Weekly Diaries

Team Tosti-Vasey diary –September 29 - October 19, 2008

Hello Everyone!

I intended to send this email out at the beginning of this week, but due to a family emergency was delayed until today.

This is the 20th email summarizing what's going on with my campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

We are now less than 3 weeks away from the election. Events are coming swift and fast. There will be three two debates (missed one due the family emergency) and a radio interview focusing on my race over the next couple of weeks. We are continuing to ID voters (which we could really use your help) and are organizing for Election Day.

Meanwhile voter registration ended on October 5. Centre County is now up over 12,000 registered Democrats. Last fall, we were about 6,000 registrants behind the Republicans. Much of this surge was due to the hard work of the College Democrats over the summer and early fall. And a good percentage of these new registrants live in my district.

These new registrants have my opponent concerned. So concerned in fact that he made a speech at a church in Millheim on August 10. According to my source, he said that he wants to limit students’ place of voting solely at their parents’ home rather than where they live for three quarters of the year. This means that these students would be required to vote via absentee ballot. The process of voting by absentee ballot is somewhat cumbersome – you have to request an absentee ballot application, fill it out, return the application, wait for your ballot (which were delayed due to a court challenge to the ballot[1]), and then return by the civilian absentee ballot deadline, which is 5 days before Election Day. As a result very few people complete the process and actually vote. This in my opinion both disenfranchises students and denies them the right to have a say in their local elected officials. When the county tried to shut out student voters at PSU in 1972, Pennsylvania Secretary of State C. Delores Tucker brought in a couple of National Guard members with her to campus to open the voting doors for the students. These doors should NOT be shut again!

Volunteering

Can you help? We need to

1. Finish ID’ing voters.

2. Contact our supporters in the last five days before election to remind them to vote.

3. Do poll watching – volunteers sit in the polls and check off names of our voters as they come in to vote. The check-off lists are then taken back to Bellefonte where other volunteers call those who haven’t yet voted.

Do you like to make phone calls?

· If you live out of town and want to make calls from your home, email me (info@tosti-vasey.com) and I’ll set you up with our “predictive dialing” calling. This involves you using your home phone (no long distance calls) and making calls while reading a script that is on your computer.

· If you want to make calls with others for both me and our Congressional candidate Mark McCracken, you can stop in at the Bellefonte Area office at any time from 11-9 on Monday through Friday and Sat 9-3 to do calling. The Bellefonte office is located at 121 S. Allegheny Street, Bellefonte. Tell the person at the front desk that you are volunteering to make calls for Joanne Tosti-Vasey and Mark McCracken. The instructions for making these calls are posted next to each computer. There should be someone there to help you get started. If you have any problem, give me a call at 814-360-7585.

· If you prefer making traditional calls from a paper list or prefer to make calls from the Penns Valley office at the Old Gregg School Community Center in Spring Mills, you should contact Jared Deloof at 814-206-4834. He can let you know when the office is open and can give you the calling list and script. Should you decide to take the paper list home for calling, then you will need either need to scan in your results and email the paper responses back to us (info@tosti-vasey.com) OR return them to Jared the next day so that we can enter the data back in the computer.

Election Day Assistance

Polls will be open from 7 am to 8 pm on Tuesday, November 4.

· We need people who are willing to sit inside their polling place to check off names as people come in to vote. We need people who are willing to work from 7 am to 11:30 am and/or from 11:30 am until 4 pm.

· The County Party in both Mifflin County and Centre County will have runners to pick up the check off sheets. They will be returned to the phone bank offices in Lewistown, Bellefonte, Spring Mills, and State College where voters who haven’t yet voted will be called. If you like to make calls and can put in a few hours starting about noon on election day, please contact Shannon Bilger in Mifflin County (Shannon@padems.com) or our campaign at info@tosti-vasey.com and let us know that you are willing to volunteer and what times you are available. Then we’ll will let you know where you need to go to make the calls.

Fundraising

We are continuing to accept checks for donations. And we once again can accept credit card donations through my website at http://tosti-vasey.com/contrib.html; just fill in the Act Blue contribution box, click the button, and follow the directions. Or you can mail in your donation. Just print out the donation form off of my website at http://tosti-vasey.com/form.pdf and send it along with your check to Team Tosti-Vasey to the address below.

Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Personal Note

On a personal note, I am out of town until midweek. I received a call last Wednesday morning from my sister. My mother had been unresponsive since Monday afternoon and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. I dropped everything and headed down to say goodbye to her. She woke up on Thursday morning. The doctor says she is still terminal. We now have her hooked up with Hospice and are making arrangements for placement in a local nursing home near my sister. If she continues to maintain her current stability, I will be coming back home on Tuesday.

Thank you all for your support.

Week 19 Team Tosti- Vasey diary –September 22-28, 2008

Hello Everyone!

This is the 19th email in a weekly series summarizing what's going on with my campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

The Centre County Democrats organized and opened 2 offices within the 171st District. I spoke at both opening events. We had about 80 people at the Bellefonte opening and about 30 people at the Spring Mills opening. People volunteered to help with both the Obama campaign and the down ballot ticket races.

I’d also like to thank Betsy Magley, Georgianne Coleman, and Jeanne Clark for holding a fundraiser brunch in Pittsburgh on Sunday for my campaign.

The major event of the week was a sendoff of the Bellefonte contingent of the Pennsylvania National Guard. On Wednesday, approximately 83 men marched in a parade from the National Guard Armory on Bishop Street down through town to Talleyrand Park (about 2 miles). They left on Friday for training at Camp Shelby, MS before deployment to Iraq. Last year, on July 17, 2007, Kerry voted no to a bill that provides tax credits to companies that armor our Pennsylvania. This is the first time since the Korean War that the entire Bellefonte National Guard unit has been mobilized for combat.

I stood on Allegheny Street at the new Democratic Headquarters while the parade marched by. And thought about the dangers they will soon be facing. And what their families will be doing while they are gone. And hoping that everyone comes back safely, but dreading the likelihood that this will not be the outcome for every family.

I am opposed to the war in Iraq. We need to bring all of our troops home. But until we do, we need to protect the people serving in the military. Part of that duty falls on the state legislature when we are dealing with our citizen soldiers – the Pennsylvania National Guard. And that means we need a legislator who will vote to protect our citizen shoulders: votes that include armoring the vehicles used by the National Guard. Last year, on July 17, 2007, my opponent, Kerry Benninghoff, voted no to a bill that provides tax credits to companies that armor our Pennsylvania National Guard’s vehicles and aircraft because he didn’t want tax credits going to the film industry. He declared his opposition to the bill one week earlier on the House Floor, saying,

“We see films coming out, day in and day out, that are generally in the millions, multimillion-dollar levels, and then to be providing tax credits to entities to that magnitude very much discourages me…. Therefore, I would ask the members to consider whether or not we should be voting for something like this.”

Legislators must make compromises in the interests of our citizens. Although I do not agree with the war in Iraq, I believe that we need to protect our citizen shoulders. Their safety is MUCH more important than whether or not the film industry gets a tax break. Fortunately for our local National Guard, that bill passed despite Kerry’s vote so that these men have a better chance at receiving armored protection while in Iraq.

Volunteering

Phone Banking

Are you interested in making phone calls? We could use your help! Calls can be made from your home or from one of the satellite offices in Bellefonte and Spring Mills. The best times for calling are between 6:30 to 9:00 pm Monday through Friday or during the day on Saturday.

There are two methods of phone banking. If you are interested in making the calls from home where the computer dials the calls for you, all you will need is a phone and broadband access to the internet, let me know at info@tosti-vasey.com. This method will not cost you anything if you use a landline. You will be entering the responses of the person you call while you are on the phone with them.

If you are interested in making traditional calls using a paper phone list, we can get lists to you to call. This method requires you to fill out a response form. You would then either need to scan in and email the paper responses back to us OR put them in the mail the next day so that we can enter the data back in our offices. If you prefer this method, please contact Teresa Welch, my campaign chair at twelchpsychologist@comcast.net or by phone at 814-355-8778. She is the person organizing this method of phone banking.

Door Knocking

We also need people who would like to door knock with me or in a group. I do door knocking on a daily basis. We will be coordinated door knocking events every weekend for Barack Obama and myself throughout the district. If you are interested in meeting and talking to people, please let us know and we will hook you up with the door knocking event of your choice. Contact Teresa at twelchpsychologist@comcast.net or at (814) 355-8778 if you want to do the weekend door knocking or contact me at info@tosti-vasey.com or (814)360-7585 if you want to go door knocking with me.

J Thank you.

Upcoming Events:

· Thursday, October 2, 7:30 am- 6:00 pm – Pennsylvania Governor’s Conference for Women, Convention Center, Pittsburgh

· Saturday and Sunday, October 4-5 – Aaronsburg Fall Festival, Main Street, Aaronsburg

· Saturday, October 4, 4:30-6:30 – Centre Hall Grange dinner

· Tuesday, October 7, 7:00 p.m. – LGBT Forum, PSU

· Thursday, October 9, 6:30 p.m. – Farm Bureau Banquet, Logan Grange Hall, Pleasant Gap

· Friday, October 10, 6-9 p.m. – Wine and cheese fundraiser, Nancy Park’s home, Aaronsburg. If you are interested in coming, Nancy would appreciate you letting her know. Her email address is nfparks2@verizon.net.

· Wednesday, October 15, 6:00 p.m. League of Women Voters’ debate. State College Borough Council Building, State College.

· Tuesday, October 21, noon – Lewistown Rotary luncheon presentation, Standard Steel Burch Hall, Burnham

· Wednesday, October 22, 6:30 p.m. Mifflin County Farm Bureau Debate, Indian Valley High School, Lewistown

Fundraising

And finally once again here’s the fundraising pitch! I am continuing to make fundraising phone calls and talking to people wherever I go about my race. We need to raise monies for literature, advertising, and phone banking. Team Tosti-Vasey needs a solid economic base of support in order to win this race in November. Which we WILL do with your help. You can contribute to Team Tosti-Vasey to help achieve Victory for the people in our district in November.

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Week 18 Team Tosti-Vasey diary –September 15-21, 2008

Hello Everyone!

This is the 18th email in a weekly series summarizing what's going on with my campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

Office Opening

There are TWO satellite Democratic offices opening this week within the 171st House District.

Join the local Bellefonte Area Democrats on Friday evening, September 26 at 7:30 p.m. for our grand opening of the Centre County Democratic Party Satellite Office. Then stay to watch the first Presidential Debate that starts at 9:00 p.m. The address is 121 S. Allegheny Street, Bellefonte.

The Penns Valley Democrats will be opening their office on Saturday, September 27 at 1:30 pm. This satellite office is located in the Gregg Township Community Center (formerly the Gregg Township Elementary School) in Spring Mills.

Both offices are great boon to my campaign as we will now have two local offices where people can come and make calls, enter data, and pick up supplies (like yard signs) closer to home. Less gas and driving. A win-win for everyone. Please come and join us at either one or both of these openings and then volunteer some time for making a change in our leaders both nationally and locally.

And while you are there, pick up a yard sign!

And now back to what happened this last week.

First a sad note. On Friday morning, Bellefonte once again saw one of our historic buildings destroyed by fire, leaving 9 people in seven apartments without a home. The fire occurred in one of the former Valentine family mansions that was located a little over a block from my home. Fortunately due to the quick movements of Dia Fornicola, a 20+ year tenant who lived on the third floor, all of the tenants were awakened and escaped the fire. Our community came together and helped replace clothing and quickly found housing for all of the tenants. The owners are considering rebuilding. The fire appears to have been caused by an inadequate electrical service combined with an aged and apparently defective knob and tube wiring. And the fire wasn’t contained quickly due to an inactive sprinkler system that had been installed but was not activated as the borough’s building inspector had not yet inspected the system. As a result, the Borough will once again review their procedures and regulations to hopefully prevent another tragedy such as this.

One of the major events I attended this week was a WPSU “Lobby Talk” on the Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling on Wednesday, September 17. This program had a wildlife biologist, a lawyer from a town in western PA that is attempting to craft local ordinances related to drilling in the Marcellus Shale, the Executive Director of the Texas shale-drilling program, and a Penn State Extension Agent who educates community members about natural gas leases. The wildlife biologist raised concerns about loss of habitat and bird species as forest land is cut into for wells, roads, and pipelines. The Executive Director from Texas acknowledged issues related to heavy truck traffic, gas leaks, higher costs for road maintenance, and the need to safely dispose of the toxic water that result from the hydrofracing process. The other two panelists raised the issues of needing more specialized treatment plants for the water and how to deal with gas wells once they have been “drilled out.” All agreed that, like the issue of the sale of Spring Creek Canyon, planning is essential so as to ensure the safety and acceptability of drilling to our communities throughout the state.

My beliefs on this issue are similar. There is enough gas in the Marcellus shale to provide energy to the entire US for only two years. It is only a short-term fix and the costs are high. Hydrofracing – the costly method used to drill for gas – involves huge amounts of water that become laced with toxic drilling chemicals; these chemicals end up in our municipal water supplies and treatment plants. Tapping our “exceptional value” streams would degrade the quality of our streams. We should instead focus on clean, renewable energy sources. Meanwhile local communities should be given the ability to craft ordinances to give tighter control over drilling in their community to protect our water, land, and wildlife.

FYI, this program will be aired on WPSU-TV, Channel 3 on Sunday, October 9 at 9:00 p.m.

Finally thanks to Phil and Karan Yanak of Millheim and Jesse Barlow of State College for holding two great house parties for me this week. We were able to meet and talk to new supporters and raised a bit of money at the same time. Thank you very much!

Volunteering

Phone Banking

Door Knocking

J Thank you.

Upcoming Events:

· Friday, September 26, 2008, 7:30 p.m., 121 S. Allegheny Street, Bellefonte, PA – Bellefonte Area Campaign Headquarters Office Grand Opening and Presidential Debate Watch Party.

· Saturday, September 27, 2008 – Milesburg Apple Harvest Festival, 205 Market Street
Milesburg, PA 16853. Event includes food and car show from 9 am to 5 pm. Joanne will be attending this event in the morning.

· Saturday, September 27, 2008, 1:00 p.m., Gregg Township Community Center, Spring Mills – Penns Valley Area Campaign Headquarters Office Grand Opening.

· Sunday, September 28, 2008, 1:30-3:30 p.m. – Fundraiser Brunch in Pittsburgh at the home of Jeanne Clark, 414 Stratton Lane, Pittsburgh, PA 15206. Invitation from Jeanne Clark, Betsy Magley, and Georgianne Coleman is at the end of this diary. If you are in the Pittsburgh area, please come and join us.

· Monday, September 29, 5:45 p.m.—Centre County Association of Township Officials dinner, Penns Valley Area High School, Rte 45, Spring Mills

· Thursday, October 1, 7:30 am- 6:00 pm – Pennsylvania Governor’s Conference for Women, Convention Center, Pittsburgh

· Saturday and Sunday, October 3-4 – Aaronsburg Fall Festival, Main Street, Aaronsburg

We are continuing to look for events throughout the district for us to participate in. These could be public events, meetings of organizations that you believe would like to hear Joanne’s message, or a house party in your home, please contact our Mary Watson. Her phone number is 814-238-2137 and her email address is mdwatson@aol.com.

As previously mentioned, I have been door knocking Since Tuesday July 1. Some of you have agreed to introduce me to your neighbors. Thank you! For anyone else… If you would like to go door-to-door with me in your neighborhood and introduce me to your neighbors, please contact the campaign at 814-360-7585 or via email at info@tosti-vasey.com.

Fundraising

We are continuing to accept checks for donations. And we once again can accept credit card donations through my website at http://tosti-vasey.com/contrib.html. You can get a donation form off of our website at http://tosti-vasey.com/form.pdf. Print it out, and send it along with your check to Team Tosti-Vasey to the address below. Or if you prefer to donate by credit card, go to http://tosti-vasey.com/contrib.html and fill in the Act Blue contribution box, click the button, and follow the directions.

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Week 17 Team Tosti-Vasey diary –September 8-14, 2008

Hello Everyone!

This is the 17th email in a weekly series summarizing what's going on with my campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

Office Opening

The local Bellefonte Area Democrats have come together and will be opening a satellite campaign office here in the heart of our district. Thanks to my campaign manager Teresa Welch and former County Commissioner John Saylor and others who found the site, negotiated the contract, and found the monies to pay for this office. We will be holding a grand opening on Friday evening, September 26 at 7:30 p.m. and then stay to watch the first Presidential Debate (as long as Comcast gets the cable in the office on time).

This opening is a great boon to my campaign as we will now have a local office where people can come and make calls, enter data, and pick up supplies (like yard signs) closer to home. Less gas and driving. A win-win for everyone. Please come and join us at the Grand Opening and then join us to watch the debate.

What: Office Grand Opening and Debate Watch Party

When: Friday, September 26, 2008

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: 121 S. Allegheny St., Bellefonte, PA 16823

Activities

We had a bit slower week this week. Only four events this week – a county Democratic meeting, a Human Relations Commission meeting, the Democratic State Committee meeting, and our first house party. As a result we were able to put more time into fundraising and door knocking.

On Monday, September 8, I attended the Mifflin County Democratic meeting after a slight detour. On my way over Centre Hall Mountain, I was confronted with a road block. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation had shut down the road this morning for four weeks to lay a gas line across the road. As a result I had to turn around and take a 15 mile detour through State College to get around the mountain and down into Mifflin County. Fortunately I had left about 10 minutes early and arrived at the meeting place just as the person with the building key showed up! While there I met a gentleman from the district who took some of my yard signs and agreed to help with the campaign. It’s great to have another volunteer concerned about our neighbors. Thank you!

On Wednesday, September 10, I attended the monthly meeting of the Centre County Advisory Council to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (it’s a mouthful but that’s its name!). I have been a member of this council since 1991. We spent the evening discussing a couple of housing discrimination issues that I had come across while door knocking and looking at an issue of alleged sexual harassment by a police administrator in Northeast Pa that I had received a call on in my day job as President of Pennsylvania NOW. This case has received a lot of publicity in the Scranton area. We also discussed the need to make some revisions to the new State College Employment Anti-Discrimination Ordinance to bring its review process in compliance with state law.

Background on this ordinance. In 2007, State College decided to create a local employment anti-discrimination ordinance after some people spoke at a town meeting with concerns about employment discrimination against people who are or who are thought to be lesbian, gay, or transgendered. I testified several times during the year and worked with Council and their attorney to craft the ordinance. It passed Council unanimously in December 2007. And on July 1, 2008 became the 14th local employment anti-discrimination ordinance in the state to cover sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status and familial status. It is also probably the first in the nation to expand the familial status protections to include family members across the entire life span. So that people who have or are thought to have the responsibility of caring for elder parents or disabled adult children will not have their jobs threatened because of these family responsibilities.

On Friday and Saturday, September 12-13, I traveled to Harrisburg for the Quarterly PA Democratic State Committee Meeting. There was a reception on Friday evening and then a whole series of meetings on Saturday morning. I am the Treasurer of the Women’s Caucus for State Committee and made my report at that meeting. We also set up the Auction and Candidate Forum Committee. For the last decade I have chaired the Forum Committee, which organizes and puts on the state-wide Democratic candidates debate / forum. In recognition of my pending win for the State House of Representatives, the Caucus decided to appoint co-chairs for the Forum for next year! J

Finally, on Sunday, September 14, we held our first house party at the home of M.J. Hovanec. M.J. was a great hostess. She made a wonderful spread of cheeses, wings, white chocolate mousse, and tea and cider. My son Kenneth joined us and gave us some entertainment. We had a good conversation and ID’d a few more people who will be voting for me. Thank you M.J. for the work you did, your hospitality, and the great food! Kenneth and I really enjoyed your hospitality (and Joe like the leftovers we took home!). Thank you!

Volunteering

Phone Banking

Are you interested in making phone calls? We could use your help! Calls can be made from your home. The best times for calling are between 6:30 to 9:00 pm Monday through Friday or during the day on Saturday.

Door Knocking

J Thank you.

Upcoming Events:

· Thursday, September 18, 2008, 6:30 p.m. – Reproductive Rights Phone Banking Party for Joanne Tosti-Vasey and Barack Obama, Cool Beans, 141 West High Street, Bellefonte.

· Saturday, September 20, 2008, 8:30 – 11:00 am – Pancake Breakfast. Phil and Karen Yanak have a long-standing tradition of occasional pancake breakfasts at their home in Millheim. Their next breakfast will feature Joanne Tosti-Vasey and her race for the PA General Assembly. Location: 132 Race Alley, Millheim, PA 16854. RSVP to Phil and Karen. Phone: 814-349-8147, email: yanaksrus@yahoo.com.

· Sunday, September 21, 2008, 2:00 p.m. – House Party at the Home of Jesse Barlow, 1427 S. Pugh St., State College, PA 16801. Jessie’s invitation: Please join me (Jesse Barlow) on Sunday, September 21 at 2:00 pm at my home for a chance to speak with Joanne Tosti-Vasey, candidate for the State House of Representatives for the 171st district. If it's not raining, we will hold this event outdoors. You will have the opportunity to get to know her views on what she thinks is the best way forward for Centre and Mifflin Counties and their people.

· Monday, September 22, 2008, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. – Pennsylvania Women’s Campaign Fund Meet the Candidates Reception, Dauphin County Bar Association, 213 North Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101

· Friday, September 26, 2008, 7:30 p.m., 121 S. Allegheny Street, Bellefonte, PA – Bellefonte Area Campaign Headquarters Office Grand Opening and Presidential Debate Watch Party. See top of this diary for details

· Saturday, September 27, 2008 – Milesburg Apple Harvest Festival, 205 Market Street, Milesburg, PA 16853. Event includes food and car show from 9 am to 5 pm. Joanne will be attending this event in the morning.

· Sunday, September 28, 2008, 1:30-3:30 p.m. – Fundraiser Brunch in Pittsburgh at the home of Jeanne Clark, 414 Stratton Lane, Pittsburgh, PA 15206. I will forward the e-vite onto all of you as soon as I receive my copy from the organizers (hopefully by the end of the day today).

· Monday, September 29, 5:45 p.m.—Centre County Association of Township Officials dinner, Penns Valley Area High School, Rte 45, Spring Mills

· Thursday, October 1, 7:30 am- 6:00 pm – Pennsylvania Governor’s Conference for Women, Convention Center, Pittsburgh

· Saturday and Sunday, October 3-4 – Aaronsburg Fall Festival, Main Street, Aaronsburg

Fundraising

We are continuing to accept checks for donations. And will be able to accept credit card donations again starting next Monday or Tuesday, September 22 or 23 according to Act Blue.

You can get a donation form off of our website at http://tosti-vasey.com/form.pdf. Print it out, and send it along with your check to Team Tosti-Vasey to the address below. Or if you prefer to donate by credit card, just wait until the 22nd (or 23rd) by going to at http://tosti-vasey.com/contrib.html and filling in the Act Blue contribution box, click the button, and follow the directions.

Will let you all know about some fundraiser parties in next week’s email.

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Finally, my heart goes out to the people from Galveston, TX who were hit by Hurricane Ike. If you’d like to help out the people who were hurt by either Hurricane Gustav or Ike, go to http://www.barackobama.com/splash/aid.html?source=feature_gustav. Then click on the map to select the charity to which you’d like to make a donation. Clicking on TX will bring up a list of charities working in the area who were impacted by Ike. Clicking on LA will do the same for those hit by either Ike or Gustav.

Week 16 Team Tosti- Vasey diary –September 1-7, 2008

Hello Everyone!

This is the 16th email in a weekly series summarizing what's going on with my campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

Well it was Labor Day, back to school, and start of new jobs for many people this week. And more fundraising and door knocking.

Monday, September 1 was Labor Day. Annually Regis Kingera almost single-handedly puts together what I would call a Union Solidarity picnic. Members of Unions that have a presence in Centre County, their families, friends, and elected officials show up at Holmes-Foster Park for hot dogs, hamburgers, pot-luck, and great conversation. The person who came the most distance for the picnic this year was Mike Fedor, Regional Director for the PA AFL-CIO. Thanks Mike for coming and for endorsing us. We look forward to working with you!

Labor Day Picnic Union Solidar_20080901_1824-1.jpg

Commissioner Jon Eich (L), Joanne Tosti-Vasey, and Regis Kingera (R) (organizer extraordinaire) at the picnic.

Discussions this day that I either participated in or overheard included the Presidential race, schools, how some of the unions are faring, and how the unions can help House candidates who have been endorsed can either retain their seats (Scott Conklin) or win back a seat for working families (Joanne).

Labor Day Picnic Union Solidar_20080901_1807-1.jpg

Team Tosti-Vasey Treasurer Mary Watson and Joanne talking to PSEA member Keith Ford about the fall campaign.

Tuesday was back to school. It was back-to-school for my son Kenneth along with all of the other children attending public and private schools throughout the county. This year my son entered 6th grade. He’s now a Middle School student! Changing classes, multiple teaches, lockers, and LOTS more homework!

Education is an important issue in this area that I believe we need to focus on. We need to provide an equitable education for all regardless of where you live. Our poorer school districts must be equipped with the support and resources necessary to educate all of our students to their full potential. In order to do that, the state needs to step up to their Constitutional responsibility to assist school districts across the state. The state has just made a start in reallocating funds based on a formula to help struggling districts, but we need to do more. Also we need to work towards full-day kindergarten programs and better support of higher public education so that families can afford to send their adult children to college or vocational training.

And speaking of higher education, we need to help ensure that students at Penn State University – a public/private institution – continue to receive an excellent education at an affordable level. The College Democrats have agreed to help my campaign so that together we can work toward this goal. But in order to do that we need to register the students here and then get them to vote down the entire ballot. So on Tuesday night, Jeff Helfrich on behalf of Rep. Conklin and I spoke before the students at the first College Democrat meeting of the year, encouraged them to work for the entire Democratic ballot from the top of the ballot all the way to the bottom. And depending on where in gerrymandered State College they live, they will either be able to vote for Scott (the eastern and western thirds of State College or for me (the middle third of State College/University Park). After the meeting, we agreed to set up a planning meeting to strategize campus organizing for my campaign.

College Dems Speech_20080902_1826

3 Joanne speaking at the PSU College Democrat meeting in Thomas Building on the PSU campus. Notice that I was number VII on the agenda that was written on an old-fashioned black board, something we rarely see anymore!

On Friday evening, my family and I attended a farewell party for Ben Brewer, one of my early volunteers in the Primary. Ben was the Managing Editor of Voices of Central Pennsylvania, a progressive monthly newspaper that has been in existence for almost 15 years; I was one of its board members for 10 of those years. Besides working for Voices, Ben was a student activist at Penn State University. He led the Penn State United Students Against Sweatshops "Designated Provider Program" protests at PSU in Spring 2008 as well as organized 5 students to do phone banking for me. He graduated in May and is now leaving to take a job as a field labor organizer with SEIU (Service Employees International Union) of Pennsylvania – another union that has endorsed me.

Ben has done a great job working for the rights of working people and now has a decent paying job that he is excited about. Others in our area also need stable employment. It is one of the stepping stones that gives individuals the opportunity to achieve their dreams by helping them to put food on the table, a roof over one’s head, and hopefully providing access to health care. A living wage combined with economic growth focusing on our basic needs is necessary. And what I want to work for as your legislator.

As part of the legislature, I would listen to and work with others to spur economic growth through increased support of our public education system so that our citizens (adults and children) have access to quality education and training, improving workers’ protections and access to unions, ensuring health care coverage for all, and development of green energy jobs in our agricultural and manufacturing industries.

Volunteering

Phone Banking

If you are interested in making traditional calls using a paper phone list, we can get lists to you to call. This method requires you to fill out a response form. You would then either need to scan in and email the paper responses back to us OR put them in the mail the next day so that we can enter the data back in our offices. If you prefer this method, please contact Teresa Welch, my campaign chair. She is the person organizing this method of phone banking.

Door Knocking

We also need people who would like to door knock with me or in a group. I do door knocking on a daily basis. We have a coordinated door knocking events every weekend for Barack Obama and myself throughout the district. If you are interested in meeting and talking to people, please let us know and we will hook you up with the door knocking event of your choice. Contact Teresa at twelchpsychologist@comcast.net or at (814) 355-8778 if you want to do the weekend door knocking or contact me at info@tosti-vasey.com or (814)360-7585 if you want to go door knocking with me.

J Thank you.

Upcoming Events:

· Friday and Saturday, September 12 and 13 – Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee Meeting, Harrisburg. For details if you are interested in attending, go to http://www.padems.com.

· Sunday, September 14, 2:00 pm – House Party at the home of M. J. Hovanec, 1011 Evergreen Dr., State College, PA 16801, Phone 814-237-4001; email: mj.hovanec@yahoo.com.

M.J.’s invitation: Please join me this Sunday, 14 September at 2:00 pm for a chance to speak with Joanne Tosti-Vasey, candidate for the State House of Representatives for the 171st district. You will have the opportunity to get to know her views on what she thinks is the best way forward for our district and its people. You will also be able to tell her what matters to you. She’s interviewing for a job where you’re the boss.

Light refreshments will be served.

RSVP is not required, but is appreciated.

· Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 11:30 am – Centre County Association of Realtors’ Candidates’ luncheon, Celebration Hall, 2280 Commercial Blvd., State College, PA 16801. For details, go to http://www.happyvalleyhomes.org/cde.cfm?event=200469.

· Sunday, September 21, 2008, 2:00 p.m. – House Party at the Home of Jesse Barlow, 1427 S. Pugh St., State College, PA 16801. Outdoors if sunny.

· Monday, September 22, 2008, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. – Pennsylvania Women’s Campaign Fund Meet the Candidates Reception, Dauphin County Bar Association, 213 North Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101

· Saturday, September 27, 2008 – Milesburg Apple Harvest Festival, 205 Market Street
Milesburg, PA 16853. Event includes food and car show all day. Joanne will be attending this event in the morning and early afternoon.

· Sunday, September 28, 2008 – Fundraiser Brunch in Pittsburgh. Details next week.

Fundraising

We are continuing to accept checks for donations. But we are still on hold with the credit card donation function on my website. We are continuing to work to get the problem resolved. I’ll send out an email as soon as we know it’s up and running again.

So when you make your donations for the next couple of weeks, please do so by check. You can get a donation form off of our website at http://tosti-vasey.com/form.pdf. Print it out, and send it along with your check to Team Tosti-Vasey to the address below.

Will let you all know about some fundraiser parties in next week’s email.

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Finally, I hope you all had a good Labor Day weekend and we wish the people in the Gulf Coast region well. We’re glad that Gustav wasn’t as bad as predicted and crossing our fingers for Texas and Hurricane Ike. If you’d like to help out the people who were hurt by Hurricane Gustav, go to http://www.barackobama.com/splash/aid.html?source=feature_gustav. Then click on the map to select the charity to which you’d like to make a donation.

Week 15 Team Tosti- Vasey diary –August 25-31, 2008

Hello Everyone!

This is the 15th email in a weekly series summarizing what's going on with my campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

Grange Fair! The Democratic National Convention! Crickfest! Meeting people everywhere. What a whirlwind week.

And another endorsement came our way this week. On Thursday, August 28, Dale Pepper, representing the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen Local 5 called and said he had a presentation to make to me. We met at the Democratic table at the Centre County Grange Fair. With my son Kenneth looking on, Mr. Pepper presented my campaign with an endorsement check from the Bricklayers for $250.00. We look forward to working with the union members to elect another pro-union representative to the General Assembly (that’s ME!) :-0

Dale Pepper, Representative of the Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, Local 5 presenting check to Kenneth Vasey and Joanne Tosti-Vasey for Joanne's campaign

Monday saw me head over to Reedsville to train a new volunteer, Deborah Baughman to make phone calls. Thank you, Ms. Baughman for both your support and time. More door knocking happened after that.

Then it was back to the Grange Fair in Centre Hall on Tuesday through Thursday. I “tent knocked” around the grounds and talked to people who came by the Democratic tent on Tuesday and Wednesday. Kids took my balloons. Met people from throughout the district and gave two people contact information for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission so that they could talk to the staff there about some allegations of discrimination in housing. I also spent some time door knocking people at their homes in Centre Hall.

The weather was perfect for every day of the fair, except one. And that one just happened to be Thursday, August 28. The remnants of Hurricane Fay came through Grange Fair starting about noon. By 1:00 p.m. when the annual Grange Fair parade started, we were gifted with pouring rain! State College Council President Elizabeth Goreham, Centre County Commissioner Jon Eich, my husband Joe Vasey and son Kenneth Vasey walked the muddy streets of the fair with me. Linda Jacka-Frantz and her husband drove the Miata convertible with the top up. We handed out about 1500 candy coupons and business-card size cards about me to the many great people who lined the parade route. Back at the Democratic table, my Treasurer waited and then handed out the candy to the people who chose to visit us for this treat.

Congressional Candidate Mark McCracken, County Commissioner Jon Eich, Rep. Mike Hanna, and Candidate for State House Joanne Tosti-Vasey

AFSCME member Dan Barndt with his baby daughter. AFSCME has endorsed my campaign for the State House.

Joanne handing out candy coupons and literature during the Grange Fair Parade

Joanne (left in green poncho), State College Borough Council President (2nd from right), and Joe Vasey (far right) walking next to the Miata donated for the parade by the Frantz’s and Jacka-Frantz’s. Thanks to everyone who participated.

As many of you know, Thursday was also the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Watch parties were held throughout the country and here in Centre County. I attended three of these parties in 2 ½ hours. Joe and Kenneth joined me at the one in Bellefonte near our home. They stayed while I went across Nittany Mountain/Centre Hall Mountain to Centre Hall and then on to State College. At each of these I made a short speech about why I’m running, talked about the differences between me and my opponent on the environment and the Marcellus Shale gas drilling issue which I discussed in last week’s diary.

Democratic National Convention Watch Party in State College. Barack was shown on 4 screens around the room.

n Friday and Saturday, it was back to door knocking. Thanks once again to Scott Horner for walking in Hublersburg and to Jared Deloof and his Obama volunteers for walking with me in Centre Hall.

Sunday was off to Coburn to participate in CrickFest. This is an annual celebration of the environment organized by the Penns Valley Conservation Association. Food, music, educational display, and a small petting zoo and a rubber duck race on Penn’s Creek for the kids brought in over 500 people from throughout the region. I even ran into two of Kenneth’s former teachers – one of his Kindergarten teachers who lives in the Valley and one of his summer camp teachers at the Friends School who now lives in Philadelphia. One of the really interesting working displays at Crickfest was a mobile solar power generator that powered most of the electrical equipment at the festival. I talked to many people and had a great lunch made from products grown and raised in the Penns Valley. I then went on and door knocked almost all of the doors in town.

Crickfest

While door knocking, I met some women who were brand new owners of homes built by Habitat for Humanity. We discussed the need for housing and health care and why my focus on the basic needs of members of the community are so important. Was all in all a great day!

Volunteering

Phone Banking

As I said last week, we finally worked out the glitches in the calling program so we are now off and running for phone banking. And could use your help! Calls can be made from your home. The best times for calling are between 6:30 to 9:00 pm Monday through Friday or during the day on Saturday.

If you are interested in making traditional calls using a paper phone list, we can get lists to you to call. This method requires you to fill out a response form. You would then either need to scan in and email the paper responses back to us OR put them in the mail the next day so that we can enter the data back in our offices. If you prefer this method, please contact Teresa Welch, my campaign chair. She is the person organizing this method of phone banking.

Door Knocking

J Thank you.

Upcoming Events:

We are continuing to look for events throughout the district for us to participate in. These could be public events, meetings of organizations that you believe would like to hear Joanne’s message, or a house party in your home, please contact our great scheduler Jean Slear. Jean’s phone number is 814-466-6456 and her email address is jslear@netzero.net.

As previously mentioned, I started door knocking on Tuesday July 1. Some of you have agreed to introduce me to your neighbors. Thank you! For anyone else… If you would like to go door-to-door with me in your neighborhood and introduce me to your neighbors, please contact the campaign at 814-360-7585 or via email at info@tosti-vasey.com.

Fundraising

Will let you all know about some fundraiser parties in next week’s email.

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Finally, I hope you all had a good Labor Day weekend and we wish the people in the Gulf Coast region well. We’re glad that Gustav wasn’t as bad as predicted. If you’d like to help out the people who were hurt by this hurricane, go to http://www.barackobama.com/splash/aid.html?source=feature_gustav. Then click on the map to select the charity to whom you’d like to make a donation.

Week 14 Team Tosti-Vasey diary - August 18-24, 2008

Hello Everyone!

This is the 14th email in a weekly series summarizing what's going on with my campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

This week we did lots more door knocking and fundraising. And once again FIVE events this week – two picnics, a breakfast, a debate, and the Grange Fair.

But first, another endorsement. This time a national endorsement. On Thursday, I received a cryptic phone message from EMILY’s List asking for my home address. I gave it to the woman on the phone and asked her if I had received their endorsement. She didn’t know as she was an intern who was asked to give me a call. Well I found out the next day when I received an overnight letter. In that letter, Kate Coyne-McCoy wrote,

I had just received what is considered to be one of the premier endorsements for female candidates in this country. And I am humbled and grateful for their support. This endorsement adds to my growing list of endorsements from the working people, women and unions:

AFL-CIO, AFSCME, APSCUF, Feminist Majority PAC, Pennsylvania NOW PAC, Pennsylvania Women’s Campaign Fund, Progressive Majority, SEIU, and Women’s Campaign Forum. And now EMILY’s List!

Wednesday, August 20 was the start of a two-week focus on agricultural pride that occurs annually here in central PA. Penn State’s Ag Progress Days is a 3-day event in southern Centre County focusing on the research and progress of our farmers and agriculture throughout Pennsylvania. It is followed by the Centre County Grange Fair – the largest tented, week-long agricultural fair in the state if not the country.

On Wednesday, I attended two events associated with Ag Progress Days. The first event was the Legislative Luncheon where Governor Rendell, Agricultural Secretary Wolfe, and Congressman Peterson spoke about agriculture’s importance to Pennsylvania and the world. And that part of that progress is working together for renewable energy and conservation. Prior to the luncheon I walked around the grounds to meet people and to learn more about bio-energy. I was impressed with the research and the entrepreneurship of our agricultural programs and businesses. Here are a couple of highlights:

Joanne listening to Governor Rendell speak on agriculture and renewable energy.

Former Representative Ruth C. Rudy at the Ag Progress Days luncheon

Following the luncheon, Ruth Rudy dropped me off at the Lions Club Park in Pine Grove Mills (we carpooled out to Ag Progress Days) where I spent 2 hours making fundraising phone calls before the late afternoon Penn Ag Democrats annual picnic started. Usually, Governor Rendell speaks at this event and is then followed by the candidates running for office from around the state. Due to other commitments, Rendell was not able to stay. As a result, the Penn Ag Dem speakers were Secretary Wolfe, 5th Congressional District candidate Mark McCracken, myself and Mike Hanna and Scott Conklin, incumbent candidates for the General Assembly in the adjoining districts. Wrap-up was given by Gregg Stewart speaking on behalf of Barack Obama; Greg was the volunteer spearhead of the Obama campaign in Centre County. He eventually became the statewide volunteer coordinator for Obama. And for all of his hard work, he headed off to Denver on Saturday for the Democratic Convention along with several other people from Centre County.

Friday was another double event day. It was the first full day of the Centre County Grange Fair and “Joanne Tosti-Vasey Day” at the Democratic booth. As my major issue is health care reform, the Centre County Democratic Party dressed up the cardboard Obama with a stethoscope and asked the trivia question of the day, “How many people in Centre County do not have health insurance?” And my campaign had our balloons, cardboard fans, notepads, and a one-day free raffle of a giant teddy bear. The winner of the teddy bear was 10-year old Ms. Abree Cowen from Sarver, PA (near Pittsburgh). As my camera’s battery had died, Abree had her girlfriend get her Disney camera and took several pictures of me presenting the bear to her. On Sunday, her mother sent the following thank you note to me:

My daughter won the big stuffed bear at the Grange Fair! She asked me to send you these pictures. She, as well as our 18 month old, loves their new buddy. She had a wonderful time at the Fair.

Thank You, Cristie Cowan

And here are the pics:

"Dr. Obama," Joanne, and the Giant Teddy

The Big Teddy was only about 3 inches shorter than our winner, Ms. Abree Cowan

Friday was another two-event day. At noon, my opponent and I participated in the first one-on-one debate since the Primary. It was held by the Bellefonte Area Chamber of Commerce at the Nittany Country Club in Mingoville. There were about 50 members of the Chamber present at the luncheon. Bob Lamb, a former US Ambassador, was the moderator. The major difference in our responses occurred on the question about drilling in the Marcellus Shale. My opponent, who has publicly stated that he doesn’t believe in global warming sees no problems in drilling. Mike Joseph from the Centre Daily Times reported our differences this way (©CDT, August 23, 2008):

Tosti-Vasey said she opposed increased drilling in what is known as the Marcellus black shale formation, a deep layer of rock in northern Appalachia where trillions of cubic feet of natural gas lies. The two years worth of drilling that can be done is not worth the huge environmental cost, Tosti-Vasey said, because the extraction method called hydrofracing could damage water supplies. She said other sources of energy should take precedence. “I think in the long run it’s the wrong way to go,” she said. Benninghoff said he supports increased drilling in the Marcellus shale, saying it’s his understanding that the natural gas supply to be had will last much longer than two years. He said better technology continues to be developed to safeguard the environment.

Ambassador Bob Lamb, Joanne Tosti-Vasey, and her opponent

And when I got home, I found out I had received the EMILY’s List endorsement. All in all a great day!

And guess what? Saturday had two more events! Campaigning is truly picking up in the district. The first one was a Centre County Democratic “Meet the Candidates” breakfast. Congressional candidate Mark McCracken and I spoke at the breakfast. The other two House candidates were unable to attend. Following the breakfast, I drove over to Mifflin County to Malta Park in Granville Township to attend the Mifflin County Chicken Barbeque. Rep. Scott Conklin and I spoke at this event. Scott talked about the need for the district to replace my opponent with me in order to successfully address issues such as health care and economic development. I announced my endorsements and spoke about our broken health care system and the need to ensure equitable treatment and universal access to health care for all. This event was covered by the Lewistown Sentinel.

Boiling the corn for the barbeque.

Following the barbeque, I headed back to Reedsville and door knocked about 180 people. The reception was great! Including one woman who walked into her garage while I was talking to her husband. She had remembered my name from the Primary. She said, “Hello, Joanne! You are really working hard and making sure we know who you are! Good job!” She then stood there with me to talk her husband (a Republican) into voting for me in November. I had initially ID’d him as undecided. By the time I left, with her help, he said he’d definitely vote for me and then asked for and put one of my yard signs in their yard!

And on Sunday, besides doing the fundraising calls, I called several people to set up phone banking. We also finally worked out the glitches in the calling program so we are now off and running. And could use your help! Calls can be made from your home. The best times for calling are between 6:30 to 9:00 pm Monday through Friday or during the day on Saturday.

If you are interested in making the calls from home, all you will need is a phone and broadband access to the internet. Please let us know and we’ll explain and set you up so that you can do the calling at home.

We also need people who are willing to make calls from the Democratic Headquarters in State College. If this interests you, let us know and as soon as we set up a schedule for group calling, we’ll let you know.

Either way, If you are interested in making calls to ID voters from either your home or from Headquarters, please let us know at info@tosti-vasey.com. We’ll then let you know when you can come into State College or arrange to train you over the phone so that you can call from home. You don’t have to live in Centre or Mifflin Counties to make these calls; you just need to know me! J Thank you.

Upcoming Events:

· Wednesday, August 27, 6 p.m. – Pot-Luck dinner, Democratic Tent at the Grange Fair

· Thursday, August 28, 1 p.m. – Grange Fair Parade (for those of you joining me in the parade, lineup is near the cow barn at noon – look for the blue Miata convertible!)

· Thursday, August 28, 8 p.m. – Join us at the Garman Opera House in Bellefonte to watch the concluding night of the Democratic National Convention.

· Monday, September 1, 12 pm – 6 pm – Friends of Labor Picnic, Holmes Foster Park, 900 Westerly Parkway, State College. Email or call Regis Kingera at 814-867-2029 or jxk375@psu.edu so that they can estimate attendance. You can also bring along a favorite dish to share with others.

We are continuing to look for events throughout the district for us to participate in. These could be public events, meetings of organizations that you believe would like to hear Joanne’s message, or a house party in your home, please contact our great scheduler Jean Slear. Jean’s phone number is 814-466-6456 and her email address is jslear@netzero.net.

Fundraising

We are continuing to accept checks for donations. But we are still on hold with the credit card donation function on my website. We are continuing to work with Act Blue to get the problem resolved. I’ll send out an email as soon as we know it’s up and running again.

So when you make your donations for the next couple of weeks, please do so by check. You can get a donation form off of our website at http://tosti-vasey.com/form.pdf.

You can download a contribution form at http://tosti-vasey.com/contrib.html, write out your check to Team Tosti-Vasey, and mail to the address below.

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Week 13 Team Tosti-Vasey diary –August 11-17, 2008

Hello Everyone!

This is the 13th email in a weekly series summarizing what's going on with my campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

First off, we need to let you know that the credit card donation function on my website is currently down due to an issue of processing Pennsylvania candidates at Act Blue’s end. They have told us that the problem should be fixed within about 10 days more or less. So when you make your donations for the next couple of weeks, please do so by check. You can get a donation form off of our website at http://tosti-vasey.com/form.pdf.

This week we did lots more door knocking and fundraising. And once again three events – two picnics and a two-day arts and crafts festival.

Wednesday, Joe, Kenneth, and I attended the Centre County Advisory Council to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission annual picnic. The Advisory Council is made up of residents of Centre County who are appointed by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission to act as the “eyes and ears” of the community for unfair treatment in the workplace, in housing, and in public accommodations (parks, stores, ballparks, hotels, restaurants, etc.). I have served on the Council since the early 1990’s and am now one of the two people who takes information and referral calls related to “unfair treatment” to help people protect their rights at work and in the community.

Here’s a couple of highlights:

Kenneth and Joe talking to Carla Jones at the PHRC picnic

Thelma Price, Vice-Chair of the Advisory Council, enjoying Chelsea Kearney’s attention with the assistance of Chelsea’s father, Martin Kearney, Central PA Education and Community Services Supervisor for the PA Human Relations Commission. This play occurred right after Chelsea smeared her face with cake frosting, which ended up on Thelma as well!

On Thursday, I drove over to Janesville in Clearfield County to attend Bud George Day. Representative Camille “Bud” George is the sole remaining WWII veteran still serving in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. He was first elected to the General Assembly in 1974 and who has a passion for environmental protections, education, consumer protection, and economic development. He’s a fiery orator and well-loved by his constituents. This annual event brings in hundreds of people from around the state, including the Governor, Auditor General, and many others to honor this gentleman. Here’s a picture taken of me with Rep. George:

Future Representative Joanne Tosti-Vasey with Representative Bud George (with your help) J

On Friday and Saturday, both the Obama for President and Team Tosti-Vasey participated in the Bellefonte Arts and Crafts Fair. The Obama volunteers walked around downtown registering new voters while we gave out “Vote for Joanne Tosti-Vasey” balloons, talked to voters, and handed out our literature. We gave out over somewhere between 250 and 500 helium-filled balloons. Our helium stand was located outside Cool Beans in front of the children’s “Tales of Middle Earth” stage. At every hour during the daytime, kids and adults donned costumes to participate in the “Tale of the Magical Unicorn.”

Kids and adults acting out the Magical Unicorn story.

Obama for President Voter Registration area (see “Barack” holding one of my blue balloons).

Carleton Hopkins blowing up some of our “Vote for Joanne Tosti-Vasey” balloons. Thanks so much for your great help! Also, I’d like to thank Jared DeLoof, Sharon McCarthy, and Scott Horner for the great door knocking you did with me this week!

Some of the children enjoying both my balloons and the costume play on High Street during the Arts and Crafts Fair.

We are now set up to start phone banking! If you enjoy calling people and are willing to help out here please let us know. Calls can be made either from your home or from the Democratic Headquarters in State College. The best times for calling are between 6:30 to 9:00 pm Monday through Friday or during the day on Saturday. Sunday afternoons and evenings are also good.

We also need people who are willing to make calls from the Democratic Headquarters in State College.

If you are interested in making calls to ID voters from either your home or from Headquarters, please let us know at info@tosti-vasey.com. We’ll then let you know when you can come into State College or arrange to train you over the phone so that you can call from home. You don’t have to live in Centre or Mifflin Counties to make these calls; you just need to know me! J Thank you.

Upcoming Events:

· Wednesday, August 20 – Legislative Luncheon, Ag Progress Days

· Wednesday, August 20 – Penn Ag Democrats Picnic, Pine Grove Mills

· Thursday, August 21, 9:00 p.m. EDT. Watch the PCN TV tape of the Penn Ag Democrats Picnic speeches. I’m the 2nd speaker after the introductions. You can watch online at http://www.pcntv.com/pcn_online.html or on your local cable TV station if you get PCN-TV. That’s Channel 22 in Centre County, Channel 98 in Mifflin County. For other parts of the state, you can find your station at http://www.pcntv.com/area_cccd.html.

· Friday, August 22 – Grange Fair, Joanne Tosti-Vasey’s day at the Democratic tent

· Friday, August 22, 11:30 am – Bellefonte Chamber of Commerce luncheon debate, Mingoville

· Saturday, August 23 – Centre County Democratic “Meet the Candidates Breakfast,” Whistle Stop Restaurant, Centre Hall

· Saturday, August 23 – Mifflin County Chicken Barbeque luncheon, Granville park – Noon

· Wednesday, August 27, 6 p.m. – Pot-Luck dinner, Democratic Tent at the Grange Fair

· Thursday, August 28, 1 p.m. – Grange Fair Parade (for those of you joining me in the parade, lineup is near the cow barn at noon – look for the blue Miata convertible!)

· Thursday, August 28, 8 p.m. – Join us at the Garman Opera House in Bellefonte to watch the concluding night of the Democratic National Convention.

We are continuing to look for events throughout the district for us to participate in. These could be public events, meetings of organizations that you believe would like to hear Joanne’s message, or a house party in your home, please contact our great scheduler Jean Slear. Jean’s phone number is 814-466-6456 and her email address is jslear@netzero.net.

Fundraising

And once again here’s the fundraising pitch! I am continuing to make fundraising phone calls and talking to people wherever I go about my race. We need to raise monies for literature, advertising, and phone banking. Team Tosti-Vasey needs a solid economic base of support in order to win this race in November. Which we WILL do with your help. You can contribute to Team Tosti-Vasey to help achieve Victory for the people in our district in November. You can download a contribution form at http://tosti-vasey.com/contrib.html, write out your check to Team Tosti-Vasey, and mail to the address below. Will let you know when the online credit card contributions are working again.

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Week 12 Team Tosti- Vasey diary –August 4-10, 2008

Hello Everyone!

This is the 12th email in a weekly series summarizing what's going on with my campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

This week we did lots more door knocking and fundraising. In fact there was one day where we talked to and/or dropped off literature to 280 people in the district! I also taped a webcast interview, attended a meeting in Penns Valley and participated in the Mifflin County Children’s Fair.

The Mifflin County Youth Fair is an annual week-long event held at the Youth Fairgrounds in Reedsville. There is a carnival area, food stands, a large exhibit hall and a big animal exhibition/show arena. Equestrian riding and cattle and lamb showmanship were just some of the events seen in the arena. The part that interested me the most was in the exhibition hall. I was a 4-H member for 12 years while growing up in Virginia. As a kid at our local 4-H fair, I exhibited my crafts and skills in clothing and food preparation (and when I grew up, I was a 4-H Extension Agent for a short period of time). Exhibits at the Mifflin County Fair included clothing, scrapbooking, cake decorating (congratulations to Teddie Snyder’s granddaughter for winning the grand champion ribbon in this category – great design of a hot air balloon cake!), woodwork, string art, vegetable gardening, and many others.

Meanwhile in the same hall, both the Democrats and Republicans had their own dueling tables on opposite sides of the hall. Team Tosti-Vasey brought along Obama for President materials from the Centre County Democratic Headquarters as well as information about our campaign and 250 blue and white “Vote for Joanne Tosti-Vasey” balloons and a helium tank. The balloons were a great hit with the kids, teens and adults. So much so, that we ran out of balloons on Thursday evening. The best reaction to our balloons occurred on Monday, August 3. A mother with her young toddler strolled by the table. I offered the child a balloon. His eyes got REALLY big and a huge grin spread across his face. I looked up at his mother and said, “Is this his first balloon?” She said yes. The awe in his eyes was precious. Here’s the picture I snapped of them.

My first balloon! J

On Monday, I went to WPSU’s TV station and taped an interview for their website. I answered questions on global warming, solar and wind power, I-80 tolling, abstinence-only-until-marriage education, health care reform, the Chesapeake Bay and agricultural runoff, ?. The interview will be posted at the WPSU website at the end of the month

On Wednesday evening, I met several of the Penns Valley Area Democrats at the Gregg Township Elementary School. We talked about both the Presidential campaign and my campaign. Several of the people volunteered to door knock with me and to hold a house party. And one woman whom I’ve known for several years offered space in her front yard for my campaign during the Aaronsburg Fall Festival in October. Thank you everyone for your support. It’s really appreciated.

Friday, August 8 was my birthday. I had both good and not so good experiences. I spent much of the day on Friday with the not-so-good. My mother was hospitalized on Monday, August 4 for testing to determine if her dementia is stroke related (fortunately, it’s not), medication adjustment, and for some physical therapy on her broken arm. I am my mother’s back-up medical power of attorney. So on Friday, I spent much of the day retrieving a copy of her advance medical directive and then fighting with the hospital to get them to recognize and agree to honor her wishes should the directive need to go into effect. It actually took until Monday, August 11 for my baby sister, Janet Baker, to get them to listen to us and agree to follow orders. We are expecting that she will soon have to move into a nursing home. The good part of the day was the great dinner that Joe and Kenneth took me out to at the Gamble Mill here in Bellefonte.

Upcoming Events:

· Wednesday, August 13 – Centre County Advisory Council to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission Picnic

· Thursday, August 14 – Bud George Day, Janesville (Clearfield County)

· Friday and Saturday, August 15-16 – Bellefonte Arts and Crafts Fair

· Wednesday, August 20 – Legislative Luncheon, Ag Progress Days

· Wednesday, August 20 – Penn Ag Democrats Picnic, Pine Grove Mills

· Friday, August 22 – Grange Fair, Joanne Tosti-Vasey’s day at the Democratic tent

· Friday, August 22 – Bellefonte Chamber of Commerce luncheon debate, Mingoville

We will start phone banking the week of August 18. If you enjoy calling people and are willing to help out here please let us know. We will be doing much of this calling at the Centre County Democratic Headquarters. If however, you can’t make it into State College and would still like to help out with this portion of the campaign and you have access to the internet, please let us know and we’ll explain and set you up so that you can do the calling at home.

We need people who are willing to make calls from the Democratic Headquarters in State College or from their homes in the evening (6:30 to 9:00 pm Monday through Friday or during the day on Saturday work the best). If you are interested in making calls to ID voters, please let us know at info@tosti-vasey.com. We’ll then let you know when you can come into State College or arrange to train you over the phone so that you can call from home. You don’t have to live in Centre or Mifflin Counties to make these calls; you just need to know me! J Thank you.

We are continuing to look for events throughout the district for us to participate in. These could be public events, meetings of organizations that you believe would like to hear Joanne’s message, or a house party in your home, please contact our great scheduler Jean Slear. Jean’s phone number is 814-466-6456 and her email address is jslear@netzero.net.

Fundraising

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Week 11 Team Tosti- Vasey diary – July 27 to August 3, 2008

Hello Everyone!

This is the 11th email in a weekly series summarizing what's going on with my campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

This week we did more door knocking and fundraising. I also attended the final two parades of the summer as well as a public hearing on Spring Creek Canyon.

First I’d like to thank Caryl Byrne and Teresa Welch for door knocking with me in the last two weeks.

The highlight of the week was not an event but an endorsement! On Thursday, July 31, we received a letter from the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO endorsing my campaign for the State House of Representatives. In their letter of endorsement, President William M. George and Secretary-Treasurer Richard W. Bloomingdale stated, “CONGRATULATIONS! The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Executive Council endorsed your candidacy for [the] Pennsylvania House of Representative for the 2008 General Election.” I was one of many candidates across the state that was endorsed by the AFL-CIO. In their public announcement of these endorsements, George stated, "These candidates have proven themselves to be the friends and supporters of working families. They understand that workers are struggling in this economy with stagnant wages, soaring prices for health care, gas and food. They advocate and support an agenda that mirrors the priorities of the labor movement. We are confident that they will put this country back on track toward prosperity and opportunity for all not the few."

This endorsement adds to the growing list of organizational endorsements for my campaign from the start. These include

· Pennsylvania AFL-CIO

· AFSCME – Council 83 PAC

· APSCUF (Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties)

· Feminist Majority PAC

· Pennsylvania NOW PAC

· Pennsylvania Women’s Campaign Fund

· Progressive Majority

· SEIU PA State Council

· Women’s Campaign Forum

On Wednesday evening, the Spring Creek Canyon Alliance held a public hearing in Patton Township to discuss the public concern about the proposed sale of the Spring Creek Canyon to Penn State University, Benner Township, and the Pennsylvania Game and Fish Commission. I, along with about 130 other community members, attended the hearing to listen to/express our concerns about this transfer. For those that don’t live here in Centre County, this 1800 acre parcel of land contains sensitive flora and fauna along the canyon valley. Most of the attendees, including myself, oppose the proposed transfer of land as planned because we want the state to “plan first” and then “divest” the land to an entity whose mission is conservation. We are also concerned about the possible runoff from agricultural uses Penn State University plans for the upland portions of this land into Spring Creek at the bottom of the canyon. I particularly liked the comment made by US Fish and Wildlife Biologist Ed Perry. During his presentation, he called for a reconsideration of the sale of this land from the proposed parties to a conversation-based organization/government entity so that we could have a “Central Park in Central Pennsylvania” for the public and the preservation of this unique piece of land.

The first parade was on Thursday, July 31 in Spring Mills. It was probably the longest parade that we have done all summer. And not only did we find myself running to keep up with the vehicles, Jon Eich was seen to be running at times as well! We even had the driver of the vehicle behind us asking if we needed a lift. The weather was also hot, but the people, as always were friendly and outgoing. The Obama campaign was also in the parade just in front of us. Their red Cadillac had Obama signs plastered on the sign and one of my signs on the trunk. Here are a couple of pictures from this parade:

Figure 1 Joanne, Kenton Shaffer (and his Caddy) with Phil and Karen Yanak

Figure 2 Joanne with Jean Slear and Commissioner Jon Eich just before the parade started.

Two days later we went to Walker Township Fire Company for the shortest parade of the season. Once again, some of my biggest fans – my husband Joe, my son Kenneth, and Commissioner Jon Eich – walked in this parade with Jean Slear once again driving her SUV. Kenneth was also the photographer supreme! Here are a couple of his pictures – the kid’s eye view of the parade:

Figure 3 A typical bucket of candy and peanuts. We usually went through 17-20 buckets of candy in each parade this summer!

Figure 4 Working the crowd in Hublersburg: Jon Eich is on the left, Joe is in front, and Joanne (wearing the red jacket and white pants) is on the right.

Figure 5 Joe handing candy and peanuts to a young spectator.

Upcoming Events:

· Monday – Friday, August 4-8 – Mifflin County Youth Fair

· Monday, August 4 – WPSU Interview

· Wednesday, August 13 – Centre County Advisory Council to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission Picnic

· Thursday, August 14 – Bud George Day, Janesville (Clearfield County)

· Friday and Saturday, August 15-16 – Bellefonte Arts and Crafts Fair

We are continuing to look for events throughout the district for us to participate in. These could be public events, meetings of organizations that you believe would like to hear Joanne’s message, or a house party in your home, please contact our great scheduler Jean Slear. Jean’s phone number is 814-466-6456 and her email address is jslear@netzero.net.

We will also be starting phone banking in August. If you enjoy calling people and are willing to help out here please let us know. We will be doing much of this calling at the Centre County Democratic Headquarters. If however, you can’t make it into State College and would still like to help out with this portion of the campaign and you have access to the internet, please let us know and we’ll explain and set you up so that you can do the calling at home.

Fundraising

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Week 10 Team Tosti- Vasey diary – July 21-26, 2008

Hello Everyone!

This is the 10th email in a weekly series summarizing what's going on with my campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

This week we did more door knocking and attended a parade, a grand opening, a dinner, and a jazz festival.

The week started off with a train ride back from DC to Harrisburg on Monday afternoon. My twin sister came home with me to spend a week with my family and to help me out with the campaign.

The highlight of the week was the grand opening of the Centre County Democratic / Obama Regional Headquarters in State College. There were over 200 people present to welcome the Presidential campaign, view the headquarters, and meet the candidates. Speakers included Greg Stewart and Jay Paterno for the Obama campaign, Auditor General Jack Wagner, Congressional Candidate Mark McCracken, State Representative Scott Conklin (whose running in the district adjacent to mine), and me. We all spoke about the need to support each other and to urge voters to vote “down ballot” which means that not only should voters vote for the President, but also head all the way down the ballot and vote in every race. FYI, I will be the FIRST candidate on the LAST section of the ballot in the district. In addition, each of us talked about why we were running. In my speech, I introduced my sister and talked about how the two of us fought both of our health insurance companies 19 years ago in order for me to have had my bone marrow transplant. Which is one of the reasons why I am so passionate about trying to fix our health care system. Here are some pictures from the event.

CC Dem Headquarters Opening_20080722_1641.jpg Joanne speaking at the Grand Opening

CC Dem Headquarters Opening_20080722_1637.jpg Kenneth at the Grand Opening Regis Kingera with Joanne Joanne and Virginia Brickwedde Joanne and Nancy Chiswick

CC Dem Headquarters Opening_20080722_1650.jpg Peter Morris is a member of State College Borough Council and has publicly endorsed my campaign. Picture was taken by my son, Kenneth.

On Thursday, July 24, there were two events held at the same time – the Pleasant Gap parade and the Centre County Farm Bureau summer picnic in Centre Hall. As it’s rather hard to be in two places at once, I went to the Farm Bureau picnic with my campaign chair Teresa Welch and my Treasurer Mary Watson while Kenneth, Joe, and my sister Linda represented me in the parade along with Jon Eich, Carleton Hopkins, Jean Slear, and Owen Trout. Once again thank you all for your support. And I understood fun was had by all. Here are some pictures taken by Jean Slear and Kenneth at the parade.

NOW Conference Bethesda MD JTV and Patricia Ireland_20080718_1630.JPG Two kids watching the parade NOW Conference Bethesda Thank you Patricia sign MD_20080718_1627.JPG Carleton Hopkins

Linda Pleasant Gap Parade_20080724_1664.jpg Linda waving to the crowd Owen Trout Pleasant Gap Parade_20080724_1675.jpg Owen Trout handing out candy and peanuts

The final event of the week was the Bellefonte Jazz Festival. There were two outdoor stages – one on the diamond in front of the county courthouse and one at Talleyrand Park. In the early afternoon I introduced myself to the people watching the concerts and the diamond and in the late afternoon at Tallyrand. In talking to the people, I met one woman who was not registered, talked to her about the importance of voting, and ended up with a new voter! According to Jayson Harpster, the Democratic Party registered a total of 9 people at this event, including the woman I talked to.

Upcoming Events:

· Wednesday, July 30 – Community Alternatives to Rockview Prison Land Transfer (Public Meeting), Patton Township

· Thursday, July 31 – Spring Mills Parade

· Saturday, August 2 – Rebersburg Parade

· Monday – Friday, August 4-8 – Mifflin County Youth Fair

· Monday, August 4 – WPSU Interview

We are continuing to look for events throughout the district for us to participate in. These could be public events, meetings of organizations that you believe would like to hear Joanne’s message, or a house party in your home, please contact our great scheduler Jean Slear. Jean’s phone number is 814-466-6456 and her email address is jslear@netzero.net.

Fundraising

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Week 9 Team Tosti- Vasey diary – July 14-20, 2008

Hello Everyone!

This is the 9th email in a weekly series summarizing what's going on with my campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

This week we did more door knocking and fundraising. I introduced myself to new registrants and their families in the district.

There were no local events in the district this week. So I spent the first half to the week door knocking. During the second half of the week, I took the Amtrak train down to DC for the annual NOW conference in Bethesda, MD. I co-chair NOW’s Disability Rights Committee and in that capacity, co-lead a session on emerging issues related to disability. Two resolutions came out of that session for consideration on the floor. One dealt with advocating for states to implement the federal waiver program that would allow Medicaid funds to follow the person; this waiver allows Medicaid recipients, including those with disabilities, to have a greater say in where they receive long-care treatment. The second resolution highlighted the fact that there is currently both a three-year backlog in processing Social Security disability claims and a high rate of initial denials; this problem is much like what we’ve heard about in regards to disability-claims problems experienced by our Veterans.

Figure 1 Joanne leading the Disability Rights Issues Hearing at the NOW Conference in Bethesda, MD on 7-18-08

One of the speakers at the conference was Patricia Ireland. She received the third-ever Woman of Vision Award for her work with NOW in the 1980’s and 1990’s. During her speech, Patricia told the audience about her personal experience with leukemia and her bone marrow transplant that occurred just over one year ago. What she didn’t say was that this wasn’t her first experience with dealing with insurance companies related to transplants and health care coverage. Patricia was the officer at NOW in 1989 who renegotiated NOW’s health insurance policy to include donor costs for transplant procedures. It was because of her concern that no one should have to fight insurance companies for coverage in the middle of a life-threatening that resulted in my being able to have the bone-marrow transplant that I needed to save my life. Thank you Patricia. And this need for health care reform is part of what I will be fighting for here in Pennsylvania as a Representative in the General Assembly.

NOW Conference Bethesda Thank you Patricia sign MD_20080718_1627.JPG NOW Conference Bethesda MD JTV and Patricia Ireland_20080718_1630.JPG

Figure 2 and 3 Joanne and Patricia Ireland

I also did some fundraising while at the conference and raised several hundred dollars with promises from many others to send checks to my campaign in the next few weeks.

Colleen Dermody with Joanne (fundraising) 7-18-08.jpg

Figure 5 Joanne asking one of her friends, Colleen Dermody, for a donation to her campaign 7-18-2008

And while I was in the DC area I also picked up another endorsement. This time from the Feminist Majority PAC. Here’s part of what the letter of endorsement says:

The Feminist Majority PAC and I are pleased to announce our endorsement of your candidacy for the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s 171st House District. Because the decisions of the Pennsylvania General Assembly are so critical to women’s rights and equality in Pennsylvania and you are extremely qualified for this position, we are endorsing you….

We are proud to endorse your candidacy and know as an elected member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly you will be a leader who will make a difference and improve the lives of all Pennsylvanians.

Sincerely,

Eleanor Smeal

Feminist Majority PAC

Then on Sunday, July 20, my twin sister Linda Tosti-Lane and I rented a car and headed down to southern Virginia to visit our mother who is not doing well. She broke her hip in May and her wrist a couple of weeks ago. We were pleasantly surprised however to see how well she is doing despite her health problems. She recognized both of us, was able to move about (albeit slowly) with her walker and enjoyed a humongous chicken chow mien lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. The three of us had to deal with some very high heat while we were out and about. At one point, my mother and I were waiting for my sister next to the car while Linda searched for her keys. It was so hot – later that day, the car’s thermometer fluctuated between 98 and 107 degrees – I told Mom that we should head back into the shade next to the restaurant. Moms said, “Then let’s get booking!” Still has her sense of humor! J Here’s a picture of us at the adult care home where she lives:

Joanne, Mom, and Linda July 20 2008_1634.jpg

Figure 4 Joanne with her Mother, Martha Tosti and her twin sister Linda Tosti-Lane

Upcoming Events:

· Tuesday, July 22 – Grand opening of the Regional Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign Headquarters at 7:00PM, 224 S Allen ST, State College [across from Schlow Library. Keynote speaker will be Auditor General Jack Wagner. I will also be speaking. This event is the Centre County Democratic Party’s summer social. There is no charge to attend--instead, the Party is asking people to bring a donation for the Centre County food banks – a can of beans, a box of pasta, a grocery store gift card, or any other grocery item to help the people who are suffering most from the Bush economy.

· Thursday, July 24 – Pleasant Gap Parade

· Thursday, July 24 – Farm Bureau dinner, Centre Hall

· Saturday, July 26 – Jazz Festival, Bellefonte

We are continuing to look for events throughout the district for us to participate in. These could be public events, meetings of organizations that you believe would like to hear Joanne’s message, or a house party in your home, please contact our great scheduler Jean Slear. Jean’s phone number is 814-466-6456 and her email address is jslear@netzero.net.

Fundraising

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Week 8 Team Tosti- Vasey diary – July 7-13, 2008

Hello Everyone!

This is the 8th email in a weekly series summarizing what's going on with my campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

This week we did more door knocking, a parade, and two arts festivals! So far I introduced myself to people in parts of Bellefonte and the townships of Armaugh, Brown, College, and Spring. Response has been great.

This week, on Thursday, July 10, we participated in the parade in Rebersburg. Rebersburg is just outside the district. We decided to do this parade since some of my constituents in Penn Township have a Rebersburg mailing address. This parade had “Barack Obama” (the life-size cardboard stand-in) riding in a Cadillac convertible with an Obama Mama pushing her stroller directly behind the Caddy. Team Tosti-Vasey led off the Democratic portion of the parade this time with Jon Eich and myself walking and handing out candy and literature next to Jean Slear driving. This parade moved fairly quickly, so there were times that I was running to keep up with the vehicles.

Romayne Naylor was working the Red Cross vehicle that stepped off just before we did. And she brought her camera with her. This picture was taken by Romayne just before we started handing out candy. Thanks Romayne for your support and the great picture!

Figure 1 Joanne at the north end of Rebersburg getting ready for parade step off. The signs were headed for Jean's candy mobile!

In addition to the parade, we participated at three difference sites at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts in State College and the People’s Choice Festival in Boalsburg.

Thanks to Chris Lee, both the Obama campaign and the Tosti-Vasey campaign were set up next to the parking area across the street from the artists in Boalsburg. Yard signs, literature, and voter registration were enjoyed by all. On Friday, I spent a couple of hours walking through the People’s Choice Festival to introduce myself to local attendees. And I also purchased a birthday gift for my twin sister!

When I wasn’t door knocking or at the People’s Choice from Thursday through Sunday, I was talking to constituents at the Arts Festival about my campaign and the need for universal health care. And when we found someone who wasn’t yet registered, we offered them voter registration forms so that they could vote in November. In State College, we were set up in front of the new Democratic headquarters as well as in front of Webster’s Bookstore Café. The table at Webster’s was sponsored by NOW – the National Organization for Women and the Pennsylvania NOW PAC. The PA NOW PAC endorsed my campaign in the Primary; it is continuing that endorsement for the General Election.

Upcoming Events:

· Thursday through Saturday, July 17-19 – fundraising in Washington, DC

· Sunday, July 20 – I’m going with my twin sister down to southern Virginia to visit my mother.

· Thursday, July 24 – Pleasant Gap Parade

We are continuing to look for events throughout the district for us to participate in. These could be public events, meetings of organizations that you believe would like to hear Joanne’s message, or a house party in your home, please contact our great scheduler Jean Slear. Jean’s phone number is 814-466-6456 and her email address is jslear@netzero.net.

As stated I started door knocking on Tuesday July 1. Some of you have agreed to introduce me to your neighbors. Thank you! For anyone else… If you would like to go door-to-door with me in your neighborhood and introduce me to your neighbors, please contact the campaign at 814-360-7585 or via email at info@tosti-vasey.com.

Fundraising

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Week 7 Diary: June 30-July 6, 2008

Hello Everyone!

This is the 7th email in a weekly series summarizing what's going on with my campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

This week we started in on door knocking on a daily basis. Kenneth went with me on two separate occasions and seemed to enjoy it. Although like almost any almost adolescent these days, he was ready to get back on his computer when we got home! J

As it was the 4th of July, there were the parades. And the big one we did was in Bellefonte. Thanks to Kenneth, Commissioner Jon Eich, Teresa Welch, Peter Warren, and Mary Vollero for walking with me and for Jean Slear once again providing her vehicle and her slowwww driving abilities. We were all able to stay with the car this time, especially me with my short legs! Anyway, here are a couple of pictures from the parade in Bellefonte on July 5.

Bellefonte Parade _20080705_1574 long shot edit.jpg

Figure 1 Bellefonte Parade - Bishop Street: Kenneth, Peter Warren, and Joanne

Bellefonte Parade _20080705_1564 Kenneth.jpg

Figure 2 Kenneth with his candy and peanut bucket.

Bellefonte Parade _20080705_1527 Joanne handing out literature.jpg

Figure 3. Joanne handing out her campaign business card.

Bellefonte Parade _20080705_1558 Jon Eich County Commissioner.jpg

Figure 4. Commission Jon Eich throwing candy to second story folks.

Bellefonte Parade _20080705_1521 at the Diamond.jpg

Figure 5. Kenneth, Joanne, and Commissioner Jon Eich with our parade vehicle at the Diamond in Bellefonte. Jean Slear is driving her car.

We also received another endorsement – this time from SEIU – the Service Employees International Union. Here’s what the letter of endorsement said:

It is with great pleasure that I write to inform you that the SEIU PA State Council, representing nearly 70,000 PA workers, has voted to endorse your candidacy in the General Election for State Representative.

Your support and understanding of issues important to PA's working families have earned our respect and support. We look forward to working with your campaign to ensure a victory in the General Election on November 4th.

Best wishes for your campaign.

Eileen Connelly, ED
SEIU PA State Council

Upcoming Events:

· Thursday, July 10 – Rebersburg Parade

· Thursday through Sunday, July 10-13 – Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts in State College. My materials will be at both the Centre County Democratic Party headquarters table at the old Verizon building in State College and somewhere near the Peoples’ Choice Festival in Boalsburg. We’ll also have my materials at the NOW table in front of Webster’s Café Bookstore in State College.

We are continuing to look for events throughout the district for us to participate in. These could be public events, meetings of organizations that you believe would like to hear Joanne’s message, or a house party in your home, please contact our great scheduler Jean Slear. Jean’s phone number is 814-466-6456 and her email address is jslear@netzero.net.

Fundraising

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Week 6 Team Tosti- Vasey diary – June 23 – June 29, 2008

Hello Everyone!

This is the 6th email in a weekly series summarizing what's going on with my campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

This past week was my family’s vacation week. We spent Monday through Friday in Cape May, NJ. We went to the beach (of course!), the zoo, the Cape May Light House, out into the ocean for some dolphin watching, and an evening at Sunset Beach collecting Cape May “diamonds” and watching a most brilliant sunset.

Cape May County Zoo_20080625_1286.jpg Cape May by Sea tour_20080626_1424.jpg Sunset Beach at Cape May Point_20080625_1352.jpg

While in New Jersey, I did a little bit of work on the campaign over the phone. I talked to the Women’s Campaign Fund and the AFL-CIO. On Tuesday, June 24, I received a call from the Women’s Campaign Forum. They asked me if I would be interested in being profiled in a new project that they are just starting. As part of their "She Should Run" program, the Forum has started a monthly news letter that spotlights campaign training organizations, provided tips about starting a career in public service, profiles one women who has already been nominated to the "She Should Run" program, and gives a roundup of news about women and politics.

The first issue just came out on Monday morning, June 30. And I am the first person that they profiled! The Women's Campaign Forum endorsed my candidacy for the PA General Assembly in April and I am currently one of only two women in Pennsylvania that has been endorsed that will be on the ballot in November (the other woman is Sam Bennett who is running for the PA-15 Congressional District; she was also endorsed by the National NOW PAC). To read the Alumnae Newsletter PDF, click here. If this link to their website doesn't work, I've also attached the pdf file.

On Wednesday evening I received an email from Michael Fedor, Director, Central PA Area Labor Federation/AFL-CIO. I called him on Thursday morning. He invited me to attend the Bellefonte walk-a-thon to gather signatures for the Employee Free Choice Act petition. The timing worked out perfectly as we returned to Bellefonte on Friday evening. The Walk was held on Saturday, June 28 from 9 am until noon. We first met at La Bella Trattoria where I signed the petition (here’s a picture of me signing the petition. Mike Fedor from the AFL-CIO is looking over my shoulder). Then we went out and door-knocked.

Joanne signing Employee Free Choice Act Petition w Mike Fedor, Dire, Central PA Area Labor Fed.jpg Joanne is signing the Employee Free Choice Act Petition. Michael Fedor, Director, Central PA Area Labor Federation/AFL-CIO is watching me sign the petition.

Joanne & Dan Long, Organizer CWA local 13,000 6-28-08.jpg Joanne with Dan Long, Communication Workers of America after signing the petition

Upcoming Events:

Starting Tuesday, July 1 – daily door-knocking throughout the district.

Friday, July 4 – Independence Day Activities at Penn State University

Saturday, July 5 – 4 p.m. July 4th fireworks/parade in Bellefonte

We are continuing to look for events throughout the district for us to participate in. These could be public events, meetings of organizations that you believe would like to hear Joanne’s message, or a house party in your home, please contact our great scheduler Jean Slear. Jean’s phone number is 814-466-6456 and her email address is jslear@netzero.net.

As stated I will start door knocking on Tuesday July 1. If you would like to go door-to-door in your neighborhood and introduce me to your neighbors, please contact the campaign at 814-360-7585 or via email at info@tosti-vasey.com.

Fundraising

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Week 5 Team Tosti-Vasey diary – June 16 – June 22, 2008

Hello Everyone!

This is the 5th email in a weekly series summarizing what's going on with my campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

I spent the last week fundraising and attending five events.

On Monday, June 15, I car pooled with my graphic artist Mary Vollero and my scheduler Jean Slear to Harrisburg. I then attended a reception organized by the House Democratic Campaign where I was introduced to and/or talked to several legislators, potential endorsers, and others. Amongst the people I met were representatives of APSCUF, AFSCME, and Pennsylvania Women’s Campaign Forum; these groups have already endorsed my campaign for the General Assembly. Other groups to which I have applied for endorsement were also positive about my campaign, but have not yet finalized their decisions.

Following the reception, I walked back over to the East Rotunda of the Capital. Along with Mary and Jean, I then watched the movie “”Uncounted” and then joined in the discussion. This movie documents events such as voter intimidation, long voting lines, and failures of voting machines that resulted in uncounted votes in 2004 and 2006 across the United States.

On Tuesday, June 17, the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County (CBICC) held a luncheon-time debate between Congressional candidates Mark McCracken (D) and Glenn Thompson (R). Issues raised during the debate included the high cost of gas, ending the war in Iraq, health care reform, educational equity, and predatory lending.

On Thursday, June 19, my husband Joe, my son Kenneth, and I walked in the Millheim parade, once again behind beside our driver Jean Slear’s candy and peanut car (people LOVE the peanuts!). We handed out candy, peanuts, and Tosti-Vasey business cards summarizing the major message in my campaign:

“I believe that no one should have to fight for health care or struggle to pay for their basic needs. I am asking for your vote to ensure that our families have secure jobs, quality education, and health care for all.”

On Friday afternoon and evening, June 19, former State Representative Ruth C. Rudy (she held the seat I am running for between 1981 and 1996) drove over to Altoona together to attend the Pennsylvania Federation of Democratic Women’s 81st annual convention. We attended two workshops, a reception and dinner. I again talked to several people about my campaign. The keynote speaker for the dinner was Auditor General Jack Wagner. During his speech, he discussed the need to add representatives to the state House and Senate that have a passion and concern for working people throughout Pennsylvania. He then stated that in the audience was just one such person who should be one of the new freshmen in next year’s state legislature – ME! J Audrey Glickman, our webmaster is checking into the possibility of getting a clip of this speech that was taped by PCN-TV to put on our website. If that is possible, we will let you know.

Upcoming Events:

Saturday, June 28 – The PA AFL-CIO “Freedom to Choose” Act walkathon starting a 9:00 am at the Garmon Opera House in Bellefonte

Saturday, July 5 – July 4th fireworks

We are continuing to look for events throughout the district for us to participate in. These could be public events, meetings of organizations that you believe would like to hear Joanne’s message, or a house party in your home, please contact our great scheduler Jean Slear. Jean’s phone number is 814-466-6456 and her email address is jslear@netzero.net.

Also I will start door knocking on Tuesday July 1. If you would like to go door-to-door in your neighborhood and introduce me to your neighbors, please contact the campaign at 814-360-7585 or via email at info@tosti-vasey.com.

Fundraising

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Joanne Tosti-Vasey

Candidate, 171st House District

Team Tosti-Vasey

c/o Mary D. Watson, Treasurer

1495 W. Pine Grove Rd.

Pennsylvania Furnace, PA 16865

info@tosti-vasey.com

tel. 814-360-7585

June 9 – June 15, 2008

Hello Everyone!

This is the 4th email in a weekly series summarizing what's going on with Joanne Tosti-Vasey's campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

We spent the last week lobbying, fundraising, and attending meetings and three events.

On Tuesday, June 10, I went to Harrisburg and lobbied my opponent on green energy and the sale of the Spring Creek Canyon. The previous day, the State House Government Committee heard the bill on the Spring Creek Canyon transfer. Although two thirds of the public as well as the Centre County Commissioners are publicly opposed to the transfer, the Committee passed out the bill allowing the transfer of these lands to the Penn State University, Benner Township, and the Fish Commission. The community, including Tosti-Vasey, opposes the transfer of land to PSU.

As stated on my website (http://tosti-vasey.com/issues.html) “We [must] maintain our environmental integrity and preserve our historical landscape and buildings. As such, we must find ways to reduce our CO2 emissions, find sources of cleaner fuel, and fund research on all promising sources of renewable energies. We must also protect the quality of our water and save our treasured but endangered landscape.” That includes the Spring Creek Canyon.

On Friday, June 13, Joanne and Joanne’s son, Kenneth participated in the Bellefonte Cruise. I rode in a 1990 Miata convertible and Kenneth road in a 1967 VW Bug. Thanks to Linda Jacka-Frantz and Randy Frantz for providing these classic cars and for driving us in the Cruise.

The “Last Cruise” started over a decade ago when Bellefonte passed an ordinance outlawing cruising or circling downtown several time an hour. The “Last Cruise” on the last day before the ordinance went into effect was so popular, that it has now become an annual event attracting about 10,000 people each year. Funds raised from the Cruise goes towards local community programs and scholarships.

Bellefonte's annual "Last Cruise:" Joanne is riding in the front car and Kenneth is riding in the back car. Linda Jacka-Frantz is driving the Miata and Randy Frantz is driving the VW Bug.

Kenneth saluted the spectators at the Bellefonte Cruise

Joanne waving to the spectators at Bellefonte's annual "Last Cruise."

After the Cruise ended on Friday evening, I sped off to Chester County for a meeting related to my paying job. Then on Saturday afternoon, I sped back the district to attend the Flag Retirement Ceremony in Boalsburg. Due to the rain, the event was moved indoors to the Boalsburg Fire Hall. The Elks Club presented a history of the US Flag with veterans and Boy Scouts acting as the color guard and bearers of historic flags. The Brownies and Girl Scouts presented the flags to be retired and the rest of us from the community joined in singing the Star Spangled Banner and other patriotic songs. Then on my way home, I stopped at Lemont’s Strawberry Festival for the last half hour of the party on the Green and met with some of the folks enjoying the early evening, music, and back sale to renovate.

Upcoming Events:

Monday, June 16: House Democratic Campaign Committee reception in Harrisburg – a chance to meet current office holders and introduce self to potential donors.

Tuesday, June 17: CBICC Luncheon featuring Mark McCracken debating his opponent for the 5th Congressional seat

Thursday, June 19: Millheim Parade 6 pm

We are continuing to look for events throughout the district for Joanne and her family to participate in. These could be public events, meetings of organizations that you believe would like to hear Joanne’s message, or a house party in your home, please contact our great scheduler Jean Slear. Jean’s phone number is 814-466-6456 and her email address is jslear@netzero.net.

Also I will start door knocking in July. If you would like to go door-to-door in your neighborhood and introduce me to your neighbors, please contact the campaign at 814-360-7585 or via email at info@tosti-vasey.com.

Fundraising

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Your Candidate for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, 171st House District

Joanne Tosti-Vasey

Candidate, 171st House District

Team Tosti-Vasey

c/o Mary D. Watson, Treasurer

1495 W. Pine Grove Rd.

Pennsylvania Furnace, PA 16865

info@tosti-vasey.com

tel. 814-360-7585

June 11, 2008

Hello Everyone!

This is the third of a weekly series summarizing what's going on with Joanne Tosti-Vasey's campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

We spent the last week attending events, fundraising, and attending meetings and a parade.

The biggest news of the week is another endorsement for Joanne’s race for the General Assembly. And this time it’s our 2nd national endorsement. On Thursday, June 5, Progressive Majority sent Team Tosti-Vasey their endorsement letter, stating, “Congratulations on your determination to run for State Representative of the 171st Legislative District. Progressive Majority is pleased to announce that you have been endorsed by the Pennsylvania Advisory Council as well as our National Board…. We know that you are a leader who is willing to stand up, to take political power and fight for what matters."

On Monday, Joanne attended the Mifflin County Democratic Party meeting in Lewistown and discussed her campaign with the Mifflin County Dems. Activities in Mifflin County were put onto Joanne’s calendar. If you know of any events in Mifflin County, please let our scheduler know. Jean Slear’s phone number is 814-466-6456 and her email address is jslear@netzero.net. Ditto for events in Centre County. J

On Friday and Saturday, Joanne attended the PA Democratic State Committee meeting and helped out with the Democratic State Committee Women’s Caucus annual silent auction fundraiser. Funds from the fundraiser are used to fund free childcare for state committee meetings, the annual statewide candidates’ forum and donations to candidates for public office. On Saturday, the Caucus voted to make a donation to 8 legislative candidates, including Tosti-Vasey.

Then Joanne rushed back to Centre Hall for the 2nd parade of the summer season in the district. The temperature registered over 100 degrees on the bank sign in downtown Centre Hall. Jon Eich and Joanne walked the entire route (with water bottles in hand!), talked to voters and handed out more candy.

So… here’s the fundraising pitch! We worked on fundraising at each of these events this past week as well as making phone calls. We need to raise monies for a poll, literature, advertising, and phone banking. We believe Joanne will capture the seat this fall, but she needs a solid economic base of support to make this happen. You can contribute to Team Tosti-Vasey to help achieve Victory for the people in our district in November. You can download a contribution form at http://tosti-vasey.com/contrib.html or make an on-line contribution on the same page.

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Joanne Tosti-Vasey

Candidate, 171st House District

Team Tosti-Vasey

c/o Mary D. Watson, Treasurer

1495 W. Pine Grove Rd.

Pennsylvania Furnace, PA 16865

info@tosti-vasey.com

tel. 814-360-7585

Week 3 diary - June 2 - June 8, 2008

Hello Everyone!

We spent the last week attending events, fundraising, and attending meetings and a parade.

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Joanne Tosti-Vasey

Candidate, 171st House District

Team Tosti-Vasey

c/o Mary D. Watson, Treasurer

1495 W. Pine Grove Rd.

Pennsylvania Furnace, PA 16865

info@tosti-vasey.com

tel. 814-360-7585

Team Tosti-Vasey Diary Week of June 1

Hello Everyone!

This is the second of a weekly series summarizing what's going on with Joanne Tosti-Vasey's campaign for the 171st State House District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We are sending this email out to everyone who has either donated or volunteered for Joanne. We hope you enjoy this weekly diary. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. If you would prefer not to receive this type of email, please "Reply" and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and I'll remove you from this weekly diary email.

We spent the last week attending events, fundraising, and attending strategy and training meetings.

On Monday, Joanne worked the crowd at the Boalsburg Memorial Day festivities. Questions about the proposed statewide smoking ban as well as education and health care came up. Wednesday was the Centre for Business and Industry of Centre County’s breakfast meeting on the Chesapeake Bay plan and its impact on Centre County.

Then on Friday, Joanne along with Kenneth went to the Antique Farm Machinery Show and sale in the Penns Valley. There were only about 1/3 the number of tractors displayed this time. Joanne discussed this lower showing with some of the exhibitors and verified that the fuel crisis is seriously impacting farmers. The high cost is pushing back on their ability to fuel their vehicles for their livelihood and their avocations. And we also talked to the father of an inventor of a solar tractor.

Saturday and Sunday were spent at a campaign training put on by the House Democratic Campaign Committee. The most often repeated recommendation was that candidates “raise money” and “door knock.” Types of volunteers to recruit include lit drop people, phone bankers, house party hosts, data entry people, and people who like to design events, photo opportunities, do press, etc.

So… here’s the fundraising pitch! We need to raise monies for a poll, literature, advertising, and phone banking. Additional donations are always appreciated. Please contribute to Team Tosti-Vasey to help achieve Victory in November. You can download a contribution form at http://tosti-vasey.com/contrib.html or make an on-line contribution on the same page.

Thank you all for your support. Without you, we could not make this a successful campaign. Once again, I really appreciate your support.

Joanne Tosti-Vasey

Candidate, 171st House District

Team Tosti-Vasey

c/o Mary D. Watson, Treasurer

1495 W. Pine Grove Rd.

Pennsylvania Furnace, PA 16865

info@tosti-vasey.com

tel. 814-360-7585