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Lebanon Area Fair, LCDC will have a booth. Need Volunteers!
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Thu, Jul 28
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Annville-Cleona Dem Meeting, Annville Town Hall, 36 N Lancaster St. Meets the fourth Thursday of each month.
Contact Pat Stephens, 867-1275 for more details.
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Sat, Jul 30
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Pride Festival, 11 AM-6 PM, Harrisburg, LCDC will have or share a booth with Dauphin County. Need volunteers! 5,000 attendees from all over the state and DC.
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Mon, AUGUST 1
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Last day to circulate and file nomination papers
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Wed, Aug 3
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LCDC Executive Committee, 7 PM
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Mon, Aug 8
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Last day for withdrawal by candidates nominated by nomination papers
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Sun, Aug 14
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LCDC Summer Picnic
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Mon, Aug 15
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Last day for withdrawal by candidates nominated at the primary
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Wed, Aug 17
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LCDC Executive Committee, 7 PM
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Thu, Aug 25
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Annville-Cleona Dem Meeting, Annville Town Hall, 36 N Lancaster St. Meets the fourth Thursday of each month.
Contact Pat Stephens, 867-1275 for more details.
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Sat, Aug 27
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Fiesta Latina
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Wed SEPTEMBER 7
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LCDC County committee meeting & Meet the Candidates Night
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Fri-Sat, Sep 9-10
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PA Dems State Committee Meeting Sheraton Hotel - Harrisburg-Hershey, 4650 Lindle Rd, Swatara PA 17111 (Harrisburg)
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Thu, Sep 15
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LEAD Meeting. Noon, Sinkhole Saloon, Palmyra
LEAD is Lebanon County’s premier liberal/progressive discussion group. Meets 3rd Thursday every month, exc. Aug
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Wed Sep 21
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LCDC Executive Committee, 7 PM
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Thu, Sep 22
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Annville-Cleona Dem Meeting, Annville Town Hall, 36 N Lancaster St. Meets the fourth Thursday of each month.
Contact Pat Stephens, 867-1275 for more details.
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Wed OCTOBER 5
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LCDC Executive Committee, 7 PM
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Tue, Oct 11
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Last Day to register before the November election
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Sat, OCt 15
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Fall Dinner
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Wed, Oct 19
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LCDC County Committee meeting
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Thu, Oct 20
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LEAD Meeting. Noon, Sinkhole Saloon, Palmyra
LEAD is Lebanon County’s premier liberal/progressive discussion group. Meets 3rd Thursday every month, exc. Aug
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Thu, Oct 27
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Annville-Cleona Dem Meeting, Annville Town Hall, 36 N Lancaster St. Meets the fourth Thursday of each month.
Contact Pat Stephens, 867-1275 for more details.
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Tue, NOVEMBER 1
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Last day to apply for a civilian absentee ballot
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Wed Nov 2
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LCDC Executive Committee, 7 PM
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Fri, Nov 4
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Last Day for the county Boards of Elections to receive voted civilian absentee ballot
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Sun, Nov 6
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Salsa the Vote (tentative)
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Tue, Nov 8
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GENERAL ELECTION AND VICTORY PARTY!
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Wed, Nov 9
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First day to register after November election
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Tue, Nov 15
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Last day for county Boards of Election to receive voted military and overseas absentee ballots (submitted for delivery no later than 11:59 P.M. on November 7)
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Wed Nov 16
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LCDC Executive Committee, 7 PM
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Thu, Nov 17
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LEAD Meeting. Noon, Sinkhole Saloon, Palmyra
LEAD is Lebanon County’s premier liberal/progressive discussion group. Meets 3rd Thursday every month, exc. Aug
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Thu, Nov 24
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Annville-Cleona Dem Meeting, Annville Town Hall, 36 N Lancaster St. Meets the fourth Thursday of each month.
Contact Pat Stephens, 867-1275 for more details.
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Wed DECEMBER 7
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LCDC Executive Committee, 7 PM
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Thu, Dec 22
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LEAD Holiday Party. Noon, Sinkhole Saloon, Palmyra
LEAD is Lebanon County’s premier liberal/progressive discussion group. Meets 3rd Thursday every month, exc. Aug
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Wed, Dec 21
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LCDC Holiday Open House
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Thu, Dec 29
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Annville-Cleona Dem Meeting, Annville Town Hall, 36 N Lancaster St. Meets the fourth Thursday of each month.
Contact Pat Stephens, 867-1275 for more details.
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I. Message from the Chair
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CONGRATULATIONS CANDIDATES AND THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!
An exciting Primary for Pennsylvania brought out many experienced politicos as well as new Democrats here in Lebanon County. By the way, we now 26,162 strong. Imagine if we all came out for a rally!
Slightly over 36% of Lebanon County Democrats voted, handing a narrow margin of victory to Clinton over Sanders. According to unofficial results it was 4529 to 4482. Katie McGinty in the Senate race and Josh Shapiro in the Attorney General race won in Lebanon County and in the State overall. Our other candidates were unopposed. Elected as delegates to the Democratic National Convention were Lebanon County Democrats Mark Singel and Jo Ellen Litz. For full results go to www.lebcounty.org and click on “Primary Election Results.”
Thanks to all leaders, committee people and volunteers who helped on Election Day. Thanks also to those who worked for the polls.
Welcome to the new people who came aboard for this election – we’re glad to work with you. Keep an eye on our website www.lebanondemocrats.com and our Facebook page for future events. At least make sure you pencil in:
May 20th Kickoff,
June 25th NYC Bus Trip,
July 25-31 Lebanon Fair,
August 14th Picnic,
August 27th Fiesta Latina,
October 15th Dinner,
November 6th Salsa the Vote, and
NOVEMBER 8th ELECTION DAY
on your calendar.
Now is the time to sign up to work with our candidates – find their contact information on https://lebanondemocrats.com/voter-info/candidates/ . Support them with contributions now so they can be ready for the challenges ahead.
You can help your local Democratic Party by attending the May 20th Wine & Cheese Kickoff event – 6:30-8:30 pm at Mt. Gretna’s Hall of Philosophy. The Lebanon County Federation of Democratic Women is hosting this event to raise funds for LCDC election efforts for all our candidates. RSVP to lebdemhazel@gmail.com.
Watch our website and follow us on Facebook and Twitter to hear about candidate events and other news. All are welcome at our Executive Committee Meetings – the next one is Wednesday, May 4 at 7 pm at our office – 23 S. 6th St., Lebanon PA 17042.
If you have yard signs from the Primary that say Vote Democratic - Protect Your Rights – know that we are taking an inventory and would like to know how many you have so we know how many we need to order for the fall. You can keep the signs till then, just let us know at info@lebanondemocrats.com how many you have on hand. Candidate yard signs should be returned to the candidate. Signs for statewide candidates may be returned to our office, preferably the evening of May 4th. We’d like to staff the office more often – want to volunteer to help with that noble effort? Sign up on the volunteer page of the website.
Thank you for your hours of work and your dedication from the petition process right on up to the Primary. Now we are counting on you to help elect Democrats in November.
Lois Herr
Chair, Lebanon County Democratic Committee
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II. General Election Candidates:
The Pennsylvania Primary is over, but there are still two great candidates running for President and if you favor one, you can still help them out as they run in other state primaries.
US President
Sec. Hillary Clinton -- www.hillaryclinton.com ,717-873-7680 (Bea Brown), 717-644-4698(Jo Ellen Litz)
Sen. Bernie Sanders - www.berniesanders.com, 717-867-0779 (Lou Caputzal), 717-926-0473 (Dan Sidelnick)
The following have been elected to be the nominees of the Democratic Party by the Democrats of Pennsylvania and each of them will have a tough election and can use your support: Please contact the candidate you want to help.
US Senate:
Katie McGinty – info@katiemcginty.com, 215-948-2520
PA Attorney General
Josh Shapiro – www.joshshapiro.org, 215-886-7376
PA Auditor General
Eugene DePasquale – www.Eugene4pa.com, 484-941-2885, sean@eugene4pa.com
PA State Treasurer
Joe Torsella – www.joetorsella.com, 610-940-1612
US Congress
6th District
Mike Parrish – mike@parrishforcongress.com, 717-679-1059 (Cornell Wilson)
15th District
Rick Daugherty – ardaugh@aol.com, 610-504-4376
PA General Assembly
101st District
Lorraine Scudder - Scudderforthe101@outlook.com, 717-222-8386
102nd district
Jake Long – www.jakelong2016.com, Jake@jakelong2016.com, Rita Russella 267-253-2887
104th District
Jody L. Rebarchak – jodyrebarchak@gmail.com, 717-514-8040
III. Local News and issues
A. Holy Cow!! Pipeline News!
To Concerned Citizens of Lebanon County -
Below are links to news stories and pictures of the Texas Eastern natural gas pipeline explosion in Western PA today. You can read about and see the terrible consequences of a pipeline explosion. The explosion was heard 5 miles away and the resulting fire crossed 2 highways, burning forest and houses nearby. Fortunately reportedly only 1 person was injured. Texas Eastern's pipeline runs through the northern tier of Lebanon County. Two years ago it replaced about 6 miles of its 36-inch pipeline here. See Sierra Club's news release below concerning Texas Eastern's safety record.
Sunoco's Mariner East pipeline projects (existing and proposed) carry natural gas liquids, even more explosive and volatile than natural gas. Sunoco leads the nation in pipeline mishaps, according to the federal agency that keeps such records. There are appeals pending now before the PA Commonwealth Court filed by landowners fighting recent decisions by Cumberland, Huntingdon and Lebanon County Common Pleas Courts granting Sunoco eminent domain authority to expand its 350-mile Mariner East pipeline project which is proposed to cross 2,700 properties in 17 Pennsylvania counties. It isn't right that people should be forced to face the risk of pipeline explosions on their land and in their homes under threat of eminent domain.
http://www.ldnews.com/story/news/2016/04/29/natural-gas-pipeline-explodes-burns-man-nearby-home/83705738/
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/natural-gas-explosion-pennsylvania-leaves-hurt-38759329
http://m.wtae.com/news/reports-gas-well-on-fire-in-salem-township/39279470
http://www.wpxi.com/news/gas-well-explosion-reported-in-westmoreland-county/248673618
Pam Bishop and Doug Lorenzen, for
Concerned Citizens of Lebanon County
concernedcitizenslebco@gmail.com
Like us at facebook.com/ConcernedCitizensofLebanonCounty
Support us at https://www.GoFundMe.com
B. From Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz
Fellow Democrats: Thank you to everyone who was active in the Primary Election. Whether you are a Bernie or a Hillary supporter, you are a participant who made a difference, someone who was in the arena, and cared enough to be a voter as well as encourage others to be voters too. As the Democratic National Convention draws near, we will have an opportunity to showcase the Democratic Party. We must respect each other and allow sufficient time to regain commitment, enthusiasm and stamina, but we certainly can't let Trump and Cruz have their way. We are the Party of the People. Together we can make sure that the progress we've made is not torn down. We can and will prevail in November, but now without you.
Respectfully,
Jo Ellen Litz
C. Pride Festival
The Pride Festival is growing every year and the Dauphin County Committee has always had a table and this year we’d like to have a presence, too. They had 5,000 attendees last year and it’s a good opportunity for local candidates and volunteers to connect with this audience. Unfortunately, it’s the same weekend as the Democratic Convention in Philly and the Lebanon Area Fair, but if you’re not working either of those events, please consider this fun event!
D. Lebanon Latino Idol
This year at the Fiesta Latina, we’ll be having Lebanon’s first “Lebanon Latino Idol” contest. None of us have ever run a contest like this before, so if you have helped out on a contest of any kind or have any ideas for this one, please contact Jackie Grumbacher.
IV. CONTACTS
For the overall best source of government and media contacts, see this link:
http://www.whatisworking.com/contact-congress-address-phone-twitter-html/
Most representatives do not expect people to be paying attention. That’s why the more people call and express their opinions, the more likely we will be listened to. Even if you know they will never vote your way on an issue, they do keep records of how many constituents disagree with them and it might help if they hear push back from their colleagues.
United States Senate:
Sen. Bob Casey (Dem) (866) 802 - 2833 (toll free) or (202) 224 - 6324
http://www.casey.senate.gov/
Sen. Pat Toomey (Rep) (814) 453 - 3010
http://www.toomey.senate.gov/
US House of Representatives:
Dist. 15, Rep. Charles Dent (Rep) (717) 867-1026 http://dent.house.gov/
342 W. Main St, Annville, PA 17003
Dist. 6, Rep. Ryan Costello (Rep) (610) 376-7630 in Wyomissing https://costello.house.gov/
840 North Park Road, Wyomissing, PA 19610
State Senate:
District 48, Sen. Mike Folmer (717) 787 - 5700 http://senatorfolmer.com/
101 Municipal Bldg, 400 S. 8th St, Lebanon, PA 17046
State Assembly:
District 101, Mauree Gingrich (717) 838-3823 http://www.repgingrich.com/
1044 E. Main Street, Palmyra, PA 17078
District 102, Russ Diamond (717) 277-2101 http://www.repdiamond.com/
2230 Lebanon Valley Mall, Lebanon, PA 17042
District 104, Sue Helm (717) 651-0100 http://www.rephelm.com/
2090 Linglestown Rd., Suite 100, Harrisburg, PA 17110
PA House Democratic Caucus http://www.pahouse.com/
County Democratic Commissioner:
Jo Ellen Litz (717) 644 - 4698 http://www.joellenlitz.com/
Lebanon City Council:
Wiley Parker
Cornell Wilson (717) 679-1509 wilsoncornell@yahoo.com
PA State Democratic Party: http://www.padems.com/
Lebanon County Democratic Headquarters
http://lebanondemocrats.com/
PO Box 1128 or 23 S. 6th St.,
Lebanon, PA 17046 (717) 273-8761 (answering machine)
Chairman, Lebanon County Democratic Committee
Lois Herr (717) 371-5721 herrlk@me.com
County Vice Chair
Cornell Wilson (717) 679-1509 wilsoncornell@yahoo.com
City Vice Chair
Lee Cessna (717) 507-2751 leecessna@hotmail.com
Lists of the districts and their constituencies can be found at our website: http://lebanondemocrats.com/lebanon-county-democratic-committee/lebanon-county-democratic-committee-2/
To contact the White House go to: www.White House.gov
V. RESOURCES
a. LCDC Website: lebanondemocrats.com
We now have a Community News section on the website for community events or news not directly related to LCDC, but of interest to some of our members. http://lebanondemocrats.com/community-news/
Joel Smith is seeking photographs of local democrats at democratic functions or with democratic candidates. He’d like to compile a photo album for our website. If anyone has photos email them to lebanoncountydemocrats@gmail.com and please try to include the names of the individuals in the photo, date of the event, and event name if applicable.
If anyone has content suggestions for the website please send an email to lebanoncountydemocrats@gmail.com. The committee is open to any suggestions that will help maintain a successful web and social media presence.”
Blog: http://lebanondemocrats.com/blog/ (for a list of posts by our members)
b. Facebook pages Check out these sites for more information from the Lebanon County Democratic Party on local events. If you haven’t joined this Facebook page, now’s the time!!
Lebanon County Democratic Party on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/LebanonCountyDemocraticParty
“Like” us at this site!
Lebanon County Democratic Committee:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/lebanondemocrats/?fref=ts
Lebanon County Young Democrats FB page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lebanon-County-Young-Democrats/126279714230948?fref=ts
Women’s Democratic Club of Lebanon Valley
https://www.facebook.com/WomensDemocraticClubOfLebanonValley
c. And we’re tweeting, too!
Twitter @LebDems https://twitter.com/LebDems/
d. This newsletter and past issues
http://lebanondemocrats.com/lebanon-county-democratic-committee/newsletter/
e. Lebanon County Events and Fundraisers FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/358050654287490/?fref=ts
f. Southeastern PA Progressives
This website http://progressivenetwork.wordpress.com/ is a great source for information on activities in the region.
Their calendar is here:
https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=shai1h1t8njlst6u25on6ula60@group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York
g. Latest Election Results (2016 Primary Election)
Complete Official Lebanon County Results:
h. Calendar of Events
LCDC is now using Google Calendar for all of our events. The direct link to our public calendar is https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=lebanoncountydemocrats%40gmail.com&ctz=America/New_York you can also search for our calendar by using our Google Calendar ID:lebanoncountydemocrats@gmail.com.
Our public calendar can be added to your already existing private Google Calendar. For instructions on how to do this you can visit https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/37100?hl=en.
Don't use Google Calendar? Not a problem! You can still view all of our events at http://lebanondemocrats.com/eventcalendar/.
To add, cancel, or correct event listings please email webmaster@lebanondemocrats.com.
i. Political Statistics of interest
John Harvey has found an interesting website that has all types of statistical and demographic information related to politics. For example, here is a graph comparing the change in family income for each president since Kennedy.
http://politicsthatwork.com/graphs/median-income-president
j. True Blue News
The PA Democratic Committee puts out a regular bulletin with news about Democrats state-wide. There is news about the Governor, legislature, county and general news. Not sure how to subscribe to it, but it looked pretty good. You can try writing to pressoffice@padems.com if you’re interested.
K. Philadelphia Convention
Info on the Convention this summer is available here: http://www.phldnc.com/help-make-history/
L. Thinking about running for office?
Please get in touch with the Campaign Committee at Campaign@lebanondemocrats.com, text or call 717-873-7680 and we can steer you to the resources you will need. Also, plan to attend the LCDC Seminars we are scheduling for 2016.
M. Anna Cunha Century Club
We need your support as a donor and member of the Anna Cunha Century Club. Contributions of $50, $75 or $100 or more are welcome to sustain our party in Lebanon County, but a contribution of $100 or more can make a larger impact as we prepare for the 2016 national and state campaigns.
Century Club donations can be made by check or online through Act Blue. We are only halfway to our budgeted goal and need to pay our bills and prepare for the fall campaign. Dig deep to win in November.
VI. NEWSLETTER
If there’s anything you want to share with this newsletter audience, please let us know.
Please feel free to share it with like-minded Democrats or progressive Independents.
This newsletter is also available at http://lebanondemocrats.com/lebanon-county-democratic-committee/newsletter/.
Take care.
Steve & Jackie Grumbacher, stevegru@comcast.net, (717) 838-8485
(All content of the newsletter is exclusively the responsibility of the editors, so if you would like to contribute or correct, please contact us directly.)
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