Whistle-Stop Tour
Despite the rain, Democratic candidates and voters dashed to Butler County locales Sunday for a Whistle-Stop Tour.
The tour drew about 150 people as it spanned nearly eight hours between four stops, including Butler, Cranberry and Adams townships and Prospect.
“I think we need to do more of this in our politics in general,” said Kathy Kline of Butler. “It's these types of town hall meetings or park meetings where you can actually talk one-on-one with your candidates.”
The tour started at the Jaycee Shelter in the Cranberry Community Park, Cranberry Township, where the tour's only incumbent, U.S. Rep Conor Lamb, D-17th, greeted constituents with fist bumps and masked smiles.
“I'm really tall. I'm about 5 feet. I like that he's really tall, and he's a pretty nice guy,” said Lily Bennett, who is an 8-year-old taking cyber classes at Haine Elementary School. “I really hope we can get people in office who can help me get back to school.”
Lamb said Butler County is always an important stop for him.
“I have the tiniest slice of the county, but I always come here, and you've made me feel welcome,” he said.
As Lamb spoke, the crowd grew quiet and serious, like the message he had to convey. Lamb asked them to reach within themselves to find more, to work harder than ever before.
“How much do we want it between now and November?” he asked, receiving a round of applause in return.
After each candidate spoke, they opened for questions from the crowd. Harry Richards of Mercer Township said he as a U.S. Army veteran appreciated Lamb for his service and voiced his concerns about the Trump administration's treatment of veterans, among other matters.
Afterward, Richards said he also really appreciated hearing from candidate Kristy Gnibus, who is running against U.S. Rep Mike Kelly, R-16th, in his district.
“You have to go in there and be bold and have guts,” he said. “She's a fighter, and she wants the best for the people in her district, to give them what they need.”In her message, Gnibus said the country under the Trump administration has become too comfortable with the status quo, and she has suffered like too many hardworking people.“I've never not had two to three jobs (to make ends meet.) That isn't the American dream, and that's not what families deserve,” she said. “We deserve more.”Gnibus spoke at every one of the stops because she's vying for a seat that would include most of Butler County. She said she will always make the effort to be there because the people deserve to be heard on the issues that matter to them.“Our democracy is on the ballot, and we can't do it without you,” she said.Excitement carried between each stop, each with diverse perspectives and candidates relative to where the stop took place, including Shelbie Strohmyer, candidate for 21st Senate District; Tony DeLoreto, 41st Senate District, Stephen Krizan III, 47th Senate District; Kolbe Cole, 10th House District; Sam Doctor, 11th state House District; Daniel Smith Jr., 12th state House District; and Phil Heasley, 8th state House District.
Doctor spoke at the Butler stop. He said he may have been the most conservative person huddled under the pavilion, but what was more important was the search for the truth and using fact-based research to guide political decisions.“My campaign is about things we can get done, where Republicans, Democrats and Independents can come together on level ground,” he said. “Evidence-based policymaking is what we need in the 21st century.”Heasley, a Center Township resident, spoke at the last stop of the evening at Moraine State Park.“It's a great chance to meet people who I've never had a chance to meet before, and the people are just seeing the event on Facebook,” Heasley said.Heasley said he had heard all the events were well attended, and he felt good about the message administered at each, that this election and their votes matter. He said the way to win is to take the political world back to face-to-face interactions with COVID-19 mitigation strategies in mind.“This is the most important election of a lifetime,” he said. “We see a lot of people who are active on Facebook, but we need to turn those posts into votes. We need to get these people off the internet and active in real time.”
