The 2012 election year may go down as another election where incumbents get to stay in office. At least that was the case in the greater Chadds Ford area.
President Barak Obama won re-election for another term in office, so did several other incumbents in local races.
State Sen. Dominic Pileggi defeated Democratic Party’s Patricia Worrell in the 9th Senatorial District.
In a statement issued late election night, Pileggi said, “As Senate Majority Leader, I have worked to increase fiscal responsibility and transparency in state government, two issues that I will continue to champion during my next term. There is still much that needs to be done and I will continue my efforts to develop pragmatic and common sense solutions to the economic and fiscal challenges facing Pennsylvania.”
Pileggi has been in the state senate since 2002 and has been the senate majority leader since 2006.
In other elections, U.S. Reps. Joe Pitts and Pat Meehan, both Republicans, won re-election in the 16th and 7th Congressional districts respectively. In the U.S. Senate race for Pennsylvania, incumbent Democrat Bob Casey beat out challenger Republican Tom Smith.
For the state House of Representatives, Republican Chris Ross, in the 158th district, won re-election, as did Steve Barrar who ran unopposed in the 160th district. Ross beat Democrat Susan Rzucidlo. This is the ninth term in office for both incumbent Republicans.
While the political veterans retained their seats, some high school students got their first taste of politicking. Several students from Unionville High School were manning tables at two polling stations in Pennsbury Township. Two at Chadds Ford Elementary School were advocates for Obama and two at the Pennsbury Township building were Mitt Romney supporters.
Tessa Jackson and Natalie Walden, both seniors at UHS, manned the Democratic Party table at CFES, one of the four polling places in Pennsbury.
Their presence was part of a school project. Walden said they’re required to do two hours of activism each marking period for an advanced placement government class.
“I thought this would be a good way to get involved with the Democratic Party,” Walden said. “It’s something I wanted to do.”
She said the government class teaches the Republican and Democratic views and she favors the Democrats because she’s a liberal and is more sensitive to women’s issues. There is no discussion of third parties or how their philosophies differ, she said, and added that that was a problem.
“I think we should be studying more than just those two sides,” Walden said.
Farther down Route 1, at the Pennsbury municipal building, were Lindsey Bower, an 11th-grader at Unionville High, and Alexandria Coleman, a senior at the school. Both were recruited to represent the Romney/Ryan ticket.
Sharon Jones, a Republican committeewoman arranged for the two — along with others from both Unionville and Avondale High School — to take part.
Jones said it was a chance for the students to get involved in the political process, if only up to a point, during their day off from school.
Bower, still too young to vote, said she wanted to get involved because she wants to speak her views and tell people how she would vote if she were old enough.
She said it’s time for a change.
“We’ve seen what Obama has done and we need a change out there, and Mitt Romney wants to do that,” Bower said.
Coleman said she was out to express her view because she’ll be in college next year and is concerned about whether there would be a job available to her once she graduates.
“Am I going to be able to come out in a strong economy? I want to be able to leave college and be confident that my education will pay off because there will be jobs and I want America to thrive,” she said.
Ballot questions in a few other states worth noting: Maine and Maryland became the first two states to approve gay marriage by popular vote, while Washington State and Colorado approved the recreational use of marijuana. The Colorado question amends the state constitution. Massachusetts’ voters approved the use of medical marijuana.
Main photo: Voters stand in line to cast their ballots at Birmingham Friends Meeting, one of two polling locations in Birmingham Township.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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