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With Trivedi in, a Berks insider backs off his endorsement of Pike

With a primary field seemingly to himself in the 6th District, Democrat Doug Pike had been piling up endorsements from party insiders and elected officials at a frenetic pace.

But now Pike has a primary opponent in Reading doctor Manan Trivedi. And that has led one of Pike’s supporters to reconsider. Berks County Recorder of Deeds Frederick Sheeler had endorsed Pike in July. But his name was recently removed from the endorsement page on Pike’s campaign Web site. The change was first pointed out by a Trivedi campaign insider.

In an interview with pa2010.com Tuesday, Sheeler played down the removal of his endorsement, saying the political landscape was different now. Members of his family, he said, are close with Trivedi. There’s little reason so far to think that Sheeler’s decision will be followed by others, and he was hardly the campaign’s highest-profile backer. But at a minimum, it underscores that Pike now has competition from within the party.

“At the time I made my endorsement, there wasn’t anyone else out there,” Sheeler said. “So I thought I should learn more.

“It’s not a pull,” he added. “It’s nothing against [Pike]. I think he’s a good candidate. [Trivedi's] a local guy, he’s friends with a lot of my family members, so I thought I’d better learn more before I commit myself.”

Sheeler acknowledged formally asking the Pike campaign to remove his name from the Web site for now.

“Both candidates have a lot to offer,” he said. “I want to hear from both of them.”

Pike’s campaign manager declined to comment directly on Sheeler’s decision, saying only that the campaign looks forward to working with Sheeler, Trivedi and the rest of the Democratic Party on winning the general election next November.

September 15, 2009 at 11:03 am

--Dan Hirschhorn

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comments

comments [11] | post a comment

  1. BerksGuy

    Sep 15th, 2009

    Wow, Trivedi is really grasping for straws here isn’t he?

    I mean the mayor of his hometown (Reading) and the Democratic Commissioner from his home county (Berks) are supporting Pike and Trivedi is talking about the recorder of deeds who happens to be a family friend?

    Wow.

  2. Demosaur

    Sep 15th, 2009

    Wait, Trivedi says this is a good thing? Ouch.

  3. montgomerydem

    Sep 15th, 2009

    The brakes starting to hit the pike train.

  4. Demosaur

    Sep 15th, 2009

    montgomerydem,

    you are joking right?

    Trivedi has raised $24k and Pike has $630k in the bank — and you think people are moving AWAY from Pike??

    I want some of what you are smoking.

  5. Charles L.

    Sep 15th, 2009

    No matter who you support in this race, I think as a rule of thumb it is never good when a campaign loses an endorser. If a campaign felt it was important to put out a press release announcing someone’s support, it is equally important when that support is removed.

  6. Where does Welch live?… | GrassrootsPA

    Sep 15th, 2009

    [...] With Trevedi in PA-6, a Berks insider backs off his endorsement of Pike… [...]

  7. Topton Pride

    Sep 15th, 2009

    This is a scummy move. It totally defeats the purpose of an endorsement if you can just change your mind. I hope Scheeler sees how politically stupid this move was. I am embarrassed that he would do something like this to a fellow democrat. It makes all dems looked bad. What an asshole.

  8. WOW!!!!!

    Sep 16th, 2009

    So he won’t endorse Pike anymore (sleezy move) but he isn’t going to endorse anyone? Not even Trivedi? Very strange. Strange guy who like Manan doesn’t have any idea what he is doing.

  9. Cynthia Baughman

    Sep 16th, 2009

    Fred Sheeler is an outstanding public servant, who has restored efficiency and integrity to the Berks County Recorder of Deeds office in just a couple years, and a soft-spoken, thoroughly honest, and genuine guy. Why not take him at his word? I was for Pike until Trivedi entered the race too. Not only am I excited about Trivedi’s background and his issues, but, as a Berks County resident, I’m happy to see a Berks County candidate in this race. The 6th is a very gerrymandered district, spanning Berks, Chester, Montgomery, and Lehigh Counties. The Chester & Montgomery candidates have lost the 6th here in Berks (though I sure worked my heart out for them!). I think an outstanding candidate from Berks might be able to take this seat.

    (I’m a Democratic Committee Person here in Berks County and volunteered in Fred’s campaign for Recorder of Deeds, as well as in both Lois Murphy & the Bob Roggio races in the 6th. Fred is a thoughtful, independent thinker, and not a party machine tool. I’ve really come to respect and admire the guy.)

  10. BerksWoman

    Sep 18th, 2009

    Fred Sheeler carries alot of weight with Democrats here in Berks County. He is highly respected for his integrity and hard work. Manan Trivedi is also highly respected in Berks County.

    Pike, while he may turn out to be a great candidate, is pretty well an unknown in Berks. He collected alot of endorsements early, when he was the only candidate in the race, from Democrats eager to regain a Democratic representative that was lost when we were gerrymandered out of true representation.

    The 2010 6th District primary is going to be very interesting to watch, because we have a party insider going against a favorite of the Grass Roots. The Grass Roots were successful in 2008, so I expect that Trivedi will do well.

  11. PoliticsPA Reports: Former Pike supporter endorses Trivedi | Politics PA

    Nov 30th, 2009

    [...] Sheeler, Berks County Recorder of Deeds, withdrew his endorsement of Pike in September after Trivedi, an Iraq war physician, entered the race. Sheeler said at the time the [...]

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