Primary aftermath: Dinniman comes out the big winner

The state senator was not on the ballots, but he emerged as county’s top Democrat By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times While most primary elections in non-presidential years are kind of ho-hum events, Tuesday’s elections turned out to be more revealing than expected, and at minimum give us some hint of what is to come in November. Not shockingly, turnout was lousy, especially on the Republican...

Young wants to fight for the American Dream

Says he worries opportunity is slipping away By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Joshua Young In the end, for Joshua Young, it’s about preserving that basic American Dream: starting with almost nothing and working one’s way into prosperity. Sitting outside the example of the auto service facility owned by his family he manages, Young, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for State Representative...

Maxwell puts focus on educational opportunities

74th district candidate wants better funding, better ideas for students By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Josh Maxwell When you ask Josh Maxwell why, for a second time, he’s decided to run for State Representative, it comes down to a couple of words: public education. The Downingtown native is among two Democrats — he is running against Caln Commissioner Joshua Young — seeking the nomination...

Young mailers prompt questions on endorsements

Coatesville Council member objects to being listed on campaign materials Updated: 12 p.m. 5/16/14 to add comment from Teamsters 384 official. By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times COATESVILLE — The city’s Democratic Party leader and a City Council member are calling foul over a mailer sent out by State Representative candidate Joshua Young, saying that some of the individuals cited as supporting...

Democrats step up in legislative races

GOP faces opposition in all but two races in Nov. elections By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Petition season is over, and unless there are some write-in candidates, we know who will appear on the May primary ballots. And, although I took the Democrats to task for seeming to have a shortage of candidates, they’ve managed to challenge all but two legislative races in Chester County. Yes, there...

Do petition numbers really matter?

As campaigns trumpet numbers, do they tell us anything? By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Well, they’re everywhere. Media announcements about the number of signatures a given candidate has gotten to get on the ballot as if it means something. For those who don’t know, political candidates must collect signatures from registered voters in their district — they must be of the same political...

Political news and notes: 2014 legislative races kicking off

Final write-in results show poor turnout, participation in 2013 By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times The political news cycle never seems to end these days, on the heels of the final write-in election results being posted Friday, we have a batch of new candidate announcements or pending announcements in 2014 state legislative races — and even, it seems — an early hint about a 2016 race. First...