U.S. Senate challenger visits Pike

MILFORD — Joe Sestak is beating the bushes for votes and name recognition. The Philadelphia congressman is out to visit all 67 Pa. counties in three weeks and Pike was among his first stops, on Sunday. Sestak has not yet made a formal announcement, but he’ll tell you privately that he will challenge U.S. Senator Arlen Specter in the 2010 Democratic primary. After a lunch time meeting with Pike Democratic Party officials at the Hotel Fauchere, Sestak sat down with The Courier over coffee. His whirlwind trip was ostensibly to take the local temperature around the state, but discussion quickly centered on Sestak’s plans for 2010. He said the National Senate Campaign Committee contacted him February about making the run for Senate. “I told them I’d think about it.” They called again in April, but on April 28, their planned opponent, Specter, announced he would change his affiliation to the Democrats. Sestak continued to think it over, but now he was facing a primary election against a 29-year incumbent - Democrat. Citing Specter’s incumbency and proven campaign fundraising ability, prominent Democrats, including Gov. Ed Rendell scoffed at his chances. A former Navy admiral, Sestak criticized Specter’s party switch. “I don’t believe you abandon your troops,” he said. Sestak laughed aloud when Rendell’s comments were cited. “You know, they were all just as skeptical when the mayor of Philadelphia ran in the primary against Bob Casey - and they were skeptical when Barrack Obama entered the primaries.” Sestak said he believes that Pennsylvania Democrats will provide the next senator. “Why not a real Democrat?” he said. While initial polls showed him far behind Specter following the April switch, he points to more recent polls that show the incumbent support to be “soft.” He believes that he will gain voter support as voters learn more about him. “I wouldn’t do this on fool’s errand. I will prevail,” he said. Termed as a moderate Democrat, Sestak has concentrated much of his first two terms in health care, education and defense issues. While in the Navy, his daughter was hospitalized with a brain tumor and Sestak said she survived largely because of the kind of health care available to him in the service. “I want that kind of care for everyone,” he said. “Health insurance premiums have gone up 86 percent in the past seven years, while wages in Pa. have only increased 13 percent. The cost of a public university education is up 60 percent ....” He blamed the Bush administration and said Specter voted 80 percent in support of Bush’s “failed economic measures,” which he said brought on the “savage” recession. Sestak said change is needed, new ideas and the energy to execute them. We’re in new competitions around the world and we need a different approach.” “Can we do it?” he asked rhetorically. “Of course we can. We’re Americans. You can follow Sestak’s journey across the Commonwealth at twitter.com/joesestak. About Joe Sestak Joe Sestak was elected to Congress in 2006 after a 31-year career in the United States Navy. Sestak, 57, attained the rank of 3-star Admiral, served in the White House as director for Defense Policy on President Clinton’s National Security Council, served in the Pentagon as deputy chief of Naval Operations. He commanded the USS George Washington Aircraft Carrier Battle Group (30 ships, 100 aircraft, and 15,000 sailors/marines/aviators/SEALs) during combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the Navy turned to Sestak to serve as the first director of “Deep Blue,” the Navy anti-terrorism unit formed in response to the attacks. Sestak is the highest-ranking former military officer ever elected to either branch of Congress. He graduated second in his class from the U.S. Naval Academy and holds a Master’s in public administration and a PhD in political economy and government from Harvard University. Joe lives in Delaware County, with his wife, Susan, and daughter, Alex. He represents the 7th District, where his parents and six of his siblings still reside.