Ross Township Commissioner to Challenge Orie

Attorney Dan DeMarco announced he will launch a write-in campaign to try to win the Democratic nomination in order to take on Republican State Senator Jane Orie in the November general election. No Democrat filed nominating petitions by last month's deadline to get on the May 18 Primary ballot. But DeMarco, a Ross Township Commissioner for the last 10 years, decided to mount a write-in campaign after Orie was indicted this month on charges of using her legislative office staff to do campaign work for her sister Joan Orie Melvin's successful run for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
DeMarco says he's frustrated with what's going on in Harrisburg..."I'm frustrated at the lack of ethics, the loss of understanding of what a legislator's duty is and who they are accountable to, and that's the people of Pennsylvania."

Demarco says he favors a constitutional convention to impose term limits on members of the General Assembly as well as legislation to begin limiting campaign contributions. He says the lack of such limits "breeds behavior" that leads to the misuse of public funds for campaign work.
DeMarco says fresh ideas are needed and fresh ideas come from fresh faces. DeMarco would need at least 500 write-in votes in the Primary to make it on the November election ballot. That's the same number of signatures that would have been needed on petitions to get on the Primary ballot.
Orie has been unopposed since 2002 when DeMarco unsuccessfully challenged her.