Bedford County Democrats held its Spring Social and Candidate Night Thursday, April 26 at the Bedford American Legion, 3721 Business 220; Bedford, Pennsylvania 15522. Candidates Beb Baughman, Brent Ottawy, and Jeff Cole spoke at the event.
Bedford Gazette, February 1
Click link or image to read the article.
Photos from Tuesday’s Announcement Event
Johnstown Tribune Democrat, January 31
They really needed that tax cut that helped to drive up the defecit.
Click this link or the image to read more.
2017 Scrapbook of Republican Government – Click an Article to Read in Full Screen Mode
Results of Statewide Races
Democrats won three of of the four Superior Court positions. Geoff Moulton did not make it. The least qualified Republican candidate (her only judicial experience was as a district magistrate) received the highest vote total among the Republican field to slip past Moulton by approx. 27,000 votes.
Judges Kunselman, McLaughlin, and Nichols in Bedford
Dwayne Woodruff lost to Sallie Mundy for Supreme Court. Mundy was already on the court so the balance there remains 5 to 2 in favor of Democrats.
Dems split for Commonwealth Court. Ellen Ceisler won and Irene Clark lost.
View Results of Statewide Races
Online results for Bedford County are not available at this time.
FAITH ZEMBOWER: KEEP EXPERIENCE WORKING FOR YOU
Faith Zembower will be running for re-election as the Bedford County Register of Wills / 
Recorder of Deeds on November 7. For 24 years, Faith has served Bedford County residents with passion, commitment and a caring heart- always willing to go above and beyond. You and your loved ones have likely needed the services this office offers.
The Register of Wills division is responsible for filing all papers in reference to the probate of wills and estates and all related documents. The primary goal of the office is to serve all county residents, especially in times of grieving.
The Recorder of Deeds division records all documents pertaining to land and property transactions including deeds, mortgages, leases, liens, surveys, financing statements and rights of way.
Additionally, the office keeps records of oaths of office for all county elected officials, notary publics, district justices, military discharges, and highway maps.
Copies of all documents are maintained and preserved for public use. Lawyers, title searchers, loan officers, and genealogists are among those who frequently research records, which date back to 1771. (www.bedfordcountyregisterrecorder.com)
October 12 Dinner
The Bedford County Democrats held its Fall Social and Candidate Night on Thursday, October 12 at the Bedford American Legion. Judge Debbie Kunselman, Justice of the Superior Court Candidate, and Katie Blume, , Deputy Political Director of the PA Democrats spoke to the group along with Faith Zembower, Bedford County Register / Recorder.
BC Dems Celebrating Labor at the Altoona Labor Day Parade
BC Dems had a strong showing at the Altoona Labor Day Parade and had an opportunity to make new friends. (Click on any image to enlarge.)
BC Dems Summer Picnic
Mary and Bruce Johnson, sister and brother in law, and campaign chairs for PA Supreme Court Justice Debra Todd, and Adam Sedlock, Congressional Candidate for the 9th Congressional District, attended the summer picnic of the Bedford County Democrats on Saturday, August 12. Check our Facebook page for more pictures.
Judge Maria McLaughlin in Bedford, Tuesday, July 11
Judge Maria McLaughlin stopped by Ed’s Steak House on Tuesday, July 11 to meet with Bedford County Democrats. We had dinner together and chatted for about two hours. Some of Judge McLaughlin’s bio appears below.
Superior Court Candidate
The Honorable Maria McLaughlin is a Judge in the Court of Common Pleas, First Judicial District. Judge McLaughlin presides over both family law and criminal law matters. Currently, Judge McLaughlin serves as the co-chair on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas FYI Committee and as the current vice-president of the Nicholas A. Cipriani Family Law American Inn of Court. She has on numerous occasions participated on judicial panels and has lectured for the Philadelphia Bar Association, the Delaware County Bar Association, PA Trial Lawyers Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. Judge McLaughlin has appeared as a guest on local television and radio shows to discuss a variety of family law topics.
Judge McLaughlin is a member of the National Association of Women Judges, a member of the Widener University School of Law Alumni board, a longstanding board member of the “Do the Write Thing” national youth anti-violence campaign, and an Executive member of the Central High School’s Home and School Board. In addition to her judicial duties, Judge McLaughlin was an Acting City Commissioner for the 2015 elections.
Prior to being elected to the bench, Judge McLaughlin served as Chief Assistant District Attorney of the Child Support Enforcement Unit. She was an attorney in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office for 19 years. She was one of the youngest female Chiefs appointed by District Attorney Lynne Abraham.
Judge McLaughlin is a graduate of Widener University School of Law where she received her J.D. in 1992 and her B.S. from Penn State University in 1988. Judge McLaughlin is a member of both the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Bar and was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States of America, the US District Court for the Eastern District to PA, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the US District Court for the District of New Jersey.
BC Dems in Service to the Community
Working to End Gerrymandering
On May 9, four BC Dems traveled to Harrisburg to participate in a Fair Districts PA rally and to met with State Senator Wayne Langerholc in his office to lobby for Senate Bill 22, which would limit Gerrymandering in PA.
Learn more at https://bedfordcountydems.org/gerrymandering-2/ or contact us.
United Way Day of Caring
Two teams of Bedford County Democrats volunteered their time for the United Way Day of Caring on Friday April 21. Six volunteers worked at the Bedford Library, and five worked at homes in Everett and Upper Snake Spring Township.
April 22 March for Science in Washington DC
Several groups of Bedford County Dems made the trip to the March for Science. Here are a few pictures from one of the groups.
January
Collecting Food and Donations for for Bedford Food Outreach, Inc..
Chicken BBQ
A chicken BBQ was held on June 11
The May 30 Meeting of the Bedford County Democrats started a special “Strategic Doing” process to guide the priorities and activities of the Bedford County Democrats.
The workshop was held at Hoss’s at the PA Turnpike entrance, Business Route 220, Bedford, PA. This special meeting was held from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and was facilitated by Sandy Mehalko.
May 16 Primary Elections
There are 5 Superior Court Justice candidates on the Democratic Ballot and 6 candidates Commonwealth Court Judges. Only 4 Superior Court candidates and 2 Commonwealth Court candidates will advance to the general election. Help us nominate the most qualified candidates. The endorsed candidates below were the top candidates that emerged from a rigorous vetting process.
Endorsed Candidates Click here for a printable version of the endorsed candidates.Click here for sample ballots for all Bedford County precincts. |
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The Regular Monthy Meeting of the Bedford County Democrats was held 7:00 pm Tuesday, April 25 at the American Legion, 3721 Business 220; Bedford, Pennsylvania 15522.
We distributed campaign materials for the May 16 primary and discussed strategies for reaching our voters.
April 20 Dinner
The Bedford County Democrats held their spring dinner on April 20. Superior Court Candidates Judge Geoffrey Moulton and Judge Carolyn Nichols spoke to the group along with Gillian Kratzer, representing Todd Eagen, candidate for Judge of the Commonwealth Court.
Judge Geoffrey Moulton http://www.judgemoulton.com/ was appointed as a Judge of the Superior Court by Governor Wolf and joined the court in August 2016. |
Judge Carolyn Nichols http://www.nicholsforpa.com was elected to the Court of Common Pleas in 2011 and is assigned to the Criminal Trial Division, Major Crimes. |
Dwayne Heisler, representing Fair Districts PA, http://www.fairdistrictspa.com/ spoke at the February 28 meeting of the Bedford County Democrats.
The effects of gerrymandering can be extreme when one political party controls all of the branches of government, as Pennsylvania Republicans did in 2010, during the reapportionment process,. Pennsylvania has almost a million more registered Democrats than Republicans, but the effects of gerrymandering has resulted in Republicans holding 13 of Pennsylvania’s 18 U.S. Congressional seats, 34 of 50 PA Senate seats, and 81 of 203 PA House seats. Gerrymandering builds inequities into our representation insulating many elected officials in safe districts from accountability.
Use the Gerrymandering link on the top menu to learn more.
February 18 Petition Party
The Bedford County Democrats held a “petition party” on Saturday, February 18. The event was held at the Bird’s Nest Cafe & Bakery (https://www.facebook.com/birdsnestcafeandbakery) at 113 South Richard Street, Bedford. Kevin Miller, party chair, explained the the proper way to collect petition signatures, and attendees signed petitions for statewide and countywide candidates. We also took petitions for signatures in our local precincts.
See more photos on the Bedford County Pa Democrat Party Facebook page.
Political Director of Pennsylvania Democratic Party Speaks in Bedford County
Mitch Kates, Political Director for the Pennsylvania Democrat Party spoke at the January 31 meeting of the Bedford County Democrats. Kates accepted his current position in December 2015 after managing David Wecht’s successful bid for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
According to the press release announcing his appointment, “Kates has built a national and international profile for leading winning campaigns, including that of Prime Ministers of the countries of Georgia and Kosovo.” He previously established his credentials in multiple campaigns in Florida.
Judge Dwayne Woodruff, candidate for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, introduced himself as a candidate. Learn more about Judge Woodruff from his Facebook page. You can also see a video of Judge Woodruff on our Facebook page.
More than 50 people attended the event, which was also used to collect food and raise money for Bedford Food Outreach, Inc..
Regular meetings are the last Tuesday of each month, except December. Social Hour begins at 6:00 p.m. and the business meetings start at 7:00. Meetings are held at the American Legion, 3721 Business 220; Bedford, Pennsylvania 15522. Everyone is welcome.
BC Dems will meet this evening. Social Hour begins at 6:00 p.m. and the business meeting starts at 7:00.
Meetings are held at the American Legion, 3721 Business 220; Bedford, Pennsylvania 15522. Everyone is welcome.
Regular meetings are the last Tuesday of each month, except December.
Bedford County Democrats 