I enjoy the Tribune-Review. It is a very focused hometown newspaper. Sometimes, however, when it publishes an article that affects the entire state, it really goes overboard in trying to be a big metropolitan newspaper. The article that provided that impression was “Party affiliation can be misleading in some local Pa. elections” (May 4, TribLIVE), about cross-filing for the primary, especially the line “Some state lawmakers who want to eliminate cross-filing argue that partisan affiliations indicate candidates’ values, information that is especially important in small local elections with limited media coverage.”
Let me explain something to everyone, including “some lawmakers.” We the people are no different than the people we elect. We have our own values, and so do they. Party affiliation is just a tag and nothing more. It is just one factor that steered them into that party. When candidates cross-file, it is just a tactical move and nothing else. The person and their abilities are trying to get into office to serve the people of the area.
We are their employers; the taxes we pay go to the salaries and expenses for their positions. An employer pays employees. So it makes sense to put the best qualified who has applied for the position in it. Just because the best resume submitted belongs to a person who cross-filed — why does that really matter? It is their background, talents and skills that are the keys to the job, not party affiliation. We hire humans, not affiliations.
Peg Bittner
South Park