First let’s update the score. In almost 10 years of being the Congressman for Pennsylvania First Congressional District, Brian Fitzpatrick has had only one town hall. Just one.
Meanwhile, Democratic Congressional candidate Bob Harvie, who announced his candidacy to defeat the Fitzpatrick machine just a few months ago, already has had four town halls and plans to have more all over the county. That’s four wins and counting for Harvie and his future constituents – and he is just getting started.
I attended his fourth on Nov. 12. This one was in Doylestown. I was glad I attended because I learned what a great Congressman Harvie would make.
Some may say perhaps Fitzpatrick forgot what a town hall is. Well, way back in 2018 and 2019, I wrote him 52 letters. He only answered one. But unfortunately he never answered the two letters I wrote about the value of town halls, if he even bothered to read them.
I guess some people just can’t be taught about what is essential to the performance of their job.
On the other hand, I learned at Harvie’s town hall that he has been a model public servant. He has been a high school teacher for 26 years in Bucks County. He has had direct leadership experience for years as Falls Township’s Chairperson of the Board of Supervisors and as Bucks County’s County Commissioner.
Harvie’s focus has always been on solving problems of the people he represents, not playing political games to stay in power or to please the rich and powerful. To solve the problems of the people, he knows you have to listen to them. Hence the town halls.
Unlike Fitzpatrick, Harvie is not afraid of meeting and talking to his constituents in a public forum. Harvie was eager to hear what everyone had to say and confident in his ability to respond with intelligence, compassion and courtesy. Fourteen people felt comfortable coming to the podium to ask questions. Harvie was not afraid, but amused at the fact that the opposition was present videotaping his every word, hoping to find something to use against him. He confidently responded when he was asked two absurd conspiracy questions by two of the attendees which were clearly outlandish lies. Harvie refuted them calmly and succinctly. He had no time for nonsense and instead listened to and responded well to real unscripted, unreviewed questions from his future constituents about important topics like health care, affordability, education, infrastructure, and our precious democracy.
Harvie feels that Fitzpatrick’s focus is not on the constituents he should be listening to, but on maintaining the power of his party and satisfying the outrageous and oftentimes outlandish demands of President Trump. Harvie, on the other hand, has no problem challenging his party hierarchy if the fundamental principles of our country are being attacked. His focus will be on the needs of his constituents. Harvie will lead with compassion and expressed outrage against GOP insistence to take health care away from the sick and food from the hungry. However, he does feel that many voters have lost trust in both parties and our political institutions. He vowed, if elected, to try to restore that trust by not dividing us against each other, but to show progress by solving real problems that all Americans face.
He vowed to champion investments in both physical and human infrastructure to create the America that will benefit all citizens. Harvie supports more funding for SEPTA in Bucks County. He admitted that our health care system needs reform, but that we must not destroy our health system without replacing it with something better so that people in need do not get hurt in the change process. We must not let the perfect be the enemy of the good when the ill need healthcare now!
Many in the working class have lost faith in the Democratic Party so Harvie plans to restore that trust by taking action and reminding workers of the Democratic Party’s traditional support for unions, higher wages, and workplace safety through a well-funded OSHA. Harvie supports student loan forgiveness, not just for four year colleges, but for trade schools as well. Electricians, plumbers, and construction workers deserve the respect of all since they are the ones that actually build American infrastructure that we all need to live the good life.
Harvie is also against big money in politics and feels Citizens United should be repealed. Elected officials waste too much time fundraising instead of helping their constituents and then become beholden to the big money of lobbyists. He also would consider some kind of term limit for elected officials, a number of years that would allow the experience in the job to be utilized, but would also allow fresh blood to enter at the appropriate time. Harvie is proud of our voting systems here in Bucks County and confident that the hardworking election officials do a great job ensuring a free and fair election. He supports strengthening our democracy by requiring civics education and financial literacy courses in high school and by making investments in our educational systems so citizens can be informed and be able to distinguish truth from falsehood. Harvie also reminded people that he always focuses on job competency and character when making hiring decisions so that the best people could work to satisfy the needs of the people.
I told Harvie that he was a perfect candidate for this time. We need a champion for truth, a history teacher, to separate the fiction from the facts. We need a leader who has actually solved real problems in Falls Township and Bucks County, not someone who just pretends to be a problem-solver.
Harvie reminded us of the “present” the outgoing Republican administration gave him when he first became County Commissioner: an $8 million deficit. Harvie worked with his team to creatively deal with that problem by making tough but necessary decisions. Finally, we need a fighter who will work tirelessly to defend our democracy, win elections, and work to make the lives of all citizens here in Bucks County better.
I feel Bob Harvie, who has worked hard to win five elections already, is that person who, with your help, would win his sixth election and become our next Congressman who not only knows what a town hall is, but also is not afraid to have them for the good of his constituents.
