Kennett Democrats hold meet and greet

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Kennett Area Democrats celebrate the opening of their new headquarters at 119 East Linden Street during a pre Democratic Party Convention in Philadelphia.

While Democratic Party delegates from across the country were swooping into Philadelphia for the party’s national convention, Kennett Area Democrats were holding their own preconvention gathering.

More than 100 local Democrats met at party headquarters on East Linden Street in Kennett Square Sunday afternoon, listening to a bevy of candidates and enjoying sunshine, food and refreshments. Among them were U.S. Rep candidate Mary Ellen Balchunis, state attorney general candidate Josh Shapiro, Susan Rzucidlo, candidate for state representative for the 158th Legislative District and Marty Molloy, who is challenging state Sen. Tom Killion.

Chester County Democratic Party Chairman Brian McGinnis told the crowd that the Philadelphia suburbs are crucial.

“The issues are on our side, we have the candidates on our side, and we have the organization on our side,” he said. “Whoever wins in Chester County, will win in Pennsylvania. The road to Pennsylvania and the White House will go through Chester County.”

McGinnis said the key to getting Hillary Clinton elected president is for Chester County Democrats to get out the vote in November.

Rzucidlo will be facing Republican Eric Roe in November. Her issues are property tax reform, protection of open space and the environment, and support for public education.

She said the environment is a “huge issue. People need to have access to clean air and clean water.

“We need to focus on property tax reform. People just can’t afford the direction that we’re heading. But we need to reform the way Harrisburg works. We can’t do it a spot at a time. We have to do it across the state,” she said.

Rzucidlo said that there are great public schools and that she wants them to stay great. The problem, she said, is funding them properly. She sees a way to bring in more money for schools and shift the burden away from property taxes.

“In Pennsylvania we give out more than $700,000 worth of corporate tax breaks, corporate welfare. We need to look at that and evaluate what good the public gets [from that]. If the public isn’t truly benefitting from those breaks we give corporations, we need to stop doing that and use the money for schools,” Rzucidlo said.

She added that if the state funded schools at 50 percent, using that money gained from closing corporate tax breaks would allow for property taxes to go down.”

Molloy, who lost to Killion in the special election for state Senate in April, will go up against him again in November, but said his issues have not changed.

As with Rzucidlo, his first issue concerns education funding. He is?? pleased the state has since passed a basic education funding formula.

“We’re all pleased with that, but there’s still great inequality between our most affluent school districts and our poorest. Until we prioritize education funding, we’ve got a problem in this commonwealth,” Molloy said.

He’s also interested in social justice issues, such as LGBT issues.

“Issues of inclusion, making sure that in 2016 that everyone is a part of the commonwealth’s wonderful opportunities, that you won’t be excluded from a job or be denied a mortgage just because of someone that you love,” he said.

As was a main issue with him in the spring, Molloy continues to stress a need for gun control. He sees a need for restricting the capacity of magazines and for universal background checks.

When reminded that potential gun buyers in Pennsylvania are already required to pass two background checks, Molly said he wants to make sure “the state system and the state police have as strong a background check mechanism as they possibly can, and that it doesn’t get dismantled.”

He also wants an assault weapons ban, “anything that’s military-style, military-grade, weapon.”

He gave the AR-15 as an example of a military-style weapon, even though it doesn’t have an automatic fire setting.

“They’re terrifying,” he said. “I want to make it as difficult for people who shouldn’t have guns to have guns in their hands,” Molloy said.

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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