SR mayor invites activist to talk to crowd at fire company
SLIPPERY ROCK — County Republicans gathered this past weekend for an event aimed at recruiting new candidates for office.
About 50 people assembled Saturday at the Slippery Rock Volunteer Fire Company, 162 Elm St., where Slippery Rock Mayor Jondavid Longo invited Scott Presler, a Northern Virginia-based activist, to talk about ways people can become engaged in all levels of politics.
Presler has a sizable social media following and his stated aim is to help elect “America First politicians and defeating those who aren't.”
He spent about two hours telling the group how they can run for local and state positions from city council to state senate.
Longo said the crowd came from all over Pennsylvania, but also from Florida, New Jersey, Ohio and other states.
“I was taught to stand for the flag,” Longo said, telling the group he knew they were upset about President Joe Biden's election. “I remember that we had civics class. We need to get in positions of influence to remind people that it's not normal to not praise God, that it's not normal to not stand for the flag.”
Longo said they needed to get “good Americans” into office, and he continued that “we know there was some crazy things going on” with the presidential election, referencing Donald Trump's discredited claim the election was rigged and stolen by Democrats.
Presler acknowledged that nothing illegal took place during the election. Instead, he claimed, “Democrats changed the rules,” referencing voter reform aimed at making it easier for people to vote.
Presler discussed Gov. Tom Wolf, whose name elicited jeers from the group. “I'm sorry to mention that curse word,” Presler said.
He told the crowd his aim is to help change swing states to conservative bastions by getting members of the crowd and others to run for local offices and eventually pass their own “election reforms.”
“It's more important to win at the state and local level,” Presler said. “So, to reform elections, we need to keep control of swing states.”
In this vein, he advised the crowd to use tools such as Ballotpedia, a digital encyclopedia of American politics and elections. He also told potential candidates to begin thinking about “their brand.”
He gave a mother as an example who could use her motherhood as a platform for talking about child education priorities, a veteran who is concerned with military affairs, or a doctor who cares about health care reform.
“Perception is reality,” Presler said.
Longo said he has known Presler for about two years, and he invited him because it's important to get “like-minded individuals” into office.
“It's too often people are scared of getting into politics, so this is a way to help them,” Longo said.
He also said it was important to get conservatives into office because he wants people who respect the country, the armed services and law enforcement.
Asked about the rioters on Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol who killed one law enforcement officer and injured more, Longo said, “In the same way that people on the left don't want Black Lives Matter and antifa riots to represent their point of views, so too do conservatives not want that event to be representative of them.”
