Sunday, March 09, 2008

Jon R's newsletter

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Jonathan and Mary Robison
www.jonrobison.org
March 8, 2008

This is the Robison political newsletter, which is sent in advance of the primary and general elections. If any friends don't receive the e-mail edition, it's probably because we don't have their correct e-mail. We will be happy to add any name or list to the list, preferably with their e-mail address. The newsletter also will be up on our website.

Well, the only remaining major primary is Pennsylvania, and we still have two wonderful candidates in contention. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are committed to leaving Iraq promptly, to reversing the widening gap between rich and poor, to civil liberties, to reproductive rights, to lesbian and gay rights,
We think both have the ideas and experience to make excellent presidents.
There's one definite difference. On one hand, it's time the U.S. had a non-white President. O! n the other hand, it's past time we had a woman President. They are, after all, the majority.
Which is the better bet to win in November? Both have their strengths, which others will analyze exhaustively. Barack has involved many new people in politics. On the other hand, Hillary has most of the political establishment, starting with her husband. Hillary has people who hate her, mostly because of years of vicious attacks on her and her husband. On the other hand, the right wing is just beginning to launch vicious attacks against Barack. We understand that some of our neighbors are already worrying about the harm to American foreign policy, "because Barack O! bama is a Muslim," even though Barack is no more a Muslim than we are. Hillary has the support of most of the women's movement. Barack has the support of most of the Afro-American community.
The competition may well continue after the Pennsylvania primary, until the Democratic Convention. We just hope that the two candidates and their supporters will not engender such hostility between the two that it becomes increasingly likely that we will get neither a Black or a woman president, just another pale, stale, male Republican. It could get worse if the nomination comes down to lobbying the superdelegates and deciding what to do about the Michigan and Flori! da delegations.
The two candidates' websites are hillaryclinton.com and barackobama.com. You don't need our advice which of the two should get your vote April 22. We will make one plea.
PLEASE, if you hear any friend trash Barack or Hillary, ask them not to do the dirty work for the right wing. Either would make a fine president. We should work hard for whichever one wins the nomination!

Possibly the most important local race is in the 18th Congressional District, where Beth Hafer, a good, progressive woman, has a chance to replace another Bush stalwart. But first she has to win the primary. The Allegheny County Democratic committeepeople, endorsed Monroeville businessman Steve O'Donnell. In Westmoreland County, Beth Hafer was endorsed. No one is endorsed in Washington County. Beth Hafer is a public school teacher and a member of PSEA and the daughter of Barbara Hafer, former state Auditor General, feminist gubernatorial standard-bearer, and recent Democratic convert.
Both Hafer and O'Donnell appear to be progressive Democrats. Both made commitments to abortion rights and lesbian and gay rights to the Gertrude Stein Political Club and the Stonewall Democrats. Beth Hafer first hit the campaign trail with her mother when she was 5, and since then was active in campaigns including Georgia Berner for Congress, Joe Hoeffel for Senate, and Rendell for Governor. If you wish to help her, she can be reached at 412-992-0809, www.haferforcongress.com.

There are three statewide races, but only one primary contest. Rob McCord is a retired businessperson and was CEO of the Congressional Institute for the Future, co-founded by Al Gore. He raised money for Democrats including Ed Rendell, Bob Casey, and Congressman Jason Altmire. McCord is a liberal Democrat who supports repr! oductive rights and lesbian and gay rights.
Jennifer Mann is also in the race, and also a pro-choice Democrat whom we backed in the past. But she is also running for re-election for State Representative. Even though she is unopposed in that primary. it may detract from her focus. John Cordisco, Bucks County Democratic chair and businessperson, has the Democratic Party endorsement and appears to be a respectable, main-line candidate.
You can contact Rob McCord at 610-251-5768. His website is www.mccord2008.com.

For State Representative in the 21st district, we now have an easy choice in a weird election. Two years ago, Lisa Bennington defeated Frank Pistella, an excellent incumbent, largely on public outrage over the legislative pay raise.! She did a good job, then suddenly decided not to run for a second term. Frank Pistella filed for election to his old seat, along with County Councilmember Brenda Frazier and Len Bodack, Jr. Len Junior is the son of the former State Senator and county Democratic Party chair. After Len Junior was defeated for re-election to City Council, he got the Democratic Party endorsement for State Rep. We had had a tough choice between Pistella and Frazier. Then suddenly Frank Pistella withdrew.
That leaves Brenda Frazier as our candidate. She is a smart, feminist, independent-minded and active African-American, even though we are still unhappy with her vote against the proposed All! egheny County Living Wage ordinance. You can contact her at 412-852-9114 or www.friendsforfrazier.com

&nbs p; In the 27th District, centered on Pittsburgh's West End, John Paul Jones is an attractive newcomer - at least new to us. He is an important progressive candidate running against two party establishment candidates. He was for 11 years a union staff attorney with the Pennsylvania State Employees Union. He also worked for the Pennsylvania Department of General Services helping local municipalities get state funding. He is active in his homeowners' association, in the Kiwanis, and volunteer work to help children in school. He is strongly pro-choice and will work to amend state anti-discrimination laws to protect the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgendered (lgbt) communities.
If you can help him, call him at 412-735-6560 or e-mail him at johnpauljones@aol.com.

We still have two attractive candidates in the 19th District, centered in the Hill. The incumbent, Jake Wheatley, has good positions on the issues, including reproductive rights and lesbian and gay rights. Deidra Washington claims he has not been active enough on those issues. While he has kept in touch with some community groups, it is claimed that he does not work with others.

Joe Preston in the 24th District is another candidate with w good voting record with opposition in the community from people who think that he should be more of a progressive activist. His opposition includes Lucille Prater-Holliday, who has feminist credentials, as well as William Anderson and Todd Koger.

 ! ; I, Jon, have gotten somewhat involved helping Jason Petrella, an independent Democrat running for State Senate in the 47th District in Beaver and Lawrence counties. The incumbent is not running; the party endorsed candidate is State Rep. Sean Ramaley. I was hired as a lawyer to defend successfully Petrella's nomination petition when it was challenged.

The two Democratic Congress members from Allegheny County are easy choices for re-election. Jason Altmire, a solid progressive who defeated incumbent Republican Melissa Hart in 2006 faces only a rerun against her. Mike Doyle has no opposition on the ballot from either party. He has been a leader on prog! ressive issues, especially economic justice and lgbt rights. His position on abortion rights is steadily improving. After all, his predecessor in the district, Bill Coyne, was originally anti-choice but was a solid feminist by the time he retired.
Dan Frankel. a super bright super progressive, also has no opposition filed. Class act that he is, he is using his time and energy to help other Democratic candidates.

A race to watch in the fall is the 44th District in Moon Township and the West Hills. There Ayanna Lee, and African-American lawy! er and a feminist, is running against an establishment Republican. She is considered by the party leaders to be one of our best opportunities to pick up another seat in the State Legislature.

Please help these candidates. They all want volunteers to hand out their literature at the polls on primary day.

How did we do last year? Pretty well. We have several good new City Council members: Patrick Dowd from Highland Park, Bruce Kraus from So! uth Side, and Rev. Ricky Burgess from Homewood Brushton. Pat Dowd defeated the incumbent, Len Bodack, Junior. Bruce Kraus in the 3rd District is an articulate voice for the gay community. We also kept our excellent president of City Council, Doug Shields
For the essentially unpaid County Council, we kept Joan Cleary, a nurse and a newcomers elected in 2003 in the 6th District with the strong support of the Service Employees International Union. More easily, we re-elected County Councilperson at-large John DeFazio, County Council President Rich Fitzgerald, and Brenda Frazier, who is now running for State Rep.
We helped add several good judges. On the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas are Cathleen Bubash, Jack McVay, and Michael E. McCarthy,. Important Democrat victories were Deborah Todd for the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court and Christine Donohue for Superior Court. Both are solidly pro-choice and supporters of the rights of the lesbian and gay communities and were endorsed by the Gertrude Stein Political Club of Greater Pittsburgh
IRAQ
< font style=""> Iraq is still a nightmare. More and more people die, or are crippled for life, on all sides. We have to say a word - OUT.
The putative Republican candidate promises to continue Bush's war - maybe for a hundred years, he says. Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will get us out, soon.
We should also act now for peace, with petitions, letters, e-mails, public meetings, and demonstrations. There are now a half-dozen one-hour weekly vigils with signs opposing the war:
NorthSide Peace Vigil, Allegheny Unitarian Church, 416 West North Av. at Resaca, Saturdays at 11;
Regent Square Peace Vigil, Forbes and Braddock, Saturdays at Noon;
Black Voices for Peace, Penn Av. and Highland in East Liberty, Saturdays at 1;
Beaver County Peace Links, Beaver County Courthouse, 3rd Street in Beaver, Saturdays, also at 1;
North Hills Peace Vigil, Grounds of Divine Provi dence, 9000 Babcock Blvd. Mondays at 4:15; and
Counter-Recruitment Picket, Military Recruiting Station in Oakland, 3712 Forbes Ave. Dates and times vary to keep the recruiters off balance, but are on the web at www.organizepittsburgh.org.
I - Jon - am usually at the vigil in Regent Square or the one in East Liberty. Will this help? Who knows? At least we can tell our grandchildren that we tried..
&n! bsp; There is also counter-recruitment. Tell young people the truth about enlistment. Tell them that there are alternatives. Call the Thomas Merton Center, 412-361-3022, for information about counter-recruitment.
Iraq ... enough.

The MS Walk April 20 !
Let us make a personal appeal. Please participate in the MS Walk, in person or by a contribution.
We will meet at 8 and step off at 9 from Heinz Field, the Great Hall. on a five-mile route. There is also a one-mile route.
You can also participate with a contribution. Please make a check payable to the National MS Society (not to us). Please send it to us at 154 N. Bellefield Av. #66! , Pittsburgh 15213
I, Jon have MS. I can't walk any distance, so I go on the walk in my power wheelchair. I go on the walk to raise money for research on MS. A half million people have MS. It's now controllable, but still incurable. The National MS Society for years has been funding research. A cure would be nice. That's why we walk - or roll. More information is available from the National MS Society, www.nationalmssociety.org - or from the Allegheny District Chapter, 412-261-6347, 1501 Reedsdale St. #105, Pittsburgh, PA 15233.
About This Newsletter
This is the newsletter for the primary, sent to about 500 people on our e-mail list. Some people don't have e-mail and for some we don't have their correct e-mail addresses, so we send the newsletter bulk mail. Please forward or give copies of this to any interested friends. Of course, we'll be happy to add any names to our list. The newsletter should also be up on our website, www.jonrobison.org

Love and Peace,
Jonathan and Mary Robison

Jonathan and Mary Robison

154 N. Bellefield Ave. #66, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

412-683-0237 jon@jonrobison.org www.jonrobison.org

March 8, 2008



This is the Robison political newsletter, which is sent in advance of the primary and general elections. If any friends don’t receive the e-mail edition, it’s probably because we don’t have their correct e-mail. We will be happy to add any name or list to the list, preferably with their e-mail address. The newsletter also will be up on our website.



&n bsp; Well, the only remaining major primary is Pennsylvania, and we still have two wonderful candidates in contention. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are committed to leaving Iraq promptly, to reversing the widening gap between rich and poor, to civil liberties, to reproductive rights, to lesbian and gay rights,

We think both have the ideas and experience to make excellent presidents.

There’s one definite difference. On one hand, it’s time the U.S. had a non-white President. On the other hand, it’s past time we had a woman President. They are, after all, the majority.

Which is the better bet to win in November? Both have their strengths, which others will analyze exhaustively. Barack has involved many new people in politics. On the other hand, Hillary has most of the political establishment, starting with her husband. Hillary has people who hate her, mostly because of years of vicious attacks on her and her! husband. On the other hand, the right win g is just beginning to launch vicious attacks against Barack. We understand that some of our neighbors are already worrying about the harm to American foreign policy, “because Barack Obama is a Muslim,” even though Barack is no more a Muslim than we are. Hillary has the support of most of the women’s movement. Barack has the support of most of the Afro-American community.

The competition may well continue after the Pennsylvania primary, until the Democratic Convention. We just hope that the two candidates and their supporters will not engender such hostility betwe! en the two that it becomes increasingly likely that we will get neither a Black or a woman president, just another pale, stale, male Republican. It could get worse if the nomination comes down to lobbying the superdelegates and deciding what to do about the Michigan and Florida delegations.

The two candidates’ websites are hillaryclinton.com and barackobama.com. You don’t need our advice which of the two should get your vote April 22. ! ; We will make one plea.

PLEASE, if you hear any friend trash Barack or Hillary, ask them not to do the dirty work for the right wing. Either would make a fine president. We should work hard for whichever one wins the nomination



Possibly the most important local race is in the 18th Congressional District, where Beth Hafer, a good, ! progressive woman, has a chance to replace another Bush stalwart. But first she has to win the primary. The Allegheny County Democratic committeepeople, endorsed Monroeville businessman Steve O’Donnell. In Westmoreland County, Beth Hafer was endorsed. No one is endorsed in Washington County. Beth Hafer is a public school teacher and a member of PSEA and the daughter of Barbara Hafer, former state Auditor General, feminist gubernatorial standard-bearer, and recent Democratic convert.

Both Hafer and O’Donnell appear to be progressive Democrats. Both made commitments to abortion rights and lesbian and gay rights to the Gertrude Stein Political Club and the Stonewall Democrats. Beth Hafer first hit the campaign trail with her mother when she was 5, and since then was active in campaigns including Georgia Berner for Congress, Joe Hoeffel for Senate, and Rendell for Governor. If you wish to help her, she can be reached at 412-992-0809, www.haferforcongress.com.



There are three statewide races, but only one primary contest. Rob McCord is a retired businessperson and was CEO of the Congressional Institute for the Future, co-founded by Al Gore. He raised money for Democrats includi! ng Ed Rendell, Bob Casey, and Congressman Jason Altmire. McCord is a liberal Democrat who supports reproductive rights and lesbian and gay rights.

Jennifer Mann is also in the race, and also a pro-choice Democrat whom we backed in the past. But she is also running for re-election for State Representative. Even though she is unopposed in that primary. it may detract from her focus. John Cordisco, Bucks County Democratic chair and businessperson, has the Democratic Party endorsement and appears to be a respectable, main-line candidate.

 ! ; You can contact Rob McCord at 610-251-5768. His website is www.mccord2008.com.



&! nbsp; For State Representative in the 21st district, we now have an easy choice in a weird election. Two years ago, Lisa Bennington defeated Frank Pistella, an excellent incumbent, largely on public outrage over the legislative pay raise. She did a good job, then suddenly decided not to run for a second term. Frank Pistella filed for election to his old seat, along with County Councilmember Brenda Frazier and Len Bodack, Jr. Len Junior is the son of the former State Senator and county Democratic Party chair. After Len Junior was defeated for re-election to City Council, he got the Democratic Party endorsement for State Rep. We had had a tough choice between Pistella and Frazier. Then suddenly Frank Pistella withdrew.

That leaves Brenda Frazier as our candidate. She is a smart, feminist, independent-minded and active African-American, even though we are still unhappy with her vote against the proposed Allegheny County Living Wage ordinance. You can contact her at 412-852-9114 or www.friendsforfrazier.com



In the 27th District, centered on Pittsburgh’s West End, John Paul Jones is an attractive newcomer – at least new to us. He is an important progress! ive candidate running against two party establishment candidates. He was for 11 years a union staff attorney with the Pennsylvania State Employees Union. He also worked for the Pennsylvania Department of General Services helping local municipalities get state funding. He is active in his homeowners’ association, in the Kiwanis, and volunteer work to help children in school. He is strongly pro-choice and will work to amend state anti-discrimination laws to protect the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgendered (lgbt) communities.

If you can help him, call him at 412-735-6560 or e-mail him at johnpauljones@aol.com.



We still have two attractive candidates in the 19th District, centered in the Hill. The incumbent, Jake Wheatley, has good positions on the issues, including reproductive rights and lesbian and gay rights. Deidra Washington claims he has not been active enough on those issues. While he has kept in touch with some community groups, it is claimed that he d! oes not work with others.



Joe Preston in the 24th District is another candidate with w good voting record with opposition in the community from people who think that he should be more of a progressive activist. His opposition includes Lucille Prater-Holliday, who has feminist credentials, as well as William Anderson and Todd Koger.



I, Jon, have gotten somewhat involved helping Jason Petrella, an independent Democrat running for State Senate in the 47th District in Beaver and Lawrence counties. The incumbent is not running; the party endorsed candidate is State Rep. Sean Ramaley. I was hired as a lawyer to defend successfully Petrella’s nomination petition when it was challenged.



The two Democratic Congress me! mbers from Allegheny County are easy choices for re-election. Jason Altmire, a solid progressive who defeated incumbent Republican Melissa Hart in 2006 faces only a rerun against her. Mike Doyle has no opposition on the ballot from either party. He has been a leader on progressive issues, especially economic justice and lgbt rights. His position on abortion rights is steadily improving. After all, his predecessor in the district, Bill Coyne, was originally anti-choice but was a solid feminist by the time he retired.

Dan Frankel. a s! uper bright super progressive, also has no opposition filed. Class act that he is, he is using his time and energy to help other Democratic candidates.



A race to watch in the fall is the 44th District in Moon Township and the West Hills. There Ayanna Lee, and African-American lawyer and a feminist, is running against an establishment Republican. She is considered by the party leaders to be one of our best opportunities to pick up another seat in the State Legislature.
!



Please help these candidates. They all want volunteers to hand out their literature at the polls on primary day.



How did we do last year? Pretty well. We have several good new City Council members: Patrick Dowd from Highland Park, Bruce Kraus from South Side, and Rev. Ricky Burgess from Homewood Brushton. Pat Dowd defeated the incumbent, Len Bodack, Junior. Bruce Kraus in the 3rd District is an articulate voice for the gay community. We also kept our excellent president of City Council, Doug Shields

For the essentially unpaid County Council, we kept Joan Cleary, a nurse and a newcomers elected in 2003 in the 6th District with the strong support of the Service Employees International Union. More easily, we r! e-elected County Councilperson at-large John DeFazio, County Council President Rich Fitzgerald, and Brenda Frazier, who is now running for State Rep.

We helped add several good judges. On the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas are Cathleen Bubash, Jack McVay, and Michael E. McCarthy,. Important Democrat victories were Deborah Todd for the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court and Christine Donohue for Superior Court. Both are solidly pro-choice and supporters of the rights of the lesbian and gay communities and were endorsed by the Gertrude Stein Political Club of Greater Pittsburgh

IRAQ

Iraq is still a nightmare. More and more people die, or are crippled for life, on all sides. We have to sa! y a word – OUT.

The putative Republican candidate promises to continue Bush’s war – maybe for a hundred years, he says. Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will get us out, soon.

We should also act now for peace, with petitions, letters, e-mails, public meetings, and demonstrations. There are now a half-dozen one-hour weekly vigils with signs opposing the war:

NorthSide Peace Vigil, Allegheny Unitarian Church, 416 West North Av. at Resaca, Saturdays at 11;

Regent Square Peace Vigil, Forbes and Braddock, Saturdays at Noon;

Black Voices for Peace, Penn Av. and Highland in East Liberty, Saturdays at 1;

Beaver County Peace Links, Beaver County Courthouse, 3rd Street in Beaver, Saturdays, also at 1;

North Hills Peace Vigil, Grounds of Divine Providence, 9000 Babcock Blvd. Mondays at 4:15; and

Counter-Recruitment Picket, Military Recruiting Station in Oakland, 3712 Forbes Ave. Dates and times vary to keep the recruiters off balance, but are on the web at www.organizepittsburgh.org.

I – Jon - am usually at the vigil in Regent Square or the one in East Liberty. Will this help? Who knows? At least we can tell our grandchildren that we tried..

There is also counter-recruitment. Tell young people the truth about enlistment. Tell them that there are alternatives. Call the Thomas Merton Center, 412-361-3022, for information about counter-recruitment.

Iraq … enough.



The MS Walk April 20 &n bsp;
Let us make a personal appeal. Please participate in the MS Walk, in person or by a contribution.
We will meet at 8 and step off at 9 from Heinz Field, the Great Hall. on a five-mile route. There is also a one-mile route.

You can also participate with a contribution. Please make a check payable to the National MS Society (not to us). Please send it to us at 154 N. Bellefield Av. #66, Pittsburgh 15213

I, Jon have MS. I can’t walk any distance, so I go on the walk in my power wheelchair. I go on the walk to raise money for research on MS. A half million people have MS. It’s now controllable, but still incurable. The National MS Society for years has been funding research. A cure would be nice. That’s why we walk – or roll. More information is ava! ilable from the National MS Society, www.nationalmssociety.org - or from the Allegheny District Chapter, 412-261-6347, 1501 Reedsdale St. #105, Pittsburgh, PA 15233.  ! ;

About This Newsletter

This is the newsletter for the primary, sent to about 500 people on our e-mail list. Some people don’t have e-mail and for some we don’t have their correct e-mail addresses, so we send the newsletter bulk mail. Please forward or give copies of this to any interested friends. Of course, we’ll be happy to add any names to our list. The newsletter should also be up on our website, www.jonrobison.org



Love and Peace,

Jonathan and Mary Robison

March 09, 2008 2:50 PM

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