West Goshen Democrats

Congratulations to Sue Carty, Deb Liczwek, Lisa Samuel, and Sue Tiernan for winning the Democratic nomination for School Board. A special congratulations to Sue Carty and Sue Tiernan for winning the most total votes in the primary. The election is not over and only has just begun. These qualified candidates will appear on the November ballot with the top four candidates winning seats on the School Board. They need your support. Please visit their website www.wcasdexcellence.org and contribute to their campaign. Remember it’s your children’s future and your tax dollars at stake in this election.

A life long Republican, Jim Smith, and current School Board President, is very nervous to say the least regarding the “endorsement” of Sean Carpenter, John Wingertner, Heidi Adsett, and Maria Armandi Pimley for School Board. Jim Smith said the Republican Party chose earlier this month to endorse school board candidates with a conservative ideology rather than those who are well-qualified to run the district.

“A small group of radicals has taken control of a party I dearly love,” said Smith, a Republican. “West Chester’s schools provide excellent education, and we have the lowest tax rate in the county. These qualities need to be maintained. Obviously that’s not recognized by the core of committee-people who seem to be controlling the selection process.”

What prompted Smith and other Republican school board members to publicly express concern about the endorsed Republican candidates was an article written by Sean Carpenter, one of the endorsed Republicans.

In the article “The Shot Over the Bough (sic),” Carpenter wrote the Republicans’ decision to endorse him and the other three candidates signifies a victory for the conservative wing of the party and a defeat for its liberal wing.

“This is exactly how we want to take back the Republican Party — using superior preparation and ideas to win these battles,” Carpenter wrote. “This is how we get office holders we can support with pride, rather than ones that are an embarrassment to us all.”

The article was sent to members of the Pennsylvania Conservative Council, which Carpenter recently helped found. Later, it was posted to patownhall.com, where members of the local educational and political communities read it.

Jim Davison, president of the school board’s finance committee, said Carpenter’s rhetoric makes him nervous.
“I hope anybody elected to the school board has right motivation and best interest of the kids and of education in mind,” Davison said. “The job is really serious, and people should not be running unless they’re serious.”

Carpenter said his newsletter article was not meant for everyone to see.
“It was geared toward a conservative audience that is obviously very excited for me because I won the endorsement,” he said.

Published: Daily Local News Sunday, February 22, 2009

So, Mr. Carpenter, if this was geared to the conservative audience, what does that say about the rest of us? If members of the Republican Party are nervous about their own candidates, shouldn’t the rest of us be nervous as well? What is the agenda of Mr. Carpenter and the rest of the “endorsed” Republican candidates? Is he trying to advance his political career with your child’s education? These are some questions you need to ask yourself when you vote, Tuesday, May 19th.

John Wingertner is running for School Board as an “endorsed Republican candidate” but also has political ties which make his candidacy suspect for the School Board. He is a former Republican candidate for state legislature and proponent of teaching Intelligent Design in the classroom. Intelligent design is the assertion that “certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection. On the May 3rd, 2009 School Board debate all candidates were asked about teaching Intelligent Design in the classroom. Five of the six dismissed creationism as “not science” and all six agreed that the present curriculum should not change, although Wingerter said he “we shouldn’t say it isn’t somewhat scientific” and he was “aware of research studies being done on creationism … students need to know there are other ideas out there.” Carty, a former science teacher, described herself as a “spiritual person” but added that “intelligent design is not science.” (www.wcjim.com)

John Wingertner’s extreme views and connections do not end there. He is also a member of PALCS. PALCS is a conservative-oriented institution whose income comes through the school board from the taxpayer.  PALCS’s founder and CEO is Republican committeeperson James Hanak, who also founded and directs American Family Ministries.  A cyber school that he previously directed, Einstein Academy in Morrisville PA, lost its charter for financial mismanagement and failure to provide stipulated services (“Virtual-School Costs Under Siege,” by John Gartner, Wired, 4/1/04). Present and past PALCS board members include John Wingerter(Republican committeeperson; Chief Academic Administrator, PALCS); Shannon Royer(former Republican committeeperson and West Chester Borough Council member, twice candidate for state legislature); Andrew Lehr (Republican candidate for West Chester Borough Council, 2007); Chester County commissioner and Republican committeeperson Terence Farrell; Gwenne B. Alexander (head of ACTION); William L. Middleton (Republican committeeperson).Given this politicized context, if John Wingerter became a WCASD board member called on to make decisions involving PALCS or charter schools in general, could he be relied on to make decisions in the public interest?

 On February 4, Republican committeepersons from the West Chester Area School District (WCASD) endorsed 4 insider-coached conservative candidates to run as a team. According to “Board president upset over endorsements” (Daily Local News, 2/22/09), WCASD board chair Jim Smith “said the Republican Party chose earlier this month to endorse school board candidates with a conservative ideology rather than those who are well-qualified to run the district.” Endorsed Republican candidate Sean Carpenter’s web post “The Shot over the Bough [sic]” confirmed that “All four candidates were recruited and coached by Gwenne [Alexander] and her group, and it is only with her group’s guidance that we succeeded. We have a tremendous partner in Chester County Action [Americans for Christian Traditions in Our Nation], and together with the PACC  [Pennsylvania Conservative Council] this is only the beginning.” Carpenter himself is a frequent street-corner demonstrator supporting military actions (e.g., at http://ccdemocrats.com/ search for “Sheepdogs”). See picture below.  PACC, co-founded by Carpenter, has given support to the 4/4/09 American Sheepdog “TEA” rally, politicians like Pat Toomey and Grover Norquist, and Chester County ACTION.. “Chester County ACTION is a conservative, pro-life organization committed to improving grassroots politics in

Chester County” (http://www.chestercountyaction.org).  The ACTION’s founder and head, East Goshen Republican area leader Gwenne Alexander, is a board member at Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School (PALCS). PALCS is a conservative-oriented institution whose income comes through the school board from the taxpayer.  PALCS’s founder and CEO is Republican committeeperson James Hanak, who also founded and directs American Family Ministries.  A cyber school that he previously directed, Einstein Academy in Morrisville PA, lost its charter for financial mismanagement and failure to provide stipulated services (“Virtual-School Costs Under Siege,” by John Gartner, Wired, 4/1/04). Present and past PALCS board members include John Wingerter (Republican committeeperson; Chief Academic Administrator, PALCS); Shannon Royer (former Republican committeeperson and West Chester Borough Council member, twice candidate for state legislature); Andrew Lehr (Republican candidate for West Chester Borough Council, 2007); Chester County commissioner and Republican committeeperson Terence Farrell; Gwenne B. Alexander (head of ACTION); William L. Middleton (Republican committeeperson).Given this politicized context, if John Wingerter became a WCASD board member called on to make decisions involving PALCS or charter schools in general, could he be relied on to make decisions in the public interest?

 

YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW!!

Nine candidates for positions on the School Board of the West Chester Area School District have been invited to attend a very special “Meet the Candidates Night” this coming Tuesday, May 12th, from 7-9 PM in the auditorium of B. Reed Henderson High School located at 400 Montgomery Avenue. The Pennsylvania Primary Election will be held exactly one week after “Meet the Candidates Night” with representation of the students, parents, and residents of our district at stake in the outcome.

The event will be moderated by the PTOC – the leadership group of the 16 schools’ Parent Teacher Organizations - with the assistance of students from Henderson student political groups, the Young Republicans and Young Democrats. The non-partisan meeting format will be based on the Town Hall concept, and will be divided into three specific sections. The first will include an introduction allowing each candidate one minute to make an opening statement. Next, a set of compulsory questions that have been gathered in advance from parents by the PTOC will be presented for the candidates to answer. In the third and final component, the candidates will field questions from audience members

The slate of invited candidates for the 2009 Pennsylvania State Primary Election includes:

Invited Candidates
Heidi Adsett
Gary Bevilacqua
Sean Carpenter
Susan Carty – Incumbent
Deb Liczwek, PhD
Dr. Maria Armandi Pimley
Lisa Samuel
Sue Tiernan
Dr. John Wingerter, PhD

 Sean Carpenter, an “endorsed Republican candidate for School Board”, really wears his politics on his chest. We found this op-ed piece that he wrote to the Daily Local News by using Google. Do we really want someone this extreme on our School Board? You make the call!

 One of Barack Obama’s first decisions was to demand that we close Guantanamo Bay within a year. Reports surfaced not long afterwards that a former Guantanamo detainee had been recaptured on the battlefield attempting yet again to kill American troops.

While the inevitability of such repeat attackers is likely to increase after Obama’s decision goes into effect, there is a perhaps greater defeat represented in closing Guantanamo. Namely, that the sole reason for closing the prison there is because of the lies perpetrated by the left. Our military never flushed a Quran down the toilet; this was refuted, in fact it was a prisoner who did so.

“Waterboarding” was not being practiced in Guantanamo; this was wholly made up by the left. The detainees at Guantanamo were not being tortured; to the contrary, their fate in an Iraqi or Egyptian jail would have been sure torture and death.

Because of these and other lies, the majority of the public held an unfairly negative opinion of Guantanamo and about our military there. The leftists were able to spread unsubstantiated rumors, and were able to cast the military prison in terms that were completely false. Even Obama’s opponent in November described Guantanamo as a “symbol” of anti-American rhetoric. But this symbolism was deliberately and falsely perpetuated.

And now, with Obama’s decision to close Guantanamo, we have established the precedent that if enough people lie, we will change our policies. It is dangerous enough when it applies to domestic policies; now we see how easily this administration will allow it to impact our military.

There is nothing to stop the left from falsely destroying any other operation our military undertakes, and Obama’s decision shows he is in a lockstep march in that direction. This only puts our military in more danger, and because of it, America in jeopardy.

Sean Carpenter

West Chester

Daily Local News Published Friday, February 20th, 2009

Bill Scott, candidate for mayor of West Chester, released this endorsement on May 7:

Each of the four endorsed Democratic candidates for School Board clearly has the capacity to be an outstanding member of the Board and as a group they are the most qualified team that, in my memory, either party has ever put forth. Our family is particularly familiar with Candidate Sue Tiernan, who taught our oldest son. We know her to be an exemplary teacher. Everyone in our area who is truly interested in the future of education should give these worthy candidates his/her wholehearted support.

The West Goshen Democratic Party proudly endorses Susan Carty, Deb Liczwek, Lisa Samuel, and Sue Tiernan as candidates for  the May 19th election for School Board. These candidates believe that it’s important that all students graduate as strong citizens ready for their future and prepared to contribute to our society. In order to prepare our students for their challenging future, we need to rely on the skills and knowledge of a highly qualified School Board. To learn more about these candidates and their backgrounds please visit their website at www.wcasdexcellence.org.

Welcome! Welcome, fellow West Goshen Democrats.

The West Goshen Democratic Committee of Chester County, Pennsylvania, in an effort to inform, educate and promote, want to welcome our fellow Democratic Party members from West Goshen.

Feel free to use this website as your vehicle to find out important information about local candidates, local events, your precinct information and your representative Democratic committee people.

You also have the chance to get involved with your local community by volunteering to help us promote Democratic values and causes by signing up through our online volunteer form.

We will be updating on a very regular basis, as the election season heats up. So please stop by often.

Thanks for stopping by.