Dave Naples
Dave Naples, a resident of Collegeville in Montgomery County, announced his candidacy as a Democrat for Congress, positioning himself as “a true progressive voice for Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District.”
Naples cites the current district lines, drawn by the Republican state legislature after the 2010 census, as evidence of the failure of the conservative agenda. “This extreme partisan redistricting led to Pennsylvania being one of the most egregiously gerrymandered states in the nation, with the 7th District being the 8th least compact district in the entire country,” he says. He also points to the disparity between the statewide popular vote totals for Republican House candidates and the number of Congressional seats won.
The 7th District is currently represented by U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan.
In the general election of 2012, of the just over 5.5 million votes cast for House candidates, Republican House candidates won 2.7 million votes. This represents 49% of the statewide popular vote. Despite this statistical tie, Republicans won thirteen of Pennsylvania’s eighteen Congressional seats, or 72%. Naples holds this up as evidence of a fundamental failure of the Republican message.
“This tells me that they know very well that they are unable to win elections based on their platform, and are reduced to gaming the system in their favor,” he said.
“Republican policies don’t work for middle-class Americans,” says Naples. “We’ve tried them for over 30 years, and they just don’t work. From tax breaks going to the top 1%, to middle-class wage stagnation, to cuts to education for our children, Republicans have repeatedly shown that their interest in the middle class ends the instant the polls close on Election Day. I refuse to accept this. I will fight for increased funding for our public schools, for a minimum wage that will allow anyone who works a full-time job to support themselves, for true gender and racial equality, for overturning the heinous Citizens United Supreme Court decision, and for relief from crushing student loan debt.”
Naples said he sees the residents of the seventh district — cited by many media outlets nationally as one of the nation’s most gerrymander districts — as upholding the tradition of their ancestors, dating back to the American Revolution.
“This nation was born less than twenty five miles from my home,” he said. “We have a proud tradition in this area of standing up for what is right, for rebelling against those who believe that only the voices of those who can afford the price of admission should be heard, and for not giving up the fight to protect our own liberty. The people of this district need someone who will continue that struggle on their behalf, and I hope to be that person for all of us.”
Naples, 50, has been a resident of Pennsylvania since late 2004, when he moved with his family from Connecticut. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Law and Society from Penn State in 2012. He currently lives in Collegeville with his family. For more information, visit www.dave4pa.com, or on Facebook at Facebook/CongressmanDave.
