Happy Election Day? I wish. Anyway, D.C. has early voting. I voted with my son in tow on Halloween; my wife took my daughter to the polls a few days later. We voted for President, for city council members, and for the District of Columbia to become the Douglass Commonwealth; we kicked ourselves for not having researched the school board elections. (Discussion of D.C. statehood at the link.)
We have been spending our weekends campaigning in Pennsylvania. I hope to write a little about that before the polls close this evening. Surprisingly (or not) the campaign has consistently sent us to a near-suburb of Philly called Cheltenham. As a result, even though we know Chester County well and sleep there often (when we aren’t with my cousin in Fairmount) we have not done any electioneering there.
Fortunately, Emma Green of the Atlantic is prepared to step into the breach. Her profile of Chester County is not especially incisive or deep. But it is accurate. And it is very funny how Trump somehow confused Downingtown for a depressed area.
The county has a pleasant, if in some places stark, urban core in West Chester:
And also rural areas where the kids can build their immune systems in actual farms:
It is a great place for unsupervised little boys to risk their lives.
Anyway, for those of you who want to know what the election looks like on the ground, you could do worse than the Atlantic profile.
the Douglass Commonwealth?
Hmmmm....that name isn't grabbing me. I get that it allows retention of the "DC" initials, but meh...
Think DC (minus the rump area) should get statehood though.
Posted by: J.H. | November 08, 2016 at 11:31 AM
My mom was born in West Chester, PA.
Posted by: JKR | November 08, 2016 at 01:19 PM