Jennifer Satler - Making the Democrats that supported her proud!

The Allegheny County Democratic Committee did an amazing job of picking one of their endorsed judicial candidates this spring. This is what happens when judges are elected to a position instead of appointed. You have judicial candidates that pander to the extreme positions of both parties to win an election.

The Allegheny County Democratic Party sent out this mailer asking for support of their endorsed candidates who “will provide competent leadership while recognizing the fundamental values that makes us Democrats.”

 

Then one of their endorsed candidates, Jennifer Satler sent out two mailings to Republicans with a picture of her and Republican Congressman Tim Murphy and talks about her ‘conservative values.’

 

Is this the type of person we want on the bench? Someone who is willing to tell both sides what they want to hear? Would she tell a victim that the criminal is going to jail for 25 years and then tell the criminal that he only gets probation?

No wonder she was ranked ‘Not Qualified’ by the Allegheny County Bar Association.

Notch this up as another great decision by the Allegheny County Democratic Committee.
 

Former Republican Jennifer Satler for Judge

I mentioned in a previous post about how Republican lawyers that want to be judges in Allegheny County will switch their party registration to Democrat just so they have a chance at winning. There is already one former Republican running for judge in Allegheny County (Craig Stephens). Mr. Stephens switched his party registration in 2008.

However, there is at least one other candidate that is a former Republican and she was a little more blatant about switching just before the first time she ran for judge. Jennifer Satler switched her party registration from Republican to Democrat in January of 2009. She then started circulating petitions to run for judge in February of 2009. She ended up running without the Democratic endorsement.(The City Paper has a great piece about what the endorsement means or doesn't mean.)

I decided to go back and really read the letters (this and this) that Ms. Satler has been sending out to the Democratic Committee. Many of the candidates talk about how they have been involved in helping Democrats get elected or how they have been involved in causes that are more likely to be championed by Democrats. Ms. Satler never seems to mention anything than, 'as you can see, I have lots of support from Democrats.' It is almost as if she is avoiding talking about her political beliefs. Maybe that is because she has never helped Democrats get elected, since she can't even take the time to vote. Actually, maybe that is how she helps the Democrats. If she really is a Republican, then not showing up does help elect more Democrats.

I've also been told that she is one of 2 candidates running for judge that are 'not recommended' by the Allegheny County Bar Association. I can't seem to verify this information and was told that Bar Association does not list their ratings until just before the Primary Election. Although she was rated 'not recommended' in 2011 and 'unqualified' in 2009.

PJ Murray for Judge

Here is a post card and handouts from PJ Murray who is running for judge. It is a pretty intense handout and each folded side had to be scanned and then put back together by the committee member that sent it to me. It also has a hidden gem when really analyzed. One question that I've been told is often asked by Democratic Committee members is if the candidate would run without the endorsement. I've been told it is pretty entertaining to watch candidates try and duck and weave around the question. The Democratic Committee can just rip off a sticker on this handout to find out Mr. Murray's plans for the Primary if he doesn't win the endorsement. Take off the May 10th (endorsement day) sticker and you find a May 21st (Primary Election Day) sticker.

 

 

 

 

Marc Daffner for Judge

Some handouts and mail from Marc Daffner. Mr. Daffner ran for judge in 2011 and did not win the endorsement. He then dropped out of the race. He also attempted to run in 2003 and 2005 and dropped out after not receiving the endorsement. Many years ago, this was the ultimate sign of respect to the Democratic Committee and usually resulted in the endorsement the next time you ran. In recent years, this hasn't been the case or else Mr. Daffner would have been endorsed in 2005 & 2011.

Here are some mail and handouts from Mr. Daffner. Not sure how well the martial arts picture plays, but again to each their own:

“No perks” Randy Vulakovich amasses more than $20,000 in state perks

FROM THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE:

“No perks” Randy Vulakovich amasses more than $20,000 in state perks

Per diems, state car, excess mileage, and other expenses found in state records show more of the same from Republican wanting to replace jailed GOP senator

(Pittsburgh – July 23, 2012) – As Republican Randy Vulakovich runs commercials in his race for the 40th State Senatorial seat claiming to be a “real reformer” who is “refusing the Harrisburg perks such as per diems and a state car,” the Allegheny County Democratic Committee has discovered that Vulakovich received $20,978.67 in perks from January 2007 to May of this year. The details of the Vulakovich secret perks were found in records of the Office of the Comptroller of the House of Representatives.

“’No perks’ Randy is a fraud,” said Nancy Patton Mills, Chair of the County Democrats. “As a state legislator, he gets more than his share of perks – and plenty of them. He has accepted per diems. He has had a state car. And when he hasn’t had a state car, he has received mileage and other car payments of more than $13,000 -- all of which went directly into his pocket.

“Meanwhile, the people of his district are paying through the nose for both his perks and his policies,” continued Mills. “While Randy has been feeding at the public trough, he has also been voting to cut funding to schools and local municipalities. The schools in his district have had to raise property taxes to make up the difference to keep their quality schools going. This is certainly not a record he should be proud of.

“This special election on August 7 is happening for one reason only – the previous Republican senator engaged in unethical, untruthful, and ultimately criminal behavior, and she was convicted and jailed for violating the public trust,” said Mills. “Now we have another Republican who claims to be a reformer, but apparently sees nothing wrong with lying to the public.

“The voters of this district deserve far better – and electing Dr. Sharon Brown will give them the ethical and honest representation they want and need,” continued Mills. “Dr. Brown has real world experience – as a nurse practitioner, an educator, and a small business owner. She has met a payroll. She knows how to care for people in a time of shrinking budgets. She knows that the schools of the district are a major reason why families move to and stay in the district, and that we must protect them – for now and in the future. And she knows that to continue the same kind of leadership that failed us before will only fail us again.”

Altmire gets Allegheny Dems nod

Last Sunday, the Allegheny County Democrats held their endorsement meeting where they vote for their endorsed candidates. If you saw my post from the other day, there were no surprises. I was a perfect 5 for 5 on my predictions.

While I am not someone that believes the Democratic Committee endorsement is ridiculously important, I do believe it can prove if candidates have any real staying power depending on the effort/money that the candidate put into the endorsement.

PA Congressional District 12:

Jason Altmire 122 (65.95%)

Mark Critz 63 (34.05%)

A lot of progressives were watching this vote closely and trying to prove that Altmire wasn't 'liberal' enough to be a Democrat. Word on the street is that Critz went all out for this endorsement vote. I was told by a Democratic Committee member that there was 2 large sized color post cards, multiple letters, multiple robocalls, and a lot of big screen TV's were given away by the Critz campaign. Estimates are showing that Critz spent more money per vote then Rick Perry did in Iowa. haha.

At the end of the day, this is a pretty big blow to the Critz campaign since they put so much effort into this vote. I saw the Critz campaign spin of the rsults that they got 1/3 of the vote in just 6 weeks. I think Critz could have not sent a single piece of mail and he would have received 50 votes from the far left of the committee that are upset with Altmire.

Allegheny County Democratic Endorsements

Everyone that closely follows politics in the Pittsburgh area will be waiting for the results of the Allegheny County Democratic Endorsement meeting. The bloggers, politicos, and political reporters pay more attention to the endorsement than voters. We have seen plenty of candidates without the endorsement win the Primary, so I don't know how effective getting the endorsement is. However, it is important to the candidates and their campaigns as a momentum swing leading into the Primary.

Here is the list of candidates going for the endorsement:
http://www.alleghenydemocrats.com/our-candidates

I've been told that there have been some mailings sent out in the Altmire/Critz race, but no one sent them to me this year. One comment from a reader was that Critz appears to be spending a lot of money for the endorsement.

My predictions for the endorsement vote in contested races:

Doyle over Brooks
Altmire over Critz
Ravenstahl over Purcell
Schmotzer over Frank and Lunny
Gainey over Preston

We'll see the results on Sunday.

Allegheny County Democratic Post Card

Nothing special, just the usual post card with the list of Democratic candidates from the Allegheny County Democratic Committee.

Allegheny County Democratic Party Mailings

Below are two mailings, both of which I have to assume were put together by the Allegheny County Democratic Party. The first one is pretty nice and put together well. I like the yard signs on the back. The second one is pretty boring and I'm really disappointed with the size of the Allegheny County Democratic Party's website on the mailing. Also, there is no mention of their Twitter or Facebook.

After checking out their Twitter (last update March 11th) and Facebook page (last update March 7th), it appears social media is not the Allegheny County Democratic Party's speciality.