The LuLac Edition #3785, May 20th, 2018

DO LUZERNE COUNTY DEMS HAVE THE LEADERSHIP TOOLS TO COMPETE ANYMORE

(Photo: Disney screen caps, com, quotesgram.com)

Since the age of 8, I have been following politics on all levels. I guess it all started when my father took me to see John F. Kennedy in 1960 when he was motorcading through half of Pennsylvania on the last Friday in October. Two years later, he took me to a rally for Richardson Dilworth who, in an off year election, was running for Governor. Here in LuLac land, it was an uphill climb against local businessman turned Congressman Bill Scranton. Scranton had a huge, bipartisan following and you would expect that the turnout would be paltry. But the place was jammed with men in suits and ties and women in their Sunday finest scurrying around. My father explained who they were to me but that was lost on my 8 year brain because I was drawn to the glitz and excitement generated by the event. But in hindsight, all those officious people bouncing about were Democratic committee people.
Fast forward a few years later and I was again in the center of Democratic politics when my late Uncle, Timmy Pribula took me to those old Democratic party dinners that used to pack The Mayfair, then later The Woodlands. I knew then the Committee people had a huge role in the party.
I did not realize how huge until I worked as Campaign Manager/Campaign Media Person/Campaign Chauffeur/Campaign Building Janitor (now they’re called Facilities Managers) for the Tom Lehman campaign for Senate. Lehman, a successful businessman and friend of then Chairman of the party, Joe Tirpak was running against Frank O’Connell. O’Connell was a State Representative running for the open seat vacated by Senator T. Newell Wood. The Lehman office was on Pierce Street in Kingston. When it opened and I was in place on that first day in August of ’78, streams of people came in to give advice, strategize tactics and offer support. These were the Democratic Committee people.
I thought of those days, now more than 4 decades later during the recent primary.
As a political blogger, Jesus as the only free standing political site, LuLac gets invited to a lot of things. We try our best to get to as many as possible. During this campaign, the major invitations I got were from the Republican Party. When I went to those events, I was struck by three things.
1. The energy surrounding the event. The organization and precise order that programs were in and the downright determination to win.
2. The total acceptance at these of events of my presence when I am most likely one of the most vociferous Trump critics in the state!
3. The party members, those ground troops seemed to be a little population of varied interests and social levels. The one goal was the success of their candidates. I saw the same people at events that numbered more than 200  at a hundred bucks a pop as I did at wakes for their party members. The same faces filled with joy at an event for Republican Jim Haggerty were the same somber ones in grief at the viewing for the late Donna Baloga.
My point here is with this Republican population of politicos is that this just isn’t all about politics. It is a belief system of an articulated, multiple repetition philosophy that resonates with average voters.
Do you want to know the real reason why President Trump carried the Democratic county of Luzerne? Because the local party, those foot soldiers, connected with locals better than the Democratic organization did. As an example, look at the yard signs for Trump. You think Don Junior and Eric were putting those up?
It wasn’t all the Arena events, it wasn’t all anti Hillary, it was about connecting. In 2018, the Republicans at least here in Luzerne County, are still doing that.
Now don’t get me wrong. The Democratic Party did try to connect too. But it seems to me that the once proud party of “one for all and all for one” has become one with a motto of “you’re on your own kid!” I know Republicans who are members of the Wilkes Barre NAACP, are there any Democrats who are or do they just show up at the debates once a year at Mount Zion Baptist Church? 
Politically, take a look at the local efforts of the County Committee the last few years. Jeez, can you name any? Democrats hold events and I swear to God the only information I ever get from anyone is from Cartwright’s and Jerry Mullery’s people. Why is it that it took years for a Luzerne County Democratic Women’s organization to be chartered when Lackawanna County has had one for decades?
Why is it that when a party event does happen, the usual suspects from the old days show up? To most of them, LuLac is an article, not a web site.
It is painfully obvious that the Republican Party, at least in Luzerne County is outperforming the Democrats because of one thing. Leadership. Even in this past Tuesday’s election, the GOP was not afraid to make a change in some of its state committee people by voting out two long serving members, Lynette Villano and Bill Lewis. Whether jettisoning those years of dedication and experience is a mistake, well that’s another matter. But for better or worse, the party voters weren’t standing pat.
In 2018 there were two big party events for the Democrats, Rock The Vote in March and Pizza, Pop and Politics in May. Those events were not organized by the Democratic County Committee and none of the Leadership attended. I mean none of them even had the curiosity to see what members of their own party were up to! Talk about arrogance. Or maybe I’m giving them too much credit here, let’s just call it out for what it is: laziness. It seems to me the Democratic Leadership has fallen into the trap that I usually accuse national Republicans of, “I got mine, now you get yours” way of life. In the meantime is it any wonder why Luzerne County went red in ’16?
Parties are built from the ground up and when a foundation is turning to sand, something should be done. As an unbiased observer here, as a Democrat, I think things need to be addressed.
I had the opportunity to look over the by laws of the Democratic party after I heard that some party members wanted to violate them right from the start. They want to have a County Convention after the time frame mandated by the State Committee. Why? Hell I don’t know. I mean these are the same by laws enacted in the early 90’s and not put into effect until the early 2000s because of………wait for it.........a clerical error!!!! What, Aunt Bea borrowed the typewriter from Andy’s office to organize her recipes and never gave it back? Incredible.
The by laws state this:
County Party Reorganization Meetings- No later than June 13, 2018
The State Party bylaws require each county to reorganize and elect new officers no later than the sixth
Wednesday following the primary. However, in order to provide full representation at the State Party’s June 15th and 16th meeting, we are requesting that each county party hold their reorganization meeting no later than the fourth Wednesday following the primary, so we may have the opportunity to properly credential all members.
This meeting I feel is a turning point for the Democratic party in Luzerne County. They have to decide if they want the Chair to be a person who lets things stand and watch the weeds grow or make things happen.
My frame of reference in this whole thing, at least for this year, are the two events held by younger members of the party. I mentioned the extremely successful “Rock The Vote” but the most impressive event to me in the days leading up to the primary was the “Pizza Pop and Politics’ put together by the Wilkes College Democrats. One of the main drivers of this was a young man named Dominic Butchko of Forty Fort.
He is 21 years old and a senior at Wilkes University studying Political Science. The Poly Sci Department there is extraordinary with instructors like Dr. Thomas Baldino. But I digress, when Butchko was in High School, as a Democrat. he won his first election and was the only candidate, in a seven way, race to walk away with both party nominations. At 19 and a Freshman he was the youngest elected official in the state and is currently serving his first term on Forty Fort Borough Council. Translating that experience to the campus, he has been Chair of the Wilkes College Democrats for 3 years and restarted the group as a freshman. During the 2018 Primary Season he helped get a large number of Luzerne County Democratic Committee People get interested, elected or reelected. To boot he was also elected to a first term as a County Committeeman. 

Butchko (center) with Congressman Matt Cartwright and attendee at event. (Photo: LuLac archives).

I use him as an example because there are many talented people like him who want to move the party. There at least needs to be a discussion as to where this party will go. This is not the sleepy Luzerne County of old in terms of statewide and national identity. The eyes of the national media have been on us for some time. With Donald Trump winning Pennsylvania by 44,000 votes, and more than half of those votes coming from Luzerne County, you bet there will be interest centered here. Furthermore, as Dr. Terry Madonna stated on PCN the other night, the Barletta-Casey, Wagner-Wolf races will be a referendum on Trump. I know the GOP is at the starting line, the Democrats in the County are just trying to figure out where the track is.
If there is no change in the way this party is run, from the top, and Wolf and Cartwright don’t do well here, the current Democratic leadership will have a lot to answer for. The old line Dems won’t be able to blame unions, lack of interest or even Hillary Clinton for a lackluster effort, they only need to look in the mirror.The Luzerne County Democrats are at a crossroads, do  they take the same old exit of complacency or hit the highway with petal to the metal in a different, more community oriented direction.