Started My County Commissioner Service March Today in the City of Lorain!
November 18, 2011
I was excited to start my Lorain County Service March this afternoon, and was able to visit nearly 200 homes in the City of Lorain before it got too dark to walk anymore (wow, it really gets dark early now, doesn’t it?).
Many thanks to the dozens of Lorain residents who I met today for being so friendly and welcoming. I was surprised to discover that a lot of them had already heard of me and knew that I was running for County Commissioner in the 2012 election. Many of the people who I met were surprised that I’m already doing door-to-door campaigning a full year before election day, but I want to do everything I can to prove to Lorain County families how hard I’m willing to work for them.
If you live in the City of Lorain, I’m looking forward to meeting you in the coming weeks as I continue visiting homes in your neighborhood. If you see me walking on your street, please be sure to stop me and say hello!
Van Treuren Enters Commissioner Race, Says He “Loves Being An Underdog”
November 13, 2011
Amherst City Councilman Phil Van Treuren today announced his candidacy for the 2012 Republican nomination for Lorain County Commissioner in the race for the seat currently held by Ted Kalo.
Van Treuren, a marketing executive and former officer in the United States Army, said that he looks forward to showing Lorain County’s families how hard he’s willing to work for them.
“Anyone who knows me will tell you that I absolutely love being an underdog,” Van Treuren said. “Anything worth having is worth working hard for. This is going to be a long, tough undertaking, and I can’t wait to face the challenge.”
In his first run for office, Van Treuren walked more than 400 miles in Amherst and knocked on doors wearing the same combat boots he donned in Army Basic Training. Although Amherst is heavily Democratic, Van Treuren was the city’s top vote-getter in the At-Large Council race in both 2009 and 2011.
“I wasn’t elected to focus on partisanship or political parties, and I never will,” Van Treuren said. “I’ve proven to my constituents that I’ll work hard for them regardless of whether they are Democrats, Republicans or Independents. I’m proud to have support from members of every party.”
Van Treuren, whose family has lived in Lorain County for more than a century, said that he has a winning record because he works hard and cares about his constituents, not because of “dirty campaigning or empty promises.”
“I’m running for commissioner because I love Lorain County and I think we have a responsibility to make sure it’s safe and economically sound for our children’s future,” Van Treuren said. “The two most important things that county government can do is keep our citizens safe and manage taxpayer dollars responsibly.”
According to Van Treuren, his campaign for Lorain County Commissioner will focus on fiscal responsibility and reducing government spending.
“I think that families make Lorain County great, not government or politicians,” he said. “To me, there’s no such thing as government money. It’s the taxpayers’ money, and government needs to be accountable to the people in this county who work hard every day to take care of their families.”
Van Treuren works as a marketing executive at Fathom Online Marketing and lives in Amherst with his wife Jessica and their three children. He encourages residents to learn more about him and watch an introductory video at PhilVanTreuren.com.
Amherst Fact Check: Does Phil Van Treuren Kill His Political Opponents’ Pets?
November 5, 2011
I was amused this morning to receive a funny political hit piece focused on me, which I’m sure many of you also got in your mailbox. Just to set the record straight: no, I don’t really advocate killing my political opponents’ pets, and I don’t wear a Darth Vader helmet at home (although my kids and I are big Star Wars fans).
The quotes featured on the hit piece were pulled from a satirical post that I wrote for a Star Wars blog a few years ago that were obviously meant to be tongue-in-cheek . . . you can click here to check out the post, entitled “Darth Vader’s Guide To Winning Your Political Campaign”. My favorite quote from the post wasn’t included in the mailer:
“Of course, encasing a political opponent’s best friend in Carbonite and handing him over to a bounty hunter is another great method of intimidation, but it isn’t applicable to every election.”
The person who funded the flyer used a front group out of Arizona to send the mailer, so unfortunately I won’t be able to let them know that they spelled my name wrong. I have to admit I was pretty disappointed that they didn’t find a way to get a picture of me holding a light saber on the mailer . . .
UPDATE 11-8-11: This hit piece generated quite an uproar from Amherst residents who received it, and I got lots of messages from people who said that they would be voting for me this year because of how ridiculous the Darth Vader mailer was. Our campaign ended up making history on election day: I got more votes than any City Councilman in the history of the City of Amherst, and I became the first At-Large Councilman ever to be the top vote-getter two elections in a row. BIG THANKS to the people who sent out the Darth Vader mailer . . . it helped to put us over the top, and is a great example of how negative campaigning can backfire in a local election.