Democratic Party Regains Northumberland County

It is hard to point out what was the main reason for the victory by the Democratic Party on Tuesday night in Northumberland County. When you look at the results, the difference was huge in the 107th as the election moved north to the 108th. Only 158 votes separated the top three candidates.

Both sides offered up their own versions of misinformation. Vinny Clausi who ran a separate campaign from fellow Democratic Party member Frank Sawicki had "fuzzy" math regarding a commissioner's pay raise. While Republican candidates Sam Deitrick and Kurt Masser had one believe they were running against former commissioners Allen Cwalina and Charles "Chap" Lewis. Cwalina and Lewis resigned before the end of their terms and left the county in huge debt.

Clausi campaigned tirelessly of "telling the truth" in regards to a bond refinance issue which he claimed the county used a million dollars to balance the budget in 2006. This was later confirmed by controller Chuck Erdman. Deitrick and Masser held a press conference to clear the issue, but as reported in the News-Item. The issue still remained cloudy. Will the rift with Erdman and his fellow Republicans continue?

It may have been a last minute flier sent out by Deitrick and Masser a few days before the election that had the Coal Township Commissioners up in arms. It had to do with the development of the Coal Township Industrial Park. In the flier, it was highlighted as project that Deitrick and Masser were involved.

When you look at some of the counties in NEPA like Lakawanna, Luzerne, and Schuylkill, the Republican Party really took a beating. In all, 11 counties in PA switched from Republican to the Democratic Party. Was this the issue in Northumberland?

When you look at the three candidates that won. Clausi is a hero to the underserved and underdog. Masser and his family are long known for the charitable efforts before he was in politics and will probably be long after he leaves the political ring. Sawicki is known for his intelligence to look for information when he isn't familiar with a situation. When you subscribe to the theory all politics are local, the three who won held serve with their own constituents.