With Monday\u2019s debate behind them, both Republican Congressman Bill Shuster and his Ninth district challenger Michael DelGrosso are moving into the final stages of their campaign prior to next Tuesday\u2019s primary.
\nBoth campaigns reacted to yesterday morning\u2019s event with typically different viewpoints about it although there was some agreement between the two sides.
\n\u201cI thought it was a great opportunity to the differences between the two candidates,\u201d said DelGrosso. \u201cI have an economic plan. Bill Shuster has the same old approach.
\n\u201cI used a visual of a snail in a jar to demonstrate how we are lagging behind in employment and economic growth,\u201d DelGrosso told The Daily Herald. \u201cWe can\u2019t continue at a snail\u2019s pace. I intend to hit the ground running when I begin my term.
\n\u201cOf course we both support the president and his efforts in Iraq and we both believe in bringing money back to the district, but the difference is I believe in going beyond the minimum.\u201d
\nDelGrosso offered no comment about the personal tone of the debate which came up at several points throughout the event.
\n\u201cI\u2019m pleased about how the differences came out,\u201d explained DelGrosso. \u201cWe need new ideas, a new approach, we shouldn\u2019t be complacent. I don\u2019t think this debate was a deciding blow one way or the other. However, I do think its just one more layer of information.
\n\u201cI think the cornerstones of my campaign are the 10,300 doors I\u2019ve knocked on and I\u2019ll be out knocking on more the next couple of days,\u201d said DelGrosso.
\n \u201cI think the speeches, the rallies, the other candidate forums like the ones in Bedford and Chambersburg were also just as important.\u201d
\nShuster campaign manager, Ray Zaborney, offered his reaction.
\n\u201cI think the debate showed a clear choice between the two,\u201d said Zaborney. \u201cOne of the candidates has the temperament, the experience and ability to help the ninth district, while the other was unable to answer many of the questions he was asked.
\n\u201cThere was and has been a continuing personal attack designed to demean Bill Shuster,\u201d Zaborney told The Daily Herald.
\nZaborney also indicated there was some agreement between the two sides.
\n\u201cSure, there was some agreement on the big issues such as taxes but I think the congressman\u2019s experience and \u2018know how\u2019 are the big advantages in terms of getting things done,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cCongressman Shuster has gotten the job done by cutting taxes, dealing with the war on terror and bringing back the dollars to the district. DelGrosso didn\u2019t take the responsibility to vote and he couldn\u2019t really answer the questions he was asked. Why has he gone around and demeaned and attacked Bill Shuster.\u201d
\nZaborney offered his thoughts on the challenger\u2019s tactic of displaying a snail in jar to represent the speed at which Shuster is dealing with the issues in the district.
\n\u201cI think the voters are more interested in what Congressman Shuster has delivered than in Michael\u2019s high school biology project,\u201d said Zaborney.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve said throughout the campaign Michael DelGrosso better be careful what he wished for when it came to debating the congressman. Well, today he got it.
\n\u201cOur candidate was poised while DelGrosso was on the defensive,\u201d concluded Zaborney.
\nThe congressman returned to Washington after the debate and then traveled back to Pennsylvania with President Bush on Air Force One.
\nShuster then left the president\u2019s side to go onto a event in Chambersburg. Bush appeared in Hershey and later in Pittsburgh to appear at an event to benefit the campaign efforts of Senator Arlen Specter.
\nZaborney said Shuster will be in Washington today, Wednesday and Thursday for his congressional duties and then spend the weekend involved in campaign efforts with the Shuster camp involved right up until the polls close next Tuesday.
\nAs for DelGrosso, earlier today, he embarked on marathon designed to have him appear in all fifteen counties in the district between today and Wednesday evening. He\u2019ll wrap up the tour with a rally at the Bellwood Fire Hall scheduled tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.
\n\u201cIt will be nice to wrap up the tour close to my Tipton home,\u201d said DelGrosso. \u201cI expect to see a lot of family and supporters at the rally.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With Monday\u2019s debate behind them, both Republican Congressman Bill Shuster and his Ninth district challenger Michael DelGrosso are moving into the final stages of their campaign prior to next Tuesday\u2019s primary. Both campaigns reacted to yesterday morning\u2019s event with typically different viewpoints about it although there was some agreement between the two sides. \u201cI thought […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44663\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}