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Chester County Democrats: Nominating Convention
 The Chester County Democratic Party held its nominating convention February 20, with a large turnout spanning the Stetson Middle School auditorium. Nearly 250 eligible voters were present, generating much enthusiasm in the room. County chair Michele Vaughn reports this is the best turnout of local precinct committee members ever. The Tredyffrin contingent was certainly one of the largest.
Our state Representative Paul Drucker, from the 157th District, received an unanimous endorsement for his re-election bid. Mr. Drucker has recently opened his campaign office in Paoli and seems ready to roll.
Drucker and state Senator Andy Dinniman were also active on the floor in support of other candidates' races, and there were some very interesting votes.
Both candidates for the U.S. Senate, Joe Sestak and Arlen Specter, were present to acknowledge their nominations and address the Democratic committeepersons. In the tight vote that followed, Congressman Sestak bested Senator Specter by 7 votes, but not enough to qualify for the county’s formal endorsement.
With 3 strong candidates for governor and all 3 speaking to the convention, no one reached the margin for endorsement there either. Pittsburgh’s Dan Onorato got the most votes, followed closely by Montgomery County’s Joe Hoeffel, and then a wider gap to PA Auditor General Jack Wagner.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was in the race for the 6th District, U.S. House of Representatives. Former Phila. Inquirer editorial board member Doug Pike has been campaigning hard for 9 months, with a businesslike organization, but relative newcomer Dr. Manan Trivedi, from Berks County, pulled off what many will view as an upset and garnered the county endorsement. Trivedi polled well over twice as many convention votes as his rivals and many more than needed for the endorsement.
Having grown up in Berks County, Dr. Trivedi is an Iraq war veteran and former naval surgeon, with a story of great achievement in a hard-working immigrant family. He has gathered support from some of the party leaders, who believe that Dr. Trivedi can attract a critical margin of votes from Berks and Chester Counties. The race against incumbent Republican Jim Gerlach has consistently been exceedingly tight. At the same time, the registration margin in the 6th district has shifted Democratic, and party members want success this year.
All three 6th District candidates, Trivedi, Pike, and Lower Merion commissioner Brian Gordon, recently spoke at the League of Women Voters forum, hosted by Tredyffrin Democrats, which gave our committee members a lot of insight into their potential performance.
 All the races will ultimately be decided by voters in the May 18 primary. The convention is merely a snapshot of how Chester County's precinct leaders are thinking at the moment. The day did make for some interesting pictures.
It is great to have such difficult choices among strong candidates. We'll be following the campaigns, and the primary should be exciting.
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