The success of the Obama (and Sestak) campaigns was due to a uniting/energizing character at the “top”. My complaint with Sestak is that he didn’t use his momentum to help the local/countywide races in 2007. When asked to help, his brother responded with “Why should he? It’s not his contest.”
At a MINIMUM, Joe could have contacted his entire volunteer database and ASKED them to help out the various local races. No one else, but his campaign, had that information, and they refused repeated requests to share it.
What would it have taken for Joe to provide the initial contact and “inspire” his followers to help locally?
There may have been plenty of hard-workers the local candidates could have used for door-knocking, lit drops, phone-banking, but they had no way to get in touch with the bulk of potential volunteers.

I’m glad that you don’t have a person in mind for “savior” and are keeping an open mind based on their plan and vision.

I think it’s important that the next Chairman has some of the deep knowledge about elections and the laws that Cliff has. There are a lot of tricks the GOP tries to pull denying candidates for minor clerical errors, fooling with ballot positioning and other maneuvers.

BTW, I did plenty of door knocking for Sestak back in 2006. I knocked for Kerry in 2004 and for some local races. When I was younger, I used to help my Dad with lit drops.

Even though you and I disagree on Sestak, I have tremendous respect for you and your hard work and dedication.

On the “Who’s your savior” question, I don’t have one. I am waiting to hear a detailed and compelling vision of how and when the Delaware County Democratic Party will become a viable majority party at the local, county, and state as well as at the Federal level, as it has been since 2006. That is the person whom I’ll be supporting. Anyone who is prepared to make that case is free to contact me.

Mario Cimino
D – Morton Borough Council

Yes, I am seriously comparing Federal and local campaigns. The point turns on how any campaign is run. A successful local campaign can be competently run with no more than three figures in cash funding so long as there is a relatively small but motivated, trained, and tireless team of volunteers. Three figures is a realistic fundraising goal for any committee or candidatee if they put the necessary effort into it. In a Congressional race with approximately 400 precincts, if $750 was spent per precinct, that would amount to a $300,000 field campaign. And that is a pretty pricey Congressional field campaign. As much as I hate it as a field organizer by nature, the millions go to the TV stations and the usually way-overpaid consultants.

So the comparison is perfectly legitimate. Getting back to running a competent local campaign on 3 figures, dozens of people learned exactly that in either the Sestak or Obama campaign offices over the last 3 years. There has been ample opportunity to learn these skills -that it what both those campaigns and other succesful local ones have left behind. Some people like the folks in Aldan, Millbourne, and Ridley Park have run with it, others just want to sit around and expect success to be handed to them, and blame anyone who succeeds when they fail. Care to knock a few doors?

Mario Cimino
D – Morton Borough Council

Is win-at-all-costs and screwing other teammates “military-style accountability”? What ever happened to “leave no man behind”?
I’m offended that you would slur Bryan by associating him with Sestak in terms of campaign “standards”. The ONLY thing they have in common is working hard.
Bryan certainly doesn’t have the reputation of being abusive and ranting/raging at his campaign staff.

How many of your hard-working “rest of us” crowd won their local races this year? With only a few exceptions, the Dem wins were in wards/townships with solid Dem majorities. In most places where registration was close, the Dems lost.

“Another Cliff”? Where do you think we’d be if Bruce Bikin had won chairmanship in 2006?
Who’s your “savior” pick to succeed Cliff? I could really use the laugh.

One key thing that Joe Sestak and Bryan Lentz brought to this county is the concept of military-style accountability or “standards of excellence” (to use Sestak’s parlance) in campaigning as well as governing. That concept was validated by the effectiveness of Barack Obama’s campaign last year, which was similarly based on accountability from the ground up. The difference between those campaigns and the Folcroft fiasco that David tried to rationalize above is that the vote did turn out, because nothing was left to chance until the very last vote was counted. Does anyone else besides David have a problem with winning like that?

Mario Cimino
D – Morton Borough Council

As for Folcroft, they campaigned their asses off there. But, the Democratic party voters, as a whole, just sat this one out. Even Philly turned out only 12%, which is the lowest in the past 10 years, despite 2008 being the highest. (I hope you aren’t going to blame Cliff for that, too.)

Sestak’s “other duties”? Sestak spent more time campaigning for Hillary in 2007, than he did for candidates in his own district.
I fundamentally disagree that Sestak has no responsibility to help build the local party. Sestak used local resources to jump start his campaign. He came in with NO personnel or infrastructure, and it was the local party got his petitions signed, fronted him resources, gave him volunteer lists, set up house parties, fundraisers, sent him money from township committee coffers, etc.
Sestak has not lived up to his moral obligation to return the favor.

Please show me where except in your ridiculous mind it says a Congressman is responsible for slating local candidates. Under the best of circumstances they are slightly busy with running a never ending campaign to defend their own seat, plus minor legislative issues like oh, say, the endgame of a 98 year health care battle.

Lets be clear: for the last 16 years its been Cliff Wilson’s responsibility to slate candidates in Edgmont and 48 other municipalities, either indirectly by empowering a functional local committee, or directly by empowering individual candidates if necessary. Can you name the last time there was a Democratic Supervisor candidate in Edgmont? Or any of a dozen or so other municipalities? And through how many of those years did anyone even know the name Joe Sestak?

I think I’m starting to understand your self-perceived logic, as irrational as it is. By virtue of Joe Sestak’s own success, he automatically assumes responsibility for every local, county, and state race in his district, on top of all of his other duties? While anyone who can’t campaign their way out of a paper bag (or into Folcroft Borough Hall for that matter) is off scot-free from any such responsiblity by virtue of that very failure? Is that the absurd point me and I dare say most rank and file Democrats in this area have been missing all these years?

Mario Cimino
D – Morton Borough Council

At this point, he is in the best position, by far, to make sure this district stays in the Democratic column.

Of course, I’m sure he won’t shy away from a primary if one presents itself – he’s a fighter.

Gail, like any candidate, assumes she would win her Congressional bid and thus have to step down as supervisor.

Better question: How come SESTAK can’t get a Dem supervisor or even a candidate in Edgmont.

Why put Gail to a standard that Sestak hasn’t attempted?