My mother-in-law is a Democrat with liberal leanings.  My father is a Catholic Republican with small government leanings.  My cousin is well, I don't know, but a proponent of education, decent roads and elected officials paying attention to small towns. 

In the past 24 hours, I've had conversations with all three about my reasons for supporting Joe Hoeffel.  And to my surprise, all three were willing to listen. 

For MIL and my Dad, it was all about the Marcellus Shale.  MIL owns farm land and Dad has worked on wastewater emissions for coke plants (steel mills) for two decades.  They both care about the environment and they both have witnessed firsthand the devastation that unchecked corporate greed can wreck on our planet. They both agree that drilling the Shale will overload the municipal water treatments of small communities and that the gas companies should have to basically clean up their mess.  My Dad would prefer if the companies would be forced to do it themselves, but he recognizes the improbability of  that option so he agrees that taxes to fund the clean up are fair and just.  The both want their grandchildren to grow up with a cleaner environment and believe that dedicating this tax to environmental preservation is something they support.

My Dad thinks the County tax assessment is ridiculous and my cousin agrees. She wants more detail on education and she is beyond angry that PennDOT ignored small towns outside of Allegheny County while getting all this glory about their stellar road clearing inside the County. 

None of them think Onorato has been doing a heck of a job, Danny.  And all three are giving a second look at the "Socially Progressive, Fiscally Responsible Candidate" from the East, Joe Hoeffel.

You can have an impact if you talk with your families about this race.  The numbers are amazingly close considering the size of the Onorato war chest.  Folks like my family members have not been impressed with Onorato's ability to deliver to struggling communities in this region so they don't buy the argument that electing a Western PA Democrat will be good for us.  They don't buy it.