It’s barely June, and the gloves are coming off in the race for the Ninth Congressional Seat currently held by Bill Shuster.
Yesterday, when he announced his candidacy, Michael DelGrosso outlined a plan for economic growth for the region. The plan comes in three major factors that DelGrosso will help make the District competitive.
• Establish a District Economic Development Council: “Right now, each county is working against each other,” said DelGrosso. “You have the ABCD Corporation, who does a wonderful job, but there are corporations in other counties who are doing similar things. Instead of competing against each other, we should work together as a region.”
• Fostering the Spirit of Entrepreneurship: “It is one thing to attract business from the outside, but it is very important to grow a small business from the inside out,” said DelGrosso. “Most of the job creation during the recent tough economic times was through small business. Small business operators are more responsive to the community needs and are less likely to leave the country. We also need to look at partnering high school and college students with small business. We need them to learn the entrepreneurial mindset. This will help teach them to create business instead of going to work for someone else.”
• Retooling the workforce: “We have to train our workers to be part of the ‘knowledge economy,’” said DelGrosso. “The ‘knowledge economy’ demands different things from workers, employers, lawmakers and need a different type of leader for a different type of economy.”
With the retooling the workforce that DelGrosso is talking about, that message hits northern Blair County perfectly. Over the past few years, workers in our area were displaced with the closing of Westvaco, C-Cor, Sam Ray Shops and Corning have put many people who work in manufacturing out of jobs. The economy of the 21st Century is more with the mind than with the hands.
DelGrosso talked in his announcement about the money Shuster can spend on his re-election campaign.
“In 2002, Shuster spent over $1 million while his opponents in the primary and general election spent a combined $19,000,” said DelGrosso. “He will outspend me by probably 10 to one, but I am going to be on the front porches and town halls meeting real people that I would like to represent. My goal is to find out the real concerns of the people not the big money special interest groups.”
When asked if he is playing both sides of the coin by talking about Shuster’s spending when the DelGrosso family does well, the candidate said no.
“Corporate contributions are not allowed and individual contributions are capped at $2,000,” said DelGrosso. “I know every member of my family is not going to give me $2,000 to run for congress. This will take thousands of small donations to help make this campaign successful.”
DelGrosso is running against 31 years of the Shuster name holding the Ninth Congressional District seat.
“The Shuster name scores at about 95 percent in name recognition,” said DelGrosso. “I need to be knocking on doors and spreading my message. Once people get to know me and compare backgrounds, I feel it will be an easy decision.”
When asked why he announced his candidacy a full 11 months before the primary election, DelGrosso said, “to get out and meet the people.”
“The Republican voters were handed a candidate in the special election,” said DelGrosso. “I know I can’t go to all 400,000 homes in the next 11 months, but I can visit a significant portion of Republican households. Republican voters have a choice in next year’s primary. They have a candidate who is not only qualified to do the job, but also a candidate who is also capable of winning the election.”
Senator Robert Jubelirer sent a release to the media yesterday afternoon stating his support for Shuster.
“Bill Shuster has done an outstanding job as our Congressman,” Jubelirer said in the release. “He is intelligent, accessible and effective. I supported him from the moment he decided to seek the Congressional seat, I worked on his behalf during the special election and the regular election and my support is just as strong today.”
Jubelirer also took a shot at DelGrosso for entering the race.
“I fail to understand why there is a challenge being undertaken by Mr. DelGrosso, and why there is such an early announcement,” said the Senator. Just last November, Bill (Shuster) won an overwhelming re-election victory. Nothing in his record or his performance since would cause a drop-off in public support.
“People should question why DelGrosso, who has been away from this area for so long, who has not contributed to this area, and has very little knowledge of the people and communities across the Ninth Congressional District, should be asking for our support in this critical position.”
When asked about the senator’s comments, DelGrosso said, “I understand where the Senator is coming from. He feels he has to stand in a certain corner.”
The Daily Herald contacted Congressman Shuster’s office in Washington and Press Secretary Angelo Terrana said the Congressman has no comment on DelGrosso’s entry in the race.
