Maybe the sheriff can clean up the mess in Harrisburg.Montgomery County Sheriff John P. Durante has announced he will be a candidate for the 17th District Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Connie Williams.
Durante, 58, of Conshohocken, is a Republican. Williams is a Democrat in what had been considered a safe district for Democrats. Durante brings name recognition and proven vote-getting to the race.
Durante, who was sworn in last week for his third four-year term as sheriff, told reporter Margaret Gibbons he will seek the GOP nod to run for the Senate.
"Public service is my calling and I am proud of my over 25-year career in law enforcement, public safety and community service," Durante told Gibbons
Durante initially formed an exploratory committee last month to determine his viability as a state Senate candidate after he was asked to run by some unnamed community leaders, according to Gibbons
The findings of that committee that prompted him to toss his hat into the ring, said Durante, were that he has widespread name recognition, has solid fundraising support and can draw on Democratic support as his past campaigns have indicated, Gibbons reported.
The only other announced GOP candidate for the seat is Lower Merion Township Commissioner Lance Rogers, a 33-year-old lawyer.
The race may get nasty before the April 22 primary.
Durante said he would seek the GOP endorsement for his candidacy but stopped short of saying he would bow out of the contest if he did not win the endorsement, according to Gibbons.
"I am a team player but some say that the endorsement already has been given away to someone who wasn’t even a Republican two months ago," Durante told Gibbons.
Durante was referring to Rogers, a former Republican who switched his registration to Independent when he ran for township commissioner and then this month re-registered as a Republican before announcing his bid for the state Senate.
Democrats who have announced for the seat include state Rep. Daylin Leach and radio talk show host Robert A. Rovner, a lawyer from Lower Merion who once served in the state Senate when he lived in Bucks County.
The 17th state Senate District includes the Montgomery County municipalities of Norristown, West Conshohocken, Bridgeport, Conshohocken, Narberth, Upper Merion, Plymouth, East Norriton and Lower Merion as well as the Delaware County townships of Haverford and Radnor.
Read Gibbons' full story about Durante in The Times Herald of Norristown.
3 comments:
John Durante should run for state Senate. He would be a tireless asset for public safety and shows he understands the issues. He has a lifelong career in law enforcement, starting as a deputy sheriff, and working his way up as a county detective to Director of the Forensic Identification Unit before being elected Sheriff. He has held membership in three fire companies and was an active member for several years. He also serves as President of the Plymouth
Community Ambulance Association. He has been a member of Plymouth Ambulance for over 40 years, starting as a young EMT, and has made great strides in turning this organization around after previous financial mismanagement. John Durante would fight hard for law enforcement issues and agencies in Montgomery and Delaware Counties and deserves our support!
ah but what about the non endorsed spoiler from delco? any thoughts there? this wannabe hails from Radnor....what do you think?
http://paolinoforsenate.blogspot.com/
I suspect Lance Rogers' people put Lisa Paolino up to this.
She descibes herself on her "blogspot" as having won her elections "independent of any politcal party machine".
She sounds like Rogers in the way he keeps changing his affiliations in order to suit his agenda.
1. First he works for Bill Clinton as a White House intern;
2. Then he moves to Montgomery County and registers as a Republican, coincidentally when the GOP is the party to be as a candidate because of its edge in voter registration;
3.. Then he decides to run for Commissioner and registers as an Independent to get elected Commissioner in a Democrat-dominated town;
4. Then he raises money from both sides of the aisle to run for senate;
5. Then he switches his registration to Republican a few days before he announces that he wants to be the GOP nominee for the 17th District Senate Seat.
Don't be fooled people. Look at what's happening.
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