Abington Democrats versus Wayne Luker

(originally posted at page13news.blogspot.com)

Thursday night, the Abington Township Commissioners ended an over two year effort to seize a commercial property located on Easton Road in Roslyn via a hostile government takeover, better known as eminent domain.

I've written about this saga twice before, here and here.

While it is a clear victory for the Patane family who owns the location, this story is far from over.

Nowhere on the Democratic side of the ticket in Abington for this Tuesday's primary, except for cross-filed contests like School Board, is there a single competitive race at any level, with one very clear exception.

Twenty year incumbent Ward 5 (Crestmont/Willow Grove) Democratic Commissioner, Wayne Luker, is facing his first challenge in memory.  Luker is being challenged not because he's doing a bad job.  In fact, while I disagree with some of his votes, Luker is one of the few Democrats in Abington I admire.

Luker's challenge can be summed up in one shining moment, when he was the lone Democrat to vote against the hostile takeover of the Patane (not Abington) property.

The Abington Democrats' website doesn't mention the candidates in the Ward 5 race.  I won't split hairs, it is typical for political parties to stay out of contested races on this level because no party endorsement exists.  But failing to mention either candidate keeps voters in the dark about the contest, in an age when Democrats love to out for transparency.

Now, either Montgomery County Commissioner candidate and current State Representative Josh Shapiro (D), Montgomery County Party Chair Marcel Groen, and Abington Democrat leadership are actively targeting someone for voting against the machine, or they lack the persuasive power and will to call off this fight.  Sad.

But Commissioner Luker can stand proud.  Even if the machine wins, he's the better Patriot for it.