Democrats Are Taking Action

New Party Officials

Jim Burn was elected by unanimous acclamation to succeed T.J. Rooney as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party on Saturday June 19th, at the Radisson Penn Harris in Camp Hill. Prior to his election on Saturday Jim served as Democratic Chairman for Allegheny County. Burn said of his election: "I am honored to have the support of this body. Working with each of the sixty-seven counties across the state, I am confident that we will elect Dan Onorato as our next Governor and Joe Sestak as the junior Senator from Pennsylvania.”

An attorney who specializes in representing injured workers, Burn was the Chair of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee., Jim Burn brought with him 12 years of municipal service when he was elected to the Allegheny County Committee. Jim had been serving as Mayor of Millvale since 1994. He received the "Mayor of the Year Award" in 1997 from the Pennsylvania State Mayor's Association, the Outstanding Young Men in America Award, and the Community Award from the North Hills Community Outreach. Jim credits Millvale Borough's rebirth and revitalization to teamwork. He brings the same team approach to the County Council, and it has worked well for him in building party unity as Chairman of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee.

Jim graduated from Duquesne University in 1985 and received his J.D. from the University of Dayton in 1988. While in law school, Jim served as the President of the Student Bar Association and as the President of the Phi Delta Phi Law Fraternity. Jim passed the Pennsylvania Bar exam in 1988 and has been practicing law ever since.
Jim serves as Chairman of the Public Safety Committee and believes that his service as a mayor and emergency management coordinator leading his community through the trials of hurricane Ivan has uniquely prepared him for leadership in times of crisis. He has also served on the Budget and Finance, Economic Development, and Public Works Committees

In 2010 Jim was named as one of Pennsylvania’s Top 50 Political Influencers. His notoriety as a local political leader has lead to frequent appearances on Pittsburgh television and radio news programs as a spokesperson for county Democrats.

Married in 1997, Jim lives in Millvale, PA with his wife Lori and their two sons, James Edward and Brandon Patrick, who he coaches in little league baseball.

Penny Gerber of Montgomery County was elected as Vice-Chair of the PA Democratic Party. She is the mother of State Rep. Michael Gerber, D-Montgomery (who is Chair of the House Democratic Campaign Committee), and she has been involved in Democratic Party politics for decades. Penny, thanks for your tireless dedication!

The Party would also like to commend Fadia Halma for stepping up as Interim Executive Director under new Chairman Jim Burn. Fadia has transitioned into the role of Executive Director from her previous role as the Party’s Political Director. We are confident that Fadia’s enthusiasm and energy will help lead us to victory in November!

Mary Isenhour Receives The Honorary Young Democrat Of The Year Award

At a reception held on the evening of June 18th at the Democratic State Committee Meeting in Camp Hill, the Pennsylvania Young Democrats (PAYD), led by the Party’s Finance Director and PAYD National Committeewoman, Rachel Moore, presented former PA Democratic Party Executive Director Mary Isenhour with the first annual Honorary Young Democrat of the Year Award. This award honors good Democrats who are young at heart, who have been excellent mentors to young Democrats, and who have been generous in providing them with help and encouragement.

“It was such a great privilege to help present the first Honorary Young Democrat award to Mary, a lady who has had such a great role in my life. She is truly the embodiment of a Young Democrat at heart. Her enthusiasm and energy are only paralleled by her dedication to helping Democrats win each autumn. The PAYD Board is so grateful for all that she has done for us as an organization and for the Democratic Party,” says Moore of Isenhour.

Jonathan Saidel, former Philadelphia City controller and former candidate for Lieutenant Governor, was co-recipient of the award along with Mary.  

“Jon and Mary have earned this award,” said Pennsylvania Young Democrats President Timothy P. Brennan, Esq.  “We created this award to be bestowed upon individuals—regardless of age— who have contributed to our party. Mary and Jon have taken a special interest in youth politics, and serve as an inspiration to our members. Most importantly, we wanted to find a way to thank them for all they have done for our state, our party, and our generation of Democrats.”

Farewell TJ

For the past seven and one-half years, we have enjoyed the privilege of serving under Chairman TJ Rooney of the Democratic Party of Pennsylvania. His electoral accomplishments as a leader of our Party make us proud and have allowed the Pennsylvania Democratic Party to enjoy one of its longest winning streaks in decades. Thanks and best of luck in your future endeavors, TJ!

Things Democrats Need To Know

Senate Race Update

Even in the wake of the worst environmental disaster in American history, GOP Senate hopeful Pat Toomey continues to call for increased offshore oil drilling and exploration. This is a significant development in the race that we should all highlight in our conversations with our friends and neighbors.

Pat Toomey has chosen time and again to stand with his corporate backers against average citizens. This trend is painfully clear with respect to the oil industry, which has filled his campaign coffers by the tens of thousands. Pat Toomey remains all too eager to repay the favor and his loyalty to Big Oil is demonstrated by six years of voting for their interests while ignoring the needs of everyday Americans.

Pat Toomey has accepted nearly $100,000 in big oil contributions since he entered public life. Not unlike his enthusiastic support for Wall Street, Toomey is now eager to run to the side of the very corporations that have repeatedly done significant damage to this country. His full-throated support for stripping away commonsense regulations in all facets of the corporate world is a dangerous policy that will effectively allow corporations to police themselves. We’ve all seen how well that has worked in the Gulf.

Below, please view an interesting web video we’ve created designed to call attention to the simple fact that Pat Toomey is more concerned with lining the pockets of his Big Oil contributors than he is with protecting hard working Americans. Feel free to distribute widely.

Pennsylvania Young Democrats (PAYD) News

In addition to presenting their first annual Honorary Young Democrat of the Year Award at the most recent State Committee meeting in June, the Pennsylvania Young Democrats also held their annual conference meeting on Saturday June 19th as part of the weekend’s events. At this meeting several PAYD highlights from 2009/2010 were announced: the organization raised over $25,000.00, increased membership to 7,000 PA Young Democrats in 45 counties, knocked 10,000 doors for judicial candidates, and collected 5,000 petition signatures for 2010 candidates.

PAYD’s goals for this cycle are to hit 25,000 doors and register 1,000 new Democratic voters.

Mark Your Calendar

Lewisburg Veteran's Parade

Indiana County Democratic Committee Family Summer Picnic

Whitehall Democratic Club Picnic

Whitehall Democratic Club Meeting

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