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Penn State Abington was at capacity as candidates for US Congress and PA State House asserted their views and recapped their biographies on October 25.

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2010 mid-term election

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Results of Mid-term Election 2010

There were two types of decisions on Election Day 2010. The first asked voters whether they wanted to rename Abington Township near Clarks Summit, PA to "Waverly Township." 705 Township residents in Lackawanna County voted in-favor of the "rebranding" and 114 voted against. There is an historic basis for this change. Until the 1920s, it was called Waverly Borough, based on the book of the same name by Sir Walter Scott. The new-old name is expected to take several years to be recognized and changed by the US Postal Service, phone directories, GPS systems and other sources that provide conflicting information about the location of Abington. Township Manager Bill White indicated the Township will reach-out to PA State agencies to make sure that they are aware of the change, before it becomes offical on 1/1/11.

The second series of decisions will have a far-reaching impact the composition of State and National government for up to a decade. On a cool, crisp autumn day, 50.5% of registered voters in Montgomery County cast ballots for Pennsylvania Governor, U.S. Senate and House, Pennsylvania State Senate and House of Representatives:

Pennsylvania State House of Representatives

Legislative District 153
Tom Bogar (R)  7,382  30%
Josh Shapiro (D) 17,291  70%

Legislative District 170 (only 1,589 votes cast in Abington)
Brendan Boyle (D)  10,071  64%
Marc Colazzo (R)  6,142  36%

Pennsylvania State Senate - District 4
Leanna Washington (D)  Unopposed

United States House of Representatives - District 13
Dee Adcock (R)  90,990  44%
Allyson Schwartz (D)  117,569  56%

United States Senate - Junior Senator
Joe Sestak (D)  1,914,027  49%
Pat Toomey (R)  1,991,593  51%

Governor and Lietenant Governor of Pennsylvania
Tom Corbett (R)  2,134,414  55%
Dan Onorato (D)  1,781,495  45%

Sources and Links:  
Times-Tribune story on Abington (post-election)
16 WNEP Lackawanna County (post-election)
Times-Tribune on the name-change (pre-election)
The Abington Journal (pre-election)
MSNBC (pre-election)

1 comments by Members are their personal opinions (see RMCA policies)
RMCA's picture
Submitted by RMCA on Wed, 11/03/2010 - 12:10pm.

Both houses of the Pennsylvania State legislature are now in Republican hands – along with the Governor's office. Despite the fact that Abington re-elected Democrats Josh Shapiro and Leanna Washington (by default), the General Assembly will now be controlled by a single party. In addition to dealing with budgets and legislation, they also have the responsibility of redistricting, based on the results of the 2010 U.S. Census. Abington Commissioner Steven Kline recently reminded the RMCA Board that Pennsylvania will lose one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The results of the election impact the U.S. House and Senate in a more complicated way. Despite the fact that the 13th Congressional District is retained by democrat Allyson Schwartz, the House has shifted to the Republicans. The election of Pat Toomey to the U.S. Senate does not shift it to be controlled by the Republicans, but does bring the balance of power closer to equilibrium.

At a national level, it appears that the American people have sent a message to Washington DC: Work together in a responsible way.

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