So here we are, the end of the primary season. Clearly, everyone has been paying attention to the top primary race in the country….the PA-05 primary. (I hear there are a couple of people running for some office that gets a White House too.) I thought I’d take a moment to run through some of the reasons why Rick Vilello is the best choice for the people of the Fifth District. Follow me below the fold for the details.

In my opinion, it comes down to a few key points. Proven judgment, proven leadership, and a proven ability to unite people all across the political spectrum. These three things prove the tremendous abilities and talents that Rick Vilello will be able to bring to bear on the very important job that needs to be done down in Washington. I’d like to deal with each of these items in turn.

Proven Judgment:

Rick Vilello is the only candidate to endorse The Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq. The vast majority of the people here on this site have already come to the conclusion that we need to start withdrawing our forces from Iraq and we need to do it now. As Rick has put it on many occasions, “It is time for the Iraqis people to take charge of their own country, their own government and their own future in the world community. It is time to bring our soldiers home as heroes.”

In addition, Rick has been strongly against telecommunications immunity and warrantless wiretapping from the beginning of this campaign. The defense of our Constitution requires strong leadership and strong views. Rick Vilello has shown himself to possess both of these attributes and has spoken out on them publicly. Just another demonstration of Rick Vilello’s proven judgment.

Not only that, but Rick has been speaking out against unfair trade deals all through this campaign. As we all know, trade deals such as NAFTA and CAFTA have only helped the powerful special interests while ignoring the needs of working people. Rick will fight for working people and knows that we need to defeat these trade deals in order to turn free trade into fair trade.

Proven Leadership:

Rick Vilello has been a civic leader in Lock Haven for eleven years now. In that time, he has brought good manufacturing jobs to Lock Haven, cleaned up Main Street, and strengthened town/gown relationships with Lock Haven University. As anyone who has ever lived in a college town can attest, keeping those relationships strong and vibrant is both difficult and vital to civic growth.

While serving as Mayor, Rick Vilello has also been tapped to serve as co-chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Rural Affairs, helped launch Leadership Clinton County, served on the Susquehanna Economic Development Association’s Board of Directors, and co-chair of the Pennsylvania University Community Network. His leadership was recognized by Lock Haven University twice when he was awarded the President’s Award for University-Community Service in 2002 and 2003.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, Rick Vilello was also running his own building inspection business at the same time. And the Vilello family is very thankful they don’t have to get by on just the Mayor’s salary, given it’s only $37.50 a week. If he’s able to do all of this while only getting paid $37.50 a week, just imagine what he’ll be able to do as a Congressman with a full-time salary.

Proven Ability to Unite:

Let’s not kid ourselves here. Although Clinton County is now officially blue by about 500 voters, the Fifth District needs someone who can be a progressive leader while still bringing Republicans and Independents over to vote for our candidate. Rick Vilello has already proven in the past that he can win over Republicans and Independents. Until this year, Clinton County had more Republicans than Democrats, and the same could be said for Lock Haven. And yet, Rick is now serving his third term as Mayor of Lock Haven. Needless to say, Rick has won over Republicans and Independents in the past. In fact, I have personally met people who switched over to the Democratic Party this year specifically to vote for Rick.

In addition, Rick has shown an ability to get people to sign on with his campaign from all across the political spectrum within the Democratic Party. From labor unions (including his most recent endorsement by the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 520) to business leaders (like the executives responsible for bringing First Quality Tissue into Lock Haven), Rick has shown an ability to bring everyone to the table to work toward a common goal.

He has also won the endorsement of Mayors, County Officials, State Legislators, City and Borough Council Members, and Governor Ed Rendell. He has shown an ability to bring together people from all levels of government to make things happen for ordinary working men and women. This is the sort of unifying leadership we can expect from Rick Vilello in Washington. With Rick in Congress, we can know for certain that government will be working for the people once again.

So there we are. Since I’m an attorney by trade, I guess we can call this my closing argument. These are all points I’ve made in the past, but given how important they are to determine how strong Rick Vilello will be in Congress, they are points that bear repeating. Proven judgment, proven leadership, and a proven ability to unify people around a common goal. If you ask me, it just proves that Rick Vilello is the right man for the job. And now your job is to head to the polls tomorrow and push the button, pull the lever, or mark the ballot for Rick Vilello. Thank you for your time.