DV Journal

A new documentary series will give viewers a chance to peek behind the curtains of the epicenter of some of the nation’s fiercest political wars: Bucks County.

The first two episodes of “Bucks County, USA” by Barry Levinson and Robert May recently debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

Levinson is the Academy Award-winning director best known for “Rain Man,” “The Natural,” and “Good Morning, Vietnam.”

Doylestown Township residents Paul Martino and his daughter Vanessa, 15, are two of the documentary’s subjects. They spoke to DVJournal about their experiences.

Asked how she got involved in the documentary, Vanessa said “Mr. May, the producer, was interviewing my friend, Evi. And Evi told him about me.”

Sundance was “mostly fun,” she said. They met a lot of famous people at TheWrap party.

“It’s the biggest party at Sundance,” said Martino. TheWrap founder, Susan Waxman, was “super nice” to Vanessa and Evi and they were in a photo shoot for that publication.

The Martinos are Republicans, while Vanessa’s best friend Evi Casey, and her family, are Democrats. Vanessa and Evi, who remain friends despite their political differences, are reoccurring narrators, though much of the action centers on the adults, Martino said.

Martino, a venture capitalist, gained notoriety when he funded the Back to School PAC, which helped candidates who were pro-parents’ rights gain seats on school boards across the state in 2021. At that time, Martino noted that 64 percent of the candidates the PAC backed won.

But when Martino’s wife, Aarati, ran in 2023, the zeitgeist in the county had changed. She lost, along with others on the Republican slate, leading to the Central Bucks Board shifting back to Democratic control.

The two teenagers, now sophomores, met at a party the summer before seventh grade and became friends. Asked if their political differences interfered with their friendship, Vanessa said no.

“We’ve always been friends, and like no matter that we think differently about politics, we’re always going to remain friends,” said Vanessa. “It’s a stupid thing to be divided over.”

Asked if their parents get along, Vanessa said, “Well, my mom and her dad respect each other. But my dad and Evi’s mom seem to hate each other.”

Martino said Evi’s mother writes for “the progressive rag in town,” and she “writes the nastiest things about me.” But when they see each other in person, “We’re always polite.”

“But she literally called me an ‘a**hole’ in the movie…She really did.

“The big theme of the movie, Robert May, who made the film, is trying to get each side to understand that the other side are actually people and there’s a lot of filming that goes on that’s not political in each other’s houses. There’s a scene with me and Vanessa and the kids playing board games tother. And there’s a scene with (former school board president) Karen Smith, on the Democratic side, tending to her goats on her farm. So, the whole theme of this movie is about understanding the humanity of the people that you disagree with.

“And I’ve said this all along,” said Martino. “I’ve never not understood that. I think we, on the right, have always understood that. We disagree with Democrat policies. But the Democrats think we’re bad people. And it’s nice that this is maybe waking them up to we’re actually people and you can have a discussion with us and our kids can be friends and it’s not that big of a deal, guys.”

So far, two episodes of the documentary have been completed, and more will be filmed this spring, said Martino. “My guess is the earliest you will see it is in the fall.”

“When they first started filming us, it was kind of weird having a camera in your face and a dude on the edge of the seat asking questions,” said Vanessa. “But you slowly get more used to it.” Her brother, Zachary, 14, and their pet rabbit also make appearances in the film.

Vanessa’s favorite class is Spanish. She plays the piano and the cello and enjoys jazz. After getting a glimpse of Hollywood and the film industry, she’s not sure she wants to have a career there, although she enjoyed making a documentary for her social studies class last year.

“It seems really competitive, and you have to know people to really be in it. So, I don’t know. Maybe,” said Vanessa.

Most of the documentary series is more about the adults, though, said Martino.

“Vanessa and Evi are the literary device,” he said. “They’re the narrators. In a way, it’s through their eyes, through their friendship.”

The entire process of Aarati Martino deciding to run for office and her campaign are part of the film, he said. The film crew spent a lot of time with the families.

“Vanessa made Christmas presents for them,” said Martino. “That’s how often they were at our house.”

I’ve fine-tuned my crystal ball and am ready to tell you what will probably happen in 2025.

In our area, I see Republicans, aided by activist Scott Presler, winning the governor’s office in New Jersey. I also see Republicans in Harrisburg passing their Protect Women’s Sports Act with some Democratic support. This act would prevent biological males at birth from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. I think Gov. Josh Shapiro will veto it, and that will cost him in his reelection bid in 2026 and when he runs for president in 2028. He will be in the same position Vice President Kamala Harris was on this issue during her 2024 presidential run.

Even more locally, Bucks County will continue to be the political center of the universe. In 2024, this was the ultimate swing county in the ultimate swing state. Scott Presler focused a large part of his efforts on turning the county Republican as far as registered voters were concerned, and President-elect Donald Trump ultimately won the county.

However, Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia first made national news by making it very difficult for voters to hand in their mail ballots at election centers before the election. As if to top that, she drew national headlines by voting to count ballots that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had ruled invalid during the recount vote for the Senate seat between Dave McCormick and Bob Casey.

She declared, “I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country. People violate laws anytime they want. So for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention.”

People are paying attention now to local politics in Bucks County. Jim Worthington, owner of the gigantic Newtown Athletic Club and his chief aide Linda Mitchell, have started a PAC that will focus on the upcoming district attorney’s race in Bucks, school board elections, and the commissioners’ races. I predict this group will be a powerhouse.

Finally, in New Jersey watch the drone story to be a factor in the governor’s race. The federal government has been smug and dismissive about the concerns of New Jersey residents, and Gov. Phil Murphy has essentially been AWOL on this. People will not forget about it in the general election.

Nationally, I’m placing a lot of stock in what Bill O’Reilly recently told me on my radio show. O’Reilly speaks to President Trump regularly, and O’Reilly told me in the last several calls Trump drilled down on what it would take to be viewed as the greatest president in history. That is similar to what Trump talks about when he says he wants to usher in a “Golden Age” in America.

If Trump focuses on that vision instead any number of fights that are petty, he will be ranked as a substantial and possibly historic president. Doing things like reforming how Washington spends money and operates in general would be a major accomplishment. Reforming our food supply and health care system through a controlled RFK Jr. would be a legacy item if we minimize the overkill of processed foods and greatly diminish chronic diseases.

Closing the border and deporting criminals who are here illegally will be a big challenge, but the outcome will be historic and long remembered.

O’Reilly told me Trump is very serious about presidential greatness, but also can be emotional and get off track. When Trump begins implementing the reforms that Americans want, he will face all kinds of forces that strive to keep the status quo going.

However, Trump has always struck me as pretty lucky. He gets to follow Joe Biden’s presidency. Is there an easier act to follow?

(This op-ed first appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Elections are always followed by another tradition: finger-pointing season. I’ve spent my entire life in politics right here in western Pennsylvania, which became the looking glass for the entire nation as people tried to figure out what has happened to turn the two parties into battle camps.

Allow me to offer a few things I’ve learned.

Lessons for Republicans

It’s not all about TV. We need to compete with the Democrats in terms of field work. Knocking on doors and asking someone to vote for a candidate remains the most effective way of persuading voters.

Go beyond polling. An era of endless polling has left us with the misimpression that elections are only about reading peoples’ minds. In truth, elections are also about changing peoples’ minds. True, polls tell us what issues resonate with voters, but we need to identify the unarticulated and unfulfilled aspirations of voters. This is a lesson taught in 1991 by the late Harris Wofford who was appointed senator to succeed John Heinz. Wofford’s advisors – chief among them, James Carville – realized that health care for the middle class was increasingly a point of anxiety. Polls had shown that the number one issue identified by voters was jobs – but this will always be the case, just as a sufficient supply of oxygen would trump jobs if you put it on a choice of polling questions. Wofford and Carville recognized that it was the unrealized concerns that mattered. When that case was put to voters in a persuasive way, it allowed Wofford to overcome a political juggernaut known as Dick Thornburgh.

Achievement still matters. Stacy Garrity took the reins at Treasury and immediately laid out a series of goals: return more abandoned property than anyone else, reform how state pensions invest, expand the college savings program. Treasury might be the dullest important job among the statewide, but Stacy showed that a well-articulated record of accomplishment can be an unassailable fortress against political anger ginned up by an opponent. She ended Tuesday night with more votes than any other candidate on the ballot, including Donald Trump, and became the highest vote-getter in modern history, surpassing even Gov. Josh Shapiro. That’s how future stars are made.

Tamp down the anger. Watching television should not induce post-traumatic stress disorder. Bring some joy to the thing. A good lesson here is an ad produced by Pittsburgh’s own ColdSpark media, on behalf of state House candidate Michael Perich. Going up against a well-entrenched and much-liked incumbent, the Perich camp produced “Wrong Way Matzie,” which employed an animated picture of the incumbent flying the wrong way, interspersed with old movie clips and bright music that broke through the angry clutter of other ads and entertained people as well. Perich came within a hair’s breadth of winning and Perich, even in defeat, doesn’t look like just another angry politician. In short: Happy warriors win friends.

Lessons for Democrats

Un-fringe yourselves. Party activists on both sides have traditionally tended to the extremes. This was first noted in 1984 by political scientist Emmett Buell Jr. who saw that candidates for party delegate in New Hampshire weren’t exactly middle-roaders. That has accelerated in both parties, but it is nowhere as vivid as in the exotic assortment of wailers, cause-finders and all-around scolds that now steers the party of JFK and Truman. This has been made all the uglier by the emergence of a brand of antisemitism that hinges on the notion that Israel is an imposition on the Middle East rather than a refuge for persecuted Jews who practice democracy. Here in Allegheny County, the largest city is run by a cadre of leftists incapable of balancing the books, and the county council is a haven for loud extremists, some of them so supportive of the poor that they would make more of them by taxing the middle-class into poverty. Nationally, the Democrats have chosen to politicize things that should not be political and taken the tar brush to people who are religious or just out of step with the current fashion. Think about this: the Catholic vote used to be reliably Democratic. This year, the only Catholic on the national ballot was JD Vance.

Take off the robes and mortarboard. Class in this nation was once defined by income. Today, class is just as readily identified by educational attainment. A conservative university professor is a museum-quality find. This correlation between university degree and liberal politics is not a result of one causing the other. It is a result of one group taking over academia and turning it into a place where dissent is strongly encouraged, but only so long as it conforms with the liberal orthodoxies of the academy. I have news for them: a boilermaker, welder or truck-driver will soon be the only middle-class wage-earner able to send their child to college without amassing debt. Self-aggrandizing piety is pretty much the only luxury still available to the overburdened university student. Democrats need more than universities to promote their message and that means not just listening to non-college voters. It means taking them seriously.

The Gender Gap runs both ways. The press has long focused on the leftward political drift of women and suggested that this means there’s something wrong with the Republicans. A bit of introspection would help here. Men voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump, much as they have for other Republicans. That’s a gender gap, too. And it’s not going to be solved by explaining away differences of opinion with terms like “toxic masculinity” or, my favorite, “mansplaining,” which has come to mean any unwelcome opinion from a male. Figure out why men aren’t voting for your party. I’d venture to say that it’s because, increasingly, they don’t feel welcome.

I close in noting that every election carries its own, sometimes unique, lessons. There is one that stands out this year: when it comes to the people, the system works. Now, it’s up to the people they elevated to make things work as well.

Almost 250 years ago, Pennsylvania played an indispensable role in the formation of our great union. Our geographic, political, and economic position provided vital support for our newly minted constitutional republic.  Thus, our nickname as the Keystone State became commonplace because a keystone is the central, wedge-shaped stone in an arch that crucially provides architectural integrity. Pennsylvania held the integrity of the new nation together.

Fast forward to 2024 – we continue to be the Keystone State – with unlimited potential due to our unique geography, vast natural resources, multi-cultural residents, and economic diversity.  President Donald J. Trump recognizes our vitality and has spent countless hours here meeting farmers, manufacturers, small business owners, and individuals to hear about our successes – and our concerns. Consistently, one of those concerns is the integrity of our elections.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) and President Trump believe that Pennsylvanians, and all Americans, deserve fair and honest elections, where ballots are cast and counted legally. That is the essence of our fight: for a principled, honest system. We deserve no less.

All across America, the RNC and President Trump fight fervently for the integrity of our elections. The RNC and President Trump developed a comprehensive plan to protect Pennsylvania from interference – but we need your help. We need every patriot in Pennsylvania.  Over the last month, consistent with our long-held positions, we tirelessly promoted commonsense safeguards for mail ballot voting, so Pennsylvanians can cast their ballots with confidence. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania sided with us and the law, blocking efforts by leftist groups and our own Secretary of State Al Schmidt to invalidate the statute that requires voters to date their mail ballots. No one elected Secretary Schmidt – but he took it upon himself to attack the laws passed by the state senators and representatives we Pennsylvanians elected. That sounds like the exact opposite of democracy.  When state county officials refused to enforce election rules for casting mail ballots and sent out ballots prior to completing required testing, we stepped in and called them out to protect voters who likely did not realize that their elected officials were taking shortcuts.

If you give bad government actors an inch, they’ll go a mile. From creating a patchwork of unlawful ballot curing policies that tend to tip the scale against voters who vote Republican, to forgoing comprehensive ballot testing—such violations do nothing but undermine the integrity of our elections and increase voter distrust.

We want voters to have faith in the process so the importance of the work we do leading up to and on Election Day cannot be understated. The collaboration of the Election Integrity departments of the RNC and Trump Campaign is unprecedented – the first ever of its kind. We have put rule breakers on notice, with staff covering every county in Pennsylvania as well as spread across our great nation. We have engaged in record numbers of critical legal battles, with 120 Election Integrity lawsuits to date in 26 states and counting. These legal efforts remain unmatched,  superseding past election cycles.. This is a new Republican party and, along with the Trump Campaign, pursues every legal angle to proactively halt election misdeeds and transgressions and protect you, the voter.

Our boots-on-the-ground operations have exceeded our expectations. Our Protect the Vote initiative has held over 200 live poll watcher trainings in Pennsylvania alone. These numbers increase by the day, because our election integrity operation is the largest and most comprehensive that our party – and our country – has ever seen.

We are dedicated to ensuring a safe and secure election, but we need your help. We need more eyes and ears — to stand alongside us in this fight and protect the vote. Whether you can volunteer for a few hours, or all of election day, join the expansive election integrity team to save Pennsylvania and America. We need poll watchers, poll workers, observers, and volunteer attorneys.  We need you, and we will train you and be by your side every step of the way.

Of course, President Trump and I first ask you to make a plan to vote. With your efforts, we can swamp the vote for Republicans up and down the ballot. Take advantage of mail voting, early in person mail voting, or election day voting—whichever method works best for you, and we will make this election too big to rig.

Once you have your vote plan, we need to protect the vote – it should be easy to vote, and hard to cheat. If left-wing activists would have it their way, they would continue to circumvent the law to compromise this election. That’s why we need you to go to ProtectTheVote.com/Pennsylvania now and sign up today to protect our election.

The battle for our beloved Keystone State takes center stage in President Trump’s efforts to bring America back to  the leadership and prosperity we deserve. Under the current administration, we are a country in decline, susceptible to bad actors who do not have our best interests at heart. We cannot give them another four years.

Democrats have taken election interference to the next level; but with patriots like you, we can be confident in our elections and Make Pennsylvania and America Great Once Again.

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For Chalfont resident Mara Witsen, the Hamas murder of six hostages in a tunnel in Rafah was both breaking news, and heartbreaking.

And so on Wednesday near the courthouse in Doylestown, she and another 100 local residents gathered for a vigil to express their sorrow and to remember the victims, one of whom was an American citizen.

“Like many of you, I have been struggling with what it means to be Jewish in the United States after Oct. 7,” said Witsen. “By gathering here, it lets us all know we’re not isolated in what we’re feeling. And we’re not as alone as the protesters and antisemites want us to feel. It allows us to show the families of every victim that they have our support and our love.”

Attendees prayed, sang and listened to speakers who urged supporters of Israel, and supporters of peace, to remember the victims: American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Ori Danino, 25; Alexander Lobanov, 32; Carmel Gat, 40; and Almog Sarusi, 27.

A vigil for hostages and other victims of Hamas terrorists was held near the courthouse in Doylestown, Pa. on September 4, 2024

“The families of these six people are living a nightmare which many of us will never fully understand. We also recognize the loss of hundreds of IDF soldiers who have lost their lives in the past 11 months, all in hopes of bringing home these hostages. Their bravery knows no bounds. We pray the remaining hostages will not share their fate,” said Witsen.

More than 60 hostages remain.

Witsen’s grandfather escaped Belgium in 1940 as Nazi paratroopers were invading. “I can’t help but see the parallels [with] Oct 7, the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust, as Hamas invaded a music festival via paraglider. In order to keep that promise of ‘Never again,’ we must first never forget. We can never forget the names of these six innocent souls who only wanted peace with their neighbors.”

Doylestown resident Richard Tems, an Army veteran and the son of Holocaust survivors, had a sterner view.

“I served in Germany,” said Tems. “A lot of people say, ‘You can’t kill an idea.’ They’re absolutely right. You can’t kill an idea. But there are very few Nazis left in Germany.”

Tems believes Israel should have sent in tanks to destroy Gaza in response to the Oct. 7 terror attack. On that day, Hamas terrorists joined by Gaza civilians to cross the border and murder, torture, and rape innocent Israeli civilians.

“People say, ‘What about a proportional response?'” Tems said. “When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, they killed a few thousand sailors and Marines. What did we do to them? The Israelis should do the same to Gaza.”

Ellen Cox Bowman is president of the Doylestown Republican Social Club, which organized the vigil.

“Living in this area, we have many, many Jewish people whose hearts are broken. They’ve been affected personally. One of the things I’ve always loved about Israel is Israel welcomes everyone home,” Bowman said. “Even those of us who are not Jewish.”

She visited Israel while serving in the Navy and said the Jewish community center in Staten Island, N.Y. provided childcare for her and her brother while her single mother worked, even though they were Catholic.

Vivi Sadel, an Israeli American whose parents are Holocaust survivors, said her father, Ezra Sherman, died three weeks after Oct. 7. Some of her friends’ families have lived in what is now Israel since the 1800s and co-existed peacefully with their Arab neighbors. “Yes. They were there. There’s no narrative that there were no Jews.”

She described how ordinary people can become heroes when the situation calls for it, including the brave actions of one of her cousins, Amir [Cohen], the southern commander Israeli police chief, whose orders saved many lives and Amer Abu Sabila, 25, a Bedouin who died while saving a woman and her children who were fleeing to safety.

“Amir was shot in the hand and wounded in the eye, but he, himself, killed seven terrorists,” said Sadel.

About the “protests, hatred and out of control immorality” at various colleges and universities. Sadel said, “We need to call them on it…this is a Nazi playbook. This is not World War II. We’re living in America. We need to set the example. Whether we go in and tell the trustees, ‘This is not happening.’” She suggested that those who donate to these colleges stop and that “we pull every single one of our kids out.”

“One way to honor the hostages is to take a stand on right versus wrong, to educate yourself so you can go and educate your community. Wear your Jewish symbols proudly. And to know and understand Israeli history and the history of the Jewish people. Black and white kufiyahs, headscarves, are tokens of Yassir Arafat to destroy Israel. [Chants of] ‘Free, free Palestine’ are code words for destruction of the Jewish state. By the way, 22 Arab states, one Jewish state. Hamas’ charter, which I have in my back pocket, their preamble, destruction of the land of Israel. So, who are we negotiating with?”

“This is not an Israel versus Arab issue,” said Sabel. “This is people who want a caliphate, total control of the Middle East, versus the one Jewish state.”

Bowman put part of the blame for the current Middle East conflict on the Biden-Harris administration.

“This would not have happened under the Trump administration. They fear Trump,” Bowman said of the Hamas attack. “And Biden-Harris have not done enough to protect the hostages.”

(From a press release.)

The Republican Committee of Chester County (RCCC) convened on Tuesday for its biennial reorganization meeting, where the election of officers took place. Raffi Terzian, M.D., the current RCCC Chairman, ran unopposed and was reelected, continuing his leadership along with a strong and committed slate of officers.

The newly elected officers are as follows:

· Executive Vice-Chair: Ted Murphy

· Vice-Chair: Paula Tropiano

· Treasurer: Barbara Spall

· Financial Secretary: Beverly Pancott

· Secretary: Lin-Marie Salvato

· Assistant Secretary: Jonathan McGrath

Dr. Terzian expressed his gratitude and said he was honored to continue serving with such a highly qualified team. He thanked the committee for placing confidence in him and his team to continue leading the RCCC and Chester County Republican Party forward.

Dr. Terzian also emphasized the significance of unity within the party.

“We must stand together, united in our focus and purpose as Republicans, to ensure the success of our entire slate of candidates this fall.”

This reorganization marks a significant step in the ongoing rebuilding efforts of the RCCC. Under Dr. Terzian’s leadership, the committee has been focused on revitalizing its structure, enhancing community engagement, and strengthening grassroots efforts. The team is committed to sustaining this progress, working tirelessly to rebuild and enhance the RCCC’s impact throughout Chester County.

A Democrat in the governor’s mansion. A Democratic majority on the state Supreme Court. And two elected Democrats in the U.S. Senate for the first time since 1947. (Republican Arlen Specter switched parties).

The Pennsylvania GOP entered 2024 knowing it had a lot of work to do — particularly in the Delaware Valley.

And early voter registration numbers show they’re making progress. Modest, perhaps, but progress nonetheless.

Official voter registration totals from Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties show party registration is growing, though Democrats still lead in overall registration totals.

The appetite of the electorate may be why Pennsylvania’s major parties both saw their numbers rise.

“I’m a firm believer that your voter registration status is a lagging indicator of where you are politically,” GOP strategist Chris Nicholas of Eagle Consulting told DVJournal. “It takes a while for you to say, ‘You know what? I’ve been registered X, but I’ve been voting Y the last bunch of years, so maybe I should become Y.”

National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella has a more aggressive explanation.

“The word ‘Democrat’ means something different to Pennsylvanians now than it did years ago. The Democrat Party has become too extreme for the voters of the Delaware Valley. Voters feel the impact of extreme Democrats’ failed policies every day as prices get higher, crime is on the rise, and families are being torn apart by fentanyl.”

Delaware Valley Republicans made most of their gains in Bucks County, with GOP registrations rising from 193,123 last May to 195,000 today. Democrat registrations fell from 198,487 to 197,853, leaving them with a narrow advantage of fewer than 3,000 votes.

Compare that to a decade ago, when during the 2014 general election, Democrats had a solid 186,865 to 174,666 advantage over Bucks County Republicans.

“The whole thing is just dissatisfaction with what’s happening in Washington,” Bucks County Republican Party chair Pat Poprik told DVJournal. “It’s driving [formerly registered Democrats] to either the third party or to us. But it’s one common thing: We’re all watching this county.”

Bucks County Democratic Executive Director Zach Kirk did not respond to a request for comment.

There are about 80,000 unaffiliated and third-party registered voters in Bucks, up from 78,382 last May.

Other counties also saw GOP growth as well.

In Chester County, GOP registration rose from 149,567 in May to 151,505. But Democratic registrations rose, too, from 156,994 to 158,604. While that margin means Republicans can be competitive, it’s also a reminder of how far the party has fallen from 2014, when the GOP had a 148,355 to 126,551 advantage.

Other Chester County registrations include 18 voters with Conservative Party affiliations; 10 registered as Independent Republicans, and two voters total registered as ‘GOP’ and ‘Trump’ parties. There are also six Socialists, 14 Independent Democrats, two Democratic Socialists, and one each for Communist, Obama, Socialist Party USA, and the Socialist Progressive Parties.

Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s long-forgotten Forward Party had one registered voter.

For Montgomery County, the Republican Party added about 1,000 voters, bringing its total to around 204,000. Democrats saw a similar rise, going from 301,543 to 302,330. That 100,000 Democratic advantage is about twice as big as it was a decade ago. Holding steady in Montgomery County is progress for the GOP.

In Delaware County, however, the roles — and rolls — are reversed. Democratic registrations rose from 201,616 to 203,316, while GOP numbers ticked up from by fewer than 1,000 votes to 146,224. In 2014, Democrats had just a 172,601 to 168,744 lead.

The net result is a GOP that’s gaining but is still far behind. And, adds Jeff Jubelirer of Bellevue Communications Group, registrations don’t necessarily translate into votes.

“Most people don’t change their registration, even if they change their ideology. You look at the coalition that helped elect Donald Trump in 2016. Many of those same people were blue-collar Democrats who are now much more Republican.

“Did some change their registration? Sure. But I think a number of folks may be still registered as Democrats but are voting Republican,” Jubelirer added.

He said there are also moderate Republicans who generally find themselves supporting Democrats more than they had in the past. “They’re more the Reagan Republicans and the Mitt Romneys…the traditional country club business moderate.”

The Delaware Valley, once a GOP stronghold, has become largely blue. Jubelirer said migration from the heavily Democratic cities to the suburbs helped bring about the shift. That trend caused Democratic voter rolls to increase while Republicans lagged behind.

While much of the focus remains on the two major parties, trends show that unaffiliated voters are a force to be reckoned with nationwide. Gallup reported in January that 43 percent of Americans considered themselves independent. Republicans and Democrats were tied at 27 percent. That’s a historical low for Democrats and two points off the low of 25 percent for the GOP.

“Nobody wants to be a Republican or a Democrat anymore,” Nick Gillespie, editor-at-large of Reason magazine, told DVJournal. “These are dead parties that have ceased to represent the factions that they were created in the post-war era to represent. The independents are the place to go.”

The number is much smaller in Pennsylvania. According to Pennsylvania Department of State statistics, there are almost 1.3 million voters who belong to a Third Party or are registered Independent/No Affiliation.

It’s still a trend that analysts believe is worth noting.

“When I got active as a professional in politics here in the late 80s, the state was like seven percent independent,” said Nicholas. “And now it’s basically doubled that.”

Gillespie, who co-wrote a book called “The Declaration of Independents” in 2012, sees the change as something that started years ago. “This is a long-term structural trend that exists not just in the United States,” he said, pointing towards Brexit and the election of Emmanuel Macron as French president. “People are finally done with the zombie political and kind of cultural institutions of the postwar Europe.”

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When the Democratic majority was elected to the Central Bucks School Board last year, it was with the assurance that they would bring more cooperation and less division to the board.

But that hope was shattered Tuesday night when two of three Republicans on the board—Lisa Sciscio and Debra Cannon–resigned.

The move came after the majority ended the meeting rather than allow Sciscio to speak.

“I was trying to approach the situation in a more charitable manner toward my colleagues,” said Sciscio. “So, there is one particular issue I have grave concerns about. And I asked for more information about this issue because I’m concerned not just myself but every member of  this board with not being given information.”

She pointed to a request she’d made to the new solicitor, David Conn.

“What I have learned since then is pretty mind-blowing,” Sciscio said. “As we heard tonight, also in public comment, one of the problems that reflects Mr. Conn as the solicitor of this district. On Jan. 28, I requested information on a legal matter, the separation agreement of (former superintendent) Dr. Lucabaugh. I abstained from last month’s vote, allowing Mr. Conn to take any legal action necessary regarding Dr. Lucabaugh, and boy, I’m glad I did. For merely asking for information and documentation on the matter…For my request, I was accused by Mr. Conn of colluding with the attorney representing Dr. Lucabaugh.”

Lucabaugh resigned after the November election brought a Democrat majority to the Central Bucks School Board. The previous, Republican-controlled board had faced a backlash over policies, including allowing parents to question whether certain books were age-appropriate. The board also instructed teachers and staff not to use alternative names and gender identities for students who requested it unless they had parental permission. Other issues included not allowing political displays, whether Trump signs or LGBTQ flags, in common areas of the schools.

“That certainly didn’t dissuade me from seeking this information,” said Sciscio. “Because I’m already used to our solicitor making egregiously false accusations against me and some other members of the board, especially in the press.

“Perhaps to elaborate on what this has been like is to simply share my emails,” she said. She started to read an email to Conn asking him to prepare a confidential memorandum about Lucabaugh’s resignation for board members.

“Instead, you use Karen (Smith) as your mouthpiece to claim that you require authorization from the board,” she said, quoting her email to Conn. “As a school board solicitor, you know that’s a flat-out lie.” She demanded all documentation in writing because of the “disparaging and inappropriate comments you’ve made about certain board members, including me, to the press.”

She added that perhaps Conn had not seen the email from Lucabaugh outlining alleged harassment from Smith.

Smith broke in to say Sciscio’s remarks were not appropriate.

“It’s come to my attention that on Nov. 29, you entered your appearance in a Bucks County election legal matter on behalf of Karen Smith, Heather Reynolds, and Dana Foley personally. Quite the coincidence that Karen notified me, Jim (Pepper) and Debra (Cannon) via email before anyone was sworn in that the ‘transitional board’ decided to hire you as a solicitor…Don’t you think it would have been appropriate to put the board and the public on notice of this conflict of interest? Don’t you think this could be construed as a quid pro quo? Don’t you think it would be prudent to advise your firm of their potential liability?”

She said the board majority was settling “personal political scores” before they voted to end the meeting.

Smith, the board president, Conn, and acting Superintendent James Scanlon did not respond to requests for comments. Sciscio and Cannon also did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

“This is just so heartbreaking,” said Michaela Schultz, responding on social media.

Also on social media, Dave Vessichelli said, “Democrats fixed the map so they will have control of the CB school board forever. Sad, but it will only get worse. If I have young kids, I would definitely get them out of the district.”

And Mike Jeffreys said, “Not that it matters what I think, but I’m 100 percent convinced the only way to see real change and accountability is through school choice.”

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State Rep. Craig Williams, a Republican running for attorney general, attacked one of his primary opponents, former Delaware County District Attorney Kat Copeland, on Saturday.

Williams, who represents parts of Delaware and Chester Counties, is a former Marine who served as a federal prosecutor in Denver and Philadelphia. He was also the chief prosecutor for the U. S. Marine Corps, as well as a Joint Terrorism Task Force member and deputy counsel to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Copeland, who lost to Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer in 2019, was also a federal prosecutor.

Willaims tweeted Saturday morning: “U.S. Attorney @McSwainPA said he had evidence of election fraud that DOJ shut down. AG Bill Barr said that was not true. The President called McSwain a coward. Kat Copeland was Criminal Chief under McSwain and was responsible for prosecuting election fraud. She owes us the truth.”

After losing the 2020 presidential election, former President Donald Trump blamed McSwain for not investigating allegations of election fraud in Pennsylvania. Later, when McSwain campaigned for governor in 2022, Trump told people not to vote for him in the primary.

“One person who I will not be endorsing is Bill McSwain for governor,” Trump said at the time. “He was the U.S. Attorney who did absolutely nothing on the massive election fraud that took place in Philadelphia and throughout the Commonwealth. Do not vote for Bill McSwain, a coward, who let our country down. He knew what was happening and let it go.”

In that primary, Trump endorsed eventual nominee state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin), who lost the general election to then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D).

During the 2022 campaign, McSwain wrote a letter to Trump saying then-U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr had told him not to investigate or prosecute claims of election fraud but to turn over any cases to Shapiro.

“As part of my responsibilities as U.S. Attorney, I wanted to be transparent with the public and, of course, investigate fully any allegations,” McSwain wrote to Trump. “Attorney General Barr, however, instructed me not to make any public statements or put out any press releases regarding possible election irregularities. I was also given a directive to pass along serious allegations to the state attorney general (Shapiro) for investigation — the same state attorney general who had already declared that you could not win.”

However, Barr said that was not true. He told The Washington Post: “Any suggestion that McSwain was told to stand down from investigating allegations of election fraud is false. It’s just false.” Barr added that the assertions “appeared to have been made to mollify President Trump to gain his support for McSwain’s planned run for governor.”

Copeland could not immediately be reached for comment.

“For the other two campaigns, this party endorsement process has been about hiding their candidates from public debate and hard questions,” said Williams. “This is but one of the many hard questions Kat Copeland needs to answer. She was at the heart of this controversy, and she should tell us the truth.”

Republicans statewide are holding straw polls this weekend to indicate their pick in the attorney general’s race ahead of the party’s endorsement vote on Monday.

In addition to Williams and Copeland, York County DA David Sunday Jr. is also seeking the nomination. Sunday, who was the first to declare his candidacy last June, is believed to be the frontrunner.

On the Democratic side, candidates include Stollsteimer, state Rep. Jared Solomon (D-Philadelphia), former auditor general Eugene DePasquale, former Philadelphia Chief Public Defender Keir Bradford-Grey, and former Bucks County Solicitor Joe Khan. The state Democratic Party did not endorse any attorney general candidates at its December meeting.

The primary is on April 23.

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Three contrarian votes from Republican senators—including one from the Delaware Valley—failed to halt the confirmation of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s pick for education secretary this week.

On Monday, the Republican-controlled Senate’s education committee approved Acting Education Secretary Khalid Mumin. He was formerly superintendent of the Lower Merion and Reading School Districts. The full Senate subsequently affirmed the pick, voting 46-3 to confirm Mumin.

The three holdouts were all Republicans: Jarrett Coleman (Bucks and Lehigh), Doug Mastriano (Adams and Franklin), and John DiSanto (Dauphin County).

Coleman and Mastriano did not respond to requests for comment on their votes. DiSanto, meanwhile, said Mumin is too firmly embedded in an education system needing change.

“Pennsylvania ranks 8th nationally in per-student education spending, yet we lag in student achievement,” DiSanto told DVJournal. “The emphasis is always on more money when we need fundamental changes in the system.”

“The secretary has been part of that system for 25 years, and I don’t believe he’s capable of or interested in making the reforms needed,” he added.

Mumin began teaching in 1997. Shapiro tapped him for the acting secretary post in January, shortly before the governor’s inauguration.

The secretary won praise during his tenure as Reading superintendent. The district had been amid financial turmoil at the time of his arrival and had seen multiple superintendents in a short period. The prior director, Carlinda Purcell, had been relieved of her position after just 17 months on the job.

In 2021, the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrations selected Mumin as its Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year, describing the significant challenges the administrator faced when he began the job.

“In 2014, when Dr. Mumin began his tenure as superintendent, he was confronted with 19 buildings of failing infrastructures, eight bargaining units without contracts for five years, and a district having little to no transparency with either staff or constituents,” the PASA said, claiming that Reading was “a district facing a financial crisis – along with a looming state takeover.”

Mumin “demonstrated visionary leadership right from the start to get the district back on a positive track and focused on academic growth and support,” the group said.

Senate Education Committee Chair Sen. Dave Argall said in a press release that the committee “performed [its] constitutional duty” in voting Mumin through.

“I look forward to working with him to improve our education system,” Argall said.

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