“A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done.” —Ralph Nader

Years ago, when I learned that our county Commissioners were planning to bulldoze 11 historic buildings in the center of West Chester in order to expand the courthouse, I got angry.

Too many old buildings had been demolished over the years in our town, and I could not allow one more to go down in the name of progress.

At the time, I was involved with a group of concerned citizens called the “Citizens Business Alliance.” Our goal was to re-energize the town center (“uptown” for those of us who have lived here forever) by bringing in more retail shops and restaurants.

With the threat of the center block becoming a 7-story office building, to be shuttered at 5 o’clock each day thereby creating a “dead zone,” our dream of revitalization seemed daunting.

However, I believed the best solution would be to move the project down to the 200 block of West Market Street where a 1963 brick building sat on a large flat parking lot. The county owned the building; the borough owned the lot. It would be the best solution not only because it would be more cost effective for county taxpayers, but also less disruptive for businesses. Several others agreed with me.

If you want to fight city hall and win, you better have an alternate plan that makes sense. As Dr. Warren Bennis said, “Leadership is…having a vision that is well communicated.” And communicate it we did.

There were four of us who worked on this project almost full-time: we presented our plan to the Commissioners; spoke to everyone we knew, including the press; we wrote letters; we did research, and even brought in a nationally known speaker. We were called the “First Block Four,” and it was our vision and determination that eventually won out.

On opening day of the new Justice Center this September, the four of us — Holly Brown, Bill Scott, Roy Smith and I — stood proudly in the rotunda as Commissioner Kathi Cozzone read our names.

“Dreams are the touchstones of our character.”
—Henry David Thoreau

Posted by Barbara McIlvaine Smith at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

“Leadership is a function of knowing yourself.” —Dr. Warren Bennis

After 58 years of living, working, raising a family, starting and running a business, volunteering, returning to college while my children were still in school and graduating at the top of my class, teaching, sharing our home with friends, travelers and a few runaways, losing my youngest child to heart failure and others I loved to cancer, and running for elected office, I know myself well.

I have always fought hard for what I believe is right — even when it was unpopular, because I believe in myself and in my principles.

I believe, as Henry Clay said so long ago, “Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees. And both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.”

I believe that without trust we cannot move this country or our great state forward. And trust cannot be achieved without open and honest communication. That's why I post my legislative expenses online.

In 2006, I promised to take on the tough issues, to reach across party lines to find consensus builders, to push those issues I believe are key to our economic success, like Education, Healthcare, and the Environment.

I have worked with Republicans to craft bipartisan legislation, and in spite of the slow progress in Harrisburg, two of my bills passed off the House floor, one unanimously which was signed into law by the Governor this past July.

I’ve also lived up to my pledge to refuse any raise in pay during my term, giving my COLA to five local charities. I take public transportation, instead of a state car, riding the train back and forth from Harrisburg, without being reimbursed for my travel because I've never been paid to get to work in my life.

I firmly believe that government was created “by the people, for the people” in order to achieve “the greatest good for the greatest number.”

Finally, as a grandmother, I want to believe when I look into the eyes of my four-year-old granddaughter, that the world I leave her is better than the one I was given. I want her to be able to trust that the air she breathes, the water she drinks and the food she eats is healthy; that the best education will be provided to her so that she will have an equal opportunity to succeed; and if she gets sick, her parents will be able to access affordable healthcare that will help make her well again.

These are the bedrock principles I believe in.

I ask you once again to put your trust in me and send me back to Harrisburg to continue working for YOU.

Posted by Barbara McIlvaine Smith at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing." —Abraham Lincoln

I'm the real thing. And I’ve never been wealthy, so I've had to work a lot of jobs over the years as I raised our children and worked with my husband in our water conditioning business.

Lately, I’ve been receiving a lot of negative mailers about me from my opponent who has had only one career: politics.

Here's the one he sent of me milking a Jersey cow named Rennaissance at Seven Stars Farm in Kimberton; it's my favorite picture, taken by my son-in-law. My mom and dad were dairy farmers, so I’m framing that one. (Full story)

However, another mailer arrived claiming that I have a “secret,” that I “worked for one of the largest land development companies in the country.” Gee, I didn’t know when I took that $8 an hour part-time job in the mid-80s to help make ends meet that it would come back to “haunt” me in October 2008. If you want the full details, please call me. I'd be happy to share.

Perhaps, I better confess now that I also worked at the Exton Howard Johnson’s as a waitress when I was 15. I didn’t last long because, yes, I was a lousy waitress.

My first day on the job, I spilled several glasses of water on a family who had come by for breakfast after church. I apologized profusely; they left me a tip.

Some people are forgiving.

And experience, good or bad, builds character.

"People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built." —Eleanor Roosevelt

Posted by Barbara McIlvaine Smith at 9:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My family has a long history of service to this community. 325 years ago, my ancestor Richard Thomas bought 5000 acres in Chester County from William Penn. To this day, my mom still lives on that land in West Whiteland.

Also, three of my relatives have served in the PA General Assembly:

In 1790, Colonel Richard Thomas, who fought in the Revolutionary War, was the first man to be elected from Chester County;

In 1836, Abraham Robinson McIlvaine was elected to two terms and went on to serve in the U.S. Congress;

And in 1922, my cousin Martha Gibbons Thomas was the first woman to be elected from Chester County after women gained the right to vote.

I was elected in 2006, and my seat on the House floor is right in front of where Cousin Martha sat.

Deeply rooted in this community, I was taught at an early age to be of service to others; it is a tradition I am proud to continue. And it is my honor and privilege to serve you, the constituents of the 156th legislative district.

Posted by Barbara McIlvaine Smith at 2:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As Dwight D. Eisenhower said, "You do not lead by hitting people over the head — that's assault, not leadership."

And according to Dr. Warren Bennis, an authority on organizational development, "Leadership is a function of knowing yourself, having a vision that is well communicated, building trust among colleagues, and taking effective action to realize your own leadership potential."

So who is the real leader in this race for state representative?
Over the next few days, I will share my story with you.
Then YOU be the judge.

Posted by Barbara McIlvaine Smith at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

  August 6, 2008

2 local lawmakers stand up to arrogant anything-goes politics

The latest to break the old "keep-your-mouth-shut" mold is state Rep. Barbara McIlvaine Smith, D-156th, of West Chester.

On Monday, McIlvaine Smith held a media event at which she decried the use of taxpayer funds to pay the legal expenses of those charged by the state attorney general in the growing "bonusgate" scandal. Last month, 12 people connected to the House Democratic caucus were indicted by a grand jury that accused them of illegally diverting millions in taxpayer dollars to underwrite political campaigns and personal perks.

McIlvaine Smith, who is completing her first term in office since winning a close election in 2006, said the caucus leaders were wrong to have awarded bonuses to state employees for helping political campaigns, and that it is similarly wrong to use taxpayer dollars to defend those charged with the practice.

"It appears that the amount of money spent to defend the illegal activities in the Democratic caucus — currently reported to be more than $1.4 million — will rival the original expenditure," she said. "And as we know, two wrongs don't make a right, especially when they come at the expense of the taxpayer."

McIlvaine Smith, however, went further when she said she believed that the man many hold responsible for the overall climate that produced the scandal — House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese — should step down as her party's leader. She said she didn't support him when he ran to be the Democratic leader and she would not support him if he sought this position again in 2009.

McIlvaine Smith's call came the same day that another suburban Philadelphia Democrat, state Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-153rd, of Montgomery County, also called on DeWeese to relinquish his leadership position. That announcement drew more attention because of Shapiro's formerly close relationship with DeWeese and his position as deputy speaker. But it is no less important.

Both Schroder and McIlvaine Smith are running for re-election this year, asking voters to send them back to Harrisburg. We believe that the voters in their districts should take notice of their willingness to break the tradition of intra-party silence when deciding whether they deserve another two years in the state capital. [Read entire article]

Posted by Campaign Webmaster at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Voting found to relieve stress

As election day 2008 approaches, I'm reminded of how Barbara McIlvaine Smith's election in 2006 taught me the importance of every single vote. As we now know, she won by just 28. In the process, Barb's victory changed the leadership of the State House by one seat. But it felt even closer than that.

On election night in 2006, those of us working on Barb's campaign gathered in the back room of a restaurant next to her campaign headquarters to follow the election returns. The results came in with agonizing slowness. One precinct would report in. Barb was up by a handful of votes. Then another precinct tally would post. She was behind by a dozen or so.

Somewhere in the clamor, one of our pollwatchers, Committeeperson Stephanie Markstein, came to tell us that election officials at her poll had forgotten to scan the absentee ballots and then included them unopened in the bag which went to Chester County Voter Services. Then a pollwatcher from a different area said the same thing had happened in his precinct. We hoped the margin of victory would be large enough to not care about this.

The night dragged on into the early morning hours. As the last precinct totals hit the computer screens, our worst fears came true: Barb was down by 19 votes. Suddenly, those missing absentee ballots looked VERY important, indeed. But calls to Voter Services were ineffective. The clerk answering the phone would not comment.

Not one to go unanswered, Campaign Manager Lani Frank said she had to go to Voter Services herself to track the missing absentee votes. Election day had begun at 6:30 AM; it was now after 4 AM. I wasn't about to let her drive in the now pouring rain. I drove her car, Barb's webmaster Lane Randall drove ours, and we all arrived at Voter Services, a ragtag of very agitated citizens.

No luck. The managers at Voters Services could only confirm there were uncounted absentee votes in the sealed bags from precincts representing every municipality in the district. That meant there were hundreds of uncounted votes, something Voter Services had not seen before. To our frustration, they decided the bags would remain sealed until all other votes were counted.

By the next day, the Chester County Government Services Center was awash with representatives and lawyers from both campaigns and both political parties. Barb, Lani and all of us were in the middle of a nail-biter of an election which would go until December 21st and make news across the country.

But first, we had to deal with vacating Barb's campaign headquarters, packing things up while still not knowing the outcome. A tough day.

The Philadelphia Inquirer had dispatched a reporter to the scene to blog daily. There were legal motions. There were court appearances.

It took until after Thanksgiving before the uncounted absentee ballots were finally scanned. Barb was the apparent winner by 23 votes!

In Harrisburg, some Democrats celebrated, but the Republicans asked for a recount of all votes. The two Republican County Commissioners rejected all provisional ballots. There was much gnashing of teeth and much coffee consumed.

Finally, Judge Howard F. Riley, Jr., ruled all accepted ballots would be counted by hand and told Voter Services to begin and continue "each day thereafter." So we gathered again, with appointed observers and lawyers at each table, while Voter Services sorted the ballots one by one into two piles and resolved questions: was a circled oval a vote; how about a checkmark or a dot?

And then, four days before Christmas, surrounded by lawyers and official observers, with reporters and TV cameras peeking in the door windows, the indefatigable staff of Voter Services counted the very last precinct (it was West Chester Ward 7) and announced: Barbara McIlvaine Smith had now received 28 more votes than her opponent.

We still weren't done. There were pending legal challenges to the provisional ballots, but a quickly convened appearance before Judge Riley resulted in a settlement agreeable to both sides, certifying the election, even though the provisional ballots were never counted.

But finally, Barb was officially Representative-Elect for the 156th Legislative District, and Democrats had won the majority in the House for the first time in twelve years.

Now, after all of that, do you think we will ever accept someone saying their vote doesn't matter? Will you ever let anyone get away with saying that to you? And on this election day, November 4, 2008, will YOU be sure to cast your one precious vote?

Because Barb needs every single vote. Tell 28 people you know.

Jim Salvas
West Chester

P.S. Please vote Straight Democratic or make sure you vote in every race, Barack to Barb!!

Posted by Campaign Webmaster at 3:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On NPR's Speaking of Faith this morning, conservative columnist Rod Dreher, author of "Crunchy Cons," discussed his view of mainstream Republican economic and environmental platforms. What I found most interesting was what he said at the end, that politics manipulates our anger as voters. I couldn't agree more.

Ever since the government decided to rescue the big boys on Wall Street, the anger on Main Street has been growing louder each day. We voters are angry about bail-outs and hand-outs, job losses and home foreclosures. And the negative campaigning is like gasoline being thrown on a fire.

I'm weary of all this talk about Left and Right. Instead, let's talk about the need for tolerance and respect for one another as human beings; let's rediscover our common ground and use our common sense to find our way back to center.

Remember the words of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: "Divide and rule, the politician cries; unite and lead, is watchword of the wise."

Posted by Barbara McIlvaine Smith at 10:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)