Now that the May 18, 2021, PA Primary Election is behind us, let me first applaud all the winners who came through the Primary Election, who faced opponents. Those winners will now have to run in the General Election on Tuesday, November 2, 2021. Thus the final race isn’t over yet. So while Democratic incumbent District Attorney Lawrence (Larry) Krasner won soundly against his Democratic opponent in last Tuesday’s primary, he still has to face off against Charles (Chuck) Peruto come General Election time. More often than not, in a heavily Democratic city like Philadelphia, once a Democratic candidate wins a primary, they’re a shoo-in for the general election as a winner.
In the case of the District Attorney’s office, this time, as Larry runs against Chuck, the stakes will be a lot higher. Charles Peruto has a very well-known name, and even though he is running as a Republican, his campaign may pick up steam that Krasner hasn’t seen coming yet. Time will tell.
Bottom line, for all those who voted on May 18th, you did your civic duty. It’s so important that adults in America understand what a “civic duty is.” We also need to make sure that civic duties are instilled in the minds of our youth from as early as grade school. Your civic duty is to care about your community, your neighborhood, your city, your state, and your nation. Civic duty is about when you get to the voting age, which is 18, that you register to vote, and then that you vote in each and every election after that. It’s your social and civic responsibility to care about the laws that govern our Commonwealth and this nation. The only way you can play any role at all in that is by registering to vote and then voting.
For children, teaching them the basics of civics is as simple as having them do a clean-up project in the playground, perhaps, or planting flowers around the school. It could be tutoring the youth on how to hold a mock election, with candidates and campaign literature and voter registration. Oh, there are ways to start teaching our children at an early age all kinds of good information and leadership skills, because we need them. To be prepared to lead.
Civics isn’t a bad six-letter word. It’s a positive six-letter word that in my head means action. It means getting involved. It means speaking up and speaking out.
If we had more people who understood what civics is about, there’d be a lot less crime in our nation, I believe. Perhaps you want to turn over a new leaf starting today, and you have never voted before in your life, and you are over the age of 18. That’s a good place to start. Get yourself registered to vote. Log on to the city of Philadelphia Commissioner’s website. Once you get there, there are all kinds of voter information to assist you, from registering to vote to find out where your polling place is; to get yourself signed up for vote by mail if you don’t want to do in-person voting come November. If you do not have access to a computer, I suggest you start by calling the City Com- missioner’s Office at 215-686-3462. Let them know you want to register to vote, and the staff will take it from there.
Here are some important dates that “civically speaking” you need to know:
May 25, 2021, is the last day for County Boards of Elections to receive voted military and overseas absentee ballots.
August 2, 2021, is the last day to circulate and file nomination papers.
August 9, 2021, is the last day to file objections to nomination papers.
August 9, 2021 is also the last day a candidate who intends to be on the November 2, 2021 election ballot can withdraw.
October 18, 2021, is the last day to register to vote if you plan on voting in the Nov. 2nd General Election.
October 26, 2021 is the last day to apply for a mail-in ballot, (and that is cutting it very close)!
November 2, 2021, is General Election Day.
Whatever you do, be civic-minded. Care about Philadelphia, PA, and our nation. It starts in the home.
