What’s that smell? Not manure, but District Justice races

Primary battles have gotten childish and turn off voters

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times

Ah primary season. Like the odor of manure from the mushroom houses, you can smell the stupid wafting on the spring breeze.

And while most of the primaries will likely be either anti-climatic — with Democrats winning Democratic nominations and Republicans (or the much-maligned and increasingly endangered RINO) winning GOP nods — or pointless with no opposition, a few of the races have gotten ugly, personal and nasty.

And of those contested races around the county, the ugliest (read stinkiest) have been in a couple of nasty, personal primary fights for District Justice in area dominated by one-party races.

In the southern part of the county, in district 15-4-04 (West Grove and Avondale boroughs, West Marlborough, London Grove, Franklin, London Britain, and New Garden townships), incumbent Matt Seavey has been fighting off challenger Nicole Morley in a battle for the Republican nomination for District Justice. And while Seavey will more than likely win the Democratic nod, the region is such a GOP stronghold, it would be difficult for Seavey to win the November election if he only wins the Democratic nod.

Between the letters, comments on this and on other news sites and dark whispers, this race has become a poster child for everything that is wrong about politics in America.

In fact, just as this column was being finalized, the State Police confirmed that they are investigating an incident where a Morley supporter may have attempted to run down a Seavey supporter putting up  a campaign sign. Update: Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan declined to press charges.

And yes, while you could argue that the mud (and other more odiferous substances) slinging has been done by supporters, both candidates have to accept responsibility. They could have and should have told their people to cool it. And yes, I’ve run for office and managed races — so yeah, it can be done.

The bottom line in this race, though, is the ongoing battle for the future of the county GOP. The Tea Party, or Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania (CAP), depending on who you speak to, is battling with the old-line, mainstream party leadership, and southern Chester County is the front line of the battle, making the Morley-Seavey fight a proxy war, with Morley carrying the banner of the insurgents and Seavey backed by the old guard.

A bit to the north, in the now Democratic stronghold of West Chester, in District 15-01-04, Democrats Jon Long and Marian Vito are slugging it out in an attempt to replace the retiring Gwenn Knapp as District Justice.

Here, again, the argument of who is the endorsed candidate, who sought what endorsement and who voted when and so on is a deep and lasting testament as to why its just a bad idea to elect judges. While slightly elevated beyond the fur fight in the south, again, this race has had a nasty tone that makes one question whether either candidate has the proper judicial temperament to serve.

Maybe sadder is the fact that so few will vote Tuesday, leaving the decisions in these races to a small number of people — usually the few emotionally charged up by the races. That’s how we’ve seen candidates with a very small base of support manage to slip through the process and get elected. You showing up to vote Tuesday improves the odds of making sure judicial, school board and municipal candidates get the proper vetting before making it on the November ballot.

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One other local race has generated a little bit of heat — and some confusion.

In East Marlborough, Christine Kimmel is running to replace Cuyler Walker on the township’s Board of Supervisors. Walker — who withdrew from running for State Representative last year because of non specific “personal reasons” — opted to retire rather than seek a fourth term.

While some reports elsewhere suggested Kimmel — the endorsed Republican candidate current chair of the township’s Planning Commission — was running against Walker, she is in fact running against former Supervisor Richard Hicks.

Hicks lost his bid for reelection in 2013 to John Sarro — losing in the GOP primary and then failing to win in the general after winning the Democratic nod.

There is a bit of friction in this race — Hicks has been outspoken in criticizing his former colleagues, while local Democrats say Hicks misled them in 2013 when he pledged to switch to become a Democrat. Hicks remains a Republican — and looks likely to not only lose the Republican nomination, but the Democratic nod to Kimmel, in part because local Democrats feel like they were used two years ago and are actively working against Hicks, I’m told.

* * *

It was a little surprising to see the Chester County Democratic Committee mentioned in the RICO suit filed last week against the Carpenters Union — after union members allegedly committed acts of vandalism during the Philadelphia Car Show.

In some sort of show of solidarity with the union, the CCDC pledged not to hold any events at the convention center during the 2016 Democratic National Convention, making them the only county party to take such a stand in support of lawlessness, thuggery and downright stupidity.

Evidently, the folks at the CCDC didn’t think this one through, looking to grab the quick “union solidarity” headline without seeing the bigger picture. While most of the area’s other trade unions have disavowed the violent and criminal acts that the Carpenters’ Union has embraced — and four other trade unions agreed to revised work rules to make it possible to reasonably stage events at the Convention Center — the Carpenters and the Teamsters did not. Both are no longer are allowed to work at the Convention Center.

The changes were needed and long overdue. It was impossible and sometimes even scary to put on — or attend — events at the Convention Center because of union behavior. In my day as a consumer magazine editor, I remember being threatened with physical violence for carrying a box of magazines to our booth during a show there more than a decade ago — something I routinely did in other venues around the country.

Fewer and fewer shows were coming to Philadelphia because the unions had the reputation of acting more like ISIL or the Merlino Crime Family than a union. Changes were needed — but the Carpenters and Teamsters declined to give up their rule by fear and intimidation and so finally they were out.

Instead working to clean up their acts, behave and act like a true collective bargaining unit, the Carpenters resorted to violence during this year’s car show, the complaint filed by the Convention Center said.

According to the complaint, Carpenters Union members damaged cars on the show floor, disrupted a benefit dinner for Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia and have stalked convention center managers for months.

Obviously, I have nothing against unions — I’ve been endorsed by many over the years and support the right to organize and engage in collective bargaining. But you cannot condone this sort of behavior and for a local county party to stand shoulder to shoulder with these folks is, at best, disappointing.

Worse, though, its bad politics. While folks in Chester County are generally supportive of union causes — despite being dominated by Republican politics for more than five generations — they tend to intensely dislike the kind of stuff the Carpenters are accused of. For a number of moderate Republicans thinking of switching because of the increasing radicalism of some portions of the GOP, the equally extreme of supporting downright thuggery will turn folks off from the Democrats.

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