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Retirees Campaign for Winning Candidates
ELECTION VICTORIES WERE sweet for AFSCME retirees this year, as race after race was called for prosenior, pro-labor candidates on November 7. It was clearly an election that called for change. When all was said and done, the Democrats had won the U.S. House of Representatives with at least 230 seats (Republicans hold 196 seats, with a few races still undetermined at this writing) and the U.S. Senate with 51 seats (49 for the Republicans). In addition, the Democrats now hold the majority of governorships nationwide (28 to 22).
NO TO THE PRIVATIZERS. In many of those winning races, AFSCME retirees had campaigned for months to replace Social Security privatizers in Congress, and to elect governors and state legislators who understand the importance of strong public pensions and retiree health care coverage.
"In Ohio, the Republican majority had rocked the state with scandal, so we were due for a change," explains Loneste Blackwell, president of Ohio Retiree Chapter 1184. The chapter backed the winning candidate for governor - U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland (D) and the winner for U.S. Senate - U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown (D).
"Wherever I went, I had to assure folks I was no relation to the Republican candidate for Governor - Ken Blackwell - who had terrible positions on our issues," she says. "I told them, 'this Blackwell is voting for Strickland.'"
CANDIDATE COMPARISONS. Chapter 1184 distributed candidate comparisons at sites where seniors tend to gather, such as senior centers, club meetings, and retirement housing complexes. The leaflets showed how both Strickland and Brown had earned top ratings from the Alliance for Retired Americans - 100 percent pro senior congressional voting records during their careers in the U.S. House.
In Pennsylvania, the race for U.S. Senate pitted State Treas. Bob Casey Jr. (D) against incumbent Sen. Rick Santorum (R), one of the nation's leading advocates for Social Security privatization. Casey won a decisive victory.
According to Dan Mazus, president of Pennsylvania Retiree Chapter 13, "this race was a no-brainer for retirees. If Santorum had been reelected, he'd have been pushing for privatization in January; instead, we'll have Casey, who's promised to protect Social Security."
PHONE BANK VOLUNTEERS. Mazus and his members volunteered for labor phone banks across the state, urging fellow AFSCME members to vote for Casey and to re-elect Ed Rendell as governor. "Rendell helped seniors with prescription drug costs - a huge expense," Mazus says. "He was the clear choice for older voters."
In mid-October, AFSCME retiree groups sponsored pre-election luncheons in Philadelphia and Baltimore that recruited dozens of volunteers for endorsed candidates.
According to Maryland Retiree Chapter 1 Pres. Ida Ward, 600 chapter members attended the Baltimore event and heard Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley - Democratic candidate for governor, and U.S. Rep. Ben Cardin - Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. Both won their elections by wide margins.
CASEY LUNCHEON. The Philadelphia luncheon - where U.S. Senate candidate Bob Casey spoke - was sponsored by Retiree Chapters 2, 47, 1199C and Chapter 13's Philadelphia Subchapter 8801. "The hall could only hold 400 people, but more than twice that number wanted to come," said Betty Flanagan, Pres. of Chapter 47.
"Everybody was so excited about this election."
According to Flanagan, whenever Santorum's name was mentioned, the entire audience hissed and booed.
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