Don’t count Liz Bettinger among the people who thought Joe Biden should have dropped out of the presidential race.
“Not really. I mean let's face it, Biden had one of the most pro-worker administrations that we ever had in this country,” Bettinger said.
Bettinger, a 69-year-old Pottsville resident, serves as education coordinator for the United Steelworkers Union’s local district. She’s also a 9th Congressional District Biden delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
With Biden out and about to explain why in more detail during a prime-time speech tonight, she’s all in on Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s new nominee to take on Republican former President Donald Trump. This week, Bettinger joined the other Democratic delegates across the state in unanimously endorsing Harris.
“She certainly understands and is concerned with workers issues,” Bettinger said. “And I think she'll tackle them once she's elected or continue with making those important decisions.”
The 8th and 9th Congressional districts cover most of northeast and central Pennsylvania. Like Bettinger, the Democratic convention delegates from both districts sound upbeat about Harris.
Another delegate, Matt McGloin, the Lackawanna County commissioner, called Harris an “incredible” candidate.
“I think one of the things we have to remember is that she was part of a ticket that earned 81 million votes in 2020,” McGloin said. “She's been campaigning for over a year, more than 20 states, she's raised tens of millions of dollars for the campaign.”
McGloin, who’s 34 and lives in Waverly, said he can’t wait to get to the convention in Chicago next month and back Harris.
“She's traveled to more than 20 countries, she's met with over 150 leaders worldwide,” he said. “And I think when you look at it, if she were to enter that office, she would have significantly more national security experience than any of the four presidents prior to Biden.”
Todd Zimmerman, 64, of West Penn Township, teaches history and government at community colleges and serves as chairman of the Schuylkill County Democratic Party.
Zimmerman didn’t think Biden should leave the race, but shifting to Harris isn’t a stretch for him.
“I thought that they would make a really good ticket before they did have a ticket,” he said. “I've been following her since she was the attorney general in California, and then as a senator, and she showed leadership. I'm totally confident in her abilities.”
Some local delegates didn’t want to talk about whether Biden should have dropped out.
Andrew Cutillo, 33, a Scranton resident and assistant city solicitor, said the question doesn’t matter any more.
“I think the President made his decision. And you know, I'm one of those people that's looking forward to what happens next,” he said.
Cutillo preferred to talk about why Harris will “make a great president.”
“She is ready to go on day one,” he said. “This is something I really care about. Right? She has been in the room where it happens right, in the Oval Office in the Situation Room for the last four years working with President Biden to make the important decisions on Ukraine, on Russia on China.”
Harris, he said, “shares Scranton values.”
“And I think she wants to see those investments in our infrastructure,” he said. “She wants to make sure that billionaires aren't getting away with paying a lower tax rate than the rest of us. I think she cares about those things that we care about.”
Margaux O’Neill Bonin, 26, of Scranton, a compliance associate for a consulting firm, said Harris appeals to her on one issue especially: abortion.
“I'm a young woman, I want to make sure that productive rights are protected for me, for my sister and for future generations,” Bonin said. “I want to make sure that we finish up what Joe and Kamala started by building better roads. I drive (Interstate) 81 a lot. Some of the roads, they're not nice. But I believe Kamala will continue to fix those problems.”
