KA Message to the Citizens of Kulpmont

I am an avid learner and student of history, especially local.  After much research, it seems to me that not since the political Golden Years of Kulpmont, where great men like Bambi Miriello walked the floors of City Hall, have the voters been presented with such extremely dedicated men in an election. Kulpmont is on the crux of a paradigm shift, the likes of which has never been seen before.

 You are presented with a man like Bruno Varano who, for the past 24 years, has dedicated his very existence to Kulpmont and the wellbeing of the Citizens who reside within.  Love him or hate him, Bruno will go down in history as one of the greatest and most influential men this borough has ever had.  As they did with Bambi, by re-naming Mike Terry Stadium to Miriello-Terry Stadium, they someday will do in memory of Bruno.  I have joked with him by telling him “Hell, at the very least, someday people may be able to sit upon the ‘Bruno VARANO Memorial Park Bench.'”  Since his very first campaign, in which he signified a paradigm shift in its own right by beating Bambi for a seat on the Council, he has been THE ONLY citizen who has had the patience and dedication towards the betterment of our community to stand up EVERY SINGLE TIME, climbing the ranks to become our current President, a position he has held for many years.  To sum it all up: he’s been heralded as one of Kulpmonts Greatest Natives Sons; he’s been trashed on the front page of the News Item.  He never allowed the negativity to get in the way of doing what was RIGHT for the borough.  He is a man that I have admired my entire life and it is an honor to be campaigning along side this living legend.  

I’ll be honest, if you had asked me 3 months ago if I would ever considering entering the very public and heavily scrutinized realm of politics, I’d have flat out said no effing way.  I thought I was finished; my name soiled in the media amd i truly believed that, despite the overwhelming evidence proving the conspiracy against my daughter and I, the Court of Public Opinion had sentenced my name to death.  It was not until the true mindset of our local democracy showed it’s true colors…”if you want your voice to be heard, run for council!”  Hearing that over and over and over really drilled into my head that we, the people, have been kept silent for far too long!  Why is it that, in order for my voice to be heard, I NEED to be elected to office?  Then my mind opens to older, much more broad questions that have been stirring for years:  why is it that we elect leaders based on what THEIR views are instead of the leaders asking the PEOPLE what THEY want?  When you scale the position I am in down to the local level, it doesn’t matter how popular I am with the populace or how many ideas they give for me to bring before the council…what it boils down to is building and maintaining a positive and reliable rapport with my fellow councilmen.  All motions must be approved by a majority vote. In this case, at least 4 out of 7.  So being a rogue does me and the people no good.  Lucky for me, I have experience working with other members of a political body.  It doesn’t hurt that I’ve been blessed with such unique charisma and killer personality…in all honesty, when ya boil it all down, what ISN’T there to love about Joey Mac? Haha.  All joking aside, I am one of the most open minded and tolerant people you will ever meet.  Even to the naysayers and the people who will not support me in this election, all the way down to the ones who can’t stand my guts and say bad things about me…i may not agree with your opinions nor do I have to like you, however, it is your right to have them and i would defend to the death your right to it!  I am fair, balanced, dedicated, diligent and eager to learn all sides of the debate.  It is the duty of every citizen to be as well informed about as much as they wish to take on.  Too many people make their argument fit the evidence when they should REALLY be following  the evidence and THEN form their argument.  I will go into more depth in regards to the rhetoric aspect in another blog but for the purpose of this subject, I hereby declare, starting with my fellow citizens of Kulpmont, that I am THE true Candidate of the People. While I do have plans regarding certain things, such as the Kulpmpnt Borough Citizens Unite! Community Roundtable, I plan on basing every vote I make as a Councilman, based on the feedback and input from YOU, the good people who would be so kind as to elect me to serve you!  I am not promising to be any kind of savior and , rest assured, I will not be able to please everybody every time, but the process isn’t about pleasing everyone at once. It is about hearing ALL sides of the debate and which ever side is backed by more convincing arguments is the side that I will vote in favor of.  I need you all to put some trust in me and believe that I will be fair and impartial while making the decisions I make.  This process I plan on  introducing to how the system works is a TRUE Experiment in Action but It can only be successful if we All come together and MAKE it work! It has never been done before in Kulpmont and, just off The top of my head, in the USA…EVER!  The only way we will fail is if we allow ourselves to.  The future isn’t just in my hands….it is in ALL OF OUR HANDS!  

Casting your vote on May 16th, 2017, is, as far as Kulpmont and it’s governmental future is concerned, the most IMPORTANT thing you can do for ALL OF US!  Let’s not allow the same shenanigans that happened last Borough election happen again.  There is only ONE Write In Choice, whether you are Democrat or Republican and that is Bruno VARANO, a man who has humbly accepted your nominations and elections to the Kulpmont Borough Council for over 2 decades!  If it aint broke, don’t fix it!  

As far as myself, Joey McGinley Jr, is concerned, you need to know this: OF the PEOPLE, BY the PEOPLE and FOR the PEOPLE! My Platform and Campaign and, God willing, seat on Kulpmont Borough Council, isn’t JUST about me…it is about EACH and EVERY one of you! We can make this work, folks, but we cannot get our Voice back if WE don’t TAKE it back! My way of governing is Revolutionary and we can all be a part of it!  I have the experience, I have the diligence, I have the intelligence, but most importantly, I have the fortitude to bravely go where no man has ever gone before because, in a world where such nouns such as Status Quo, Normal and Conventional, exist, it is up to someone like me to go against the grain, ESPECIALLY if it will significantly impact the PEOPLE I serve and their children and, God willing, many more generations to come! I am unconventional in many ways, but, nowhere is it stated that unconventional is a bad thing!