Interesting times
My editors have asked me to get a move on in starting this blog. I told them I had been busy with other assignments. (I was actually holed up in a Motel 6 with a bottle of Thunderbird. Just kidding.)
I can't really blame them for getting impatient. It's not like I have any shortage of material to work with here. The deadline just passed for candidates to file their nominating petitions for state and federal races. And that's when things really get cooking.
Here's how it works. In order to run in the general election in November, you first have to run in the April primary. Even if you're unopposed in the primary, you have to get your petitions filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State. The deadline was last week.
It looks like we'll have some action here in York County. State Senators Gib Armstrong, R-Lancaster, and Terry Punt, R-Waynesboro are stepping down at the end of the year. So is state Rep. Steve Nickol, R-Hanover.
A soon-to-be-vacated seat in the statehouse is like a soon-to-be-vacated piece of waterfront property. The scramble has already started among Republican and Democratic hopefuls. I'll be writing more about those races presently.
A couple of incumbent state senators whose districts include part of York County and an incumbent state representative will be defending their seats against challengers.
We've got a contest for the local congressional seat. And wonder of wonders, it looks like Pennsylvania's April primary may actually count for something in the presidential race this year.
All that, and I haven't even touched on the local presidential campaign -- which got pretty intense in 2004, given York County's status as a growing area in a swing state.
Boy, it's going to be stressful keeping up with all of this. Where'd I put that bottle of Thunderbird? (I'm kidding. Really.)
