| Families Spoke Up for Themselves on Tuesday
While Democrats and Republicans are in their post-election huddles, debating what the election results mean to future campaign strategies, Children First has some words of wisdom: Families don’t want to be under attack.
It is clearly obvious that families don’t want to go hungry, don’t want to be priced out of the workforce because child care is too expensive, and don’t want their local schools underfunded. They also don’t want federal or local policies that make it harder and harder for them to raise their kids, put food on the table, and keep their families healthy.
From the courts to school boards, Pennsylvania voters turned out in record-breaking numbers and cast their ballot for candidates who share their priorities. A Montgomery County Commissioner suggested that the election turnout was, in part, a referendum on Trump but also “about people realizing that local power, and these positions, matter.”
The rhetoric and policy dictates of the White House motivated many voters to elect state and local leaders who put families first. For example, Bucks County voters threw out their sheriff who didn’t seem to care that the families he represented were fearful of ICE’s intimidation tactics. Their vote will help to shield children and parents from being harassed or abducted at child care centers and elementary and high schools. (See #seriously below.)
Voters firmly stood against efforts to inject partisan politics into our justice system, likely why they didn’t fall for scare campaigns about sitting judges with untarnished records. Instead families turned to nonpartisan guides like the Children First Action Fund Judicial Voter Guide to learn if members of the state’s highest court agree to uphold laws that protect a child from abuse, protect clean air and water, or protect a child’s right to a quality education.
National extremist organizations tried to insert themselves into local school board elections but were soundly rebuffed in southeastern PA. Voters again and again supported candidates who focused on top-notch instruction and student achievement. In an effort to save face, one such organization claimed, “There’s a good chance many voters didn’t even know who they were voting for.” No. Voters intentionally said “Enough.”
Before Democrats lace up their sneakers for a victory lap, they would be smart to remember that voters but families – not political affiliation – first. Voters don’t want to keep voting against ideas; they want to vote for progress. PA workers are still waiting for lawmakers to deliver bold action on paid family and medical leave and solutions to the child care crisis. Or they’ll be back in droves a year from now.
|
