Since announcing his candidacy for the Ninth Congressional District seat in April, Michael DelGrosso has been hitting the campaign trail full tilt.
DelGrosso has knocked on over 4,000 doors to talk with voters of the Ninth District in his attempt to unseat Congressman Bill Shuster.
Saturday, DelGrosso hosted an outing with State Representative Jeff Coleman for the 332nd Family Readiness Support Group at DelGrosso Amusement Park in Tipton. The group consisted of family members and loved ones of soldiers of the 332nd Engineering Company who are currently deployed.
“It was very touching,” said DelGrosso. “These folks are very proud of their family members’ service to their country, and they miss them very much. They know that they are there to do a job and hope that it comes to a successful and swift end so their family members can come home safely.”
The 1988 Bellwood-Antis High School graduate and 1994 graduate of the United States Naval Academy is trailing Shuster in campaign fundraising, but is making up for it by taking his thoughts to the people.
“The response has been great so far,” said DelGrosso on the door-to-door campaign. “We’ve knocked on 4,265 doors so far and we are heading to Indiana County today. It is encouraging that the word of mouth has the message spreading. When we return to an area we are getting better and better response every time. You can tell that the word is getting around.”
Shuster recently traveled to Iraq to meet with soldiers who are in pursuit of terrorists and rebuilding Iraq. In a poll from the Chambersburg Public Opinion asking if Shuster’s trip to Iraq was a good use of taxpayer money, 92 percent said, “no” and just eight percent responded, “yes.”
“I believe that we have plenty of experts who could have been on that trip,” said DelGrosso. “The economy is the number one priority of the Ninth District and with one congressman for this area, it needs their full-time attention. That is what I will make as my number one priority as your congressman, the economy of the Ninth District.”
On the War on Terror, DelGrosso is supporting the president.
“The president outlined his plan very well last night,” said DelGrosso. “This is an investment in our future. He said just after September 11, that the War on Terror is going to be slow, long and expensive. We need to show resolve to conquer the enemy, and I pray that we continue to do a good job. You are going to see the administration reaching out aggressively for support from the international community.”
The Tipton native, who holds a masters degree is campaigning on a platform of change, and economics is his top issue. Following the recent announcement that SKF Industries in Altoona is closing, it marks another large employer in the Ninth District that has closed in the past two years.
“I will have a detailed plan for the advancement of our local economic development in the very near future,” said DelGrosso. “It will be outlined with specific industries that our region could take advantage of to spur our economy.”
Secretary of Commerce Don Evans spoke of progress this morning. The secretary noted that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is on the rise and sales of goods are on the upswing, but unemployment is also on the rise.
“This effect is part of the jobless recovery that we are seeing,” said DelGrosso. “There are no quick fixes to this problem. There needs to be a structurally based support system put into place. In this district, there is Penn State, St. Francis, Juniata that provide the ideas, we need the business community to tap into their expertise.
“Look at Juniata College as an example,” DelGrosso continued. “They introduced a business incubator which offers low rent office space and the networking skills to help a start up business. This area is a great location for a start-up business.”
DelGrosso added that leadership is the key to economic recovery.
“A congressman has a unique opportunity to network,” said the challenger. “We need less legislation and more leadership. A leader who can bring positive change. It is not about tax incentives or building a new road that will help locate new business into the local economy.”
