November 9, 2024
Sadness, Then Renewal
by Linda Bobrin

This past week has been a roller coaster. I felt so joyful and certain leading up to the election that this was it, history would happen. The deep disappointment that followed has been overwhelming. I know I am not alone in this feeling. I’ve seen the many posts on social media as well as the emails and text messages sharing the sense of sadness.

It will take some time to regroup and to feel up to moving forward.

There is a tendency to rethink the campaign and to discuss what went wrong. There will be plenty of time for that in the coming months. In the meantime, I think we all need a break.

The amount of work you all did was phenomenal. Yes, it wasn’t enough to win, but it was important, and it was inspiring. As an organization we got approximately 60 new volunteers, we received donations higher than in past years and we were able to door knock, phone bank, postcard and more.

I am hoping we can keep up that level of activism as we move forward. It is appealing to just say no more, I’m done. Believe me, I’ve thought about that as much as anyone. But we cannot give in or give up. There are going to be big fights ahead. We will be unhappy with a lot of what’s coming but we had wins the last time this happened and we will hopefully have more in the future.

In the near future, we have municipal races and county row races in 2025. We need to focus on our local municipalities and win those seats.

We will need to lean on each other in the coming weeks and months and try to keep each other focused on the races ahead. If we give up, we lose. I hope you will join me in the upcoming fight. I need all of you to keep me going. At the moment, I too am feeling a deep sense of grief and disappointment in my country. Perhaps the focus of our next fight will help us move forward.

I thank each and every one of you who worked on this campaign. Your work and commitment is deeply appreciated. We live to fight another day. I look forward to seeing you next week at our Newtown Dems meeting.

With deep respect and affection, I thank you and look forward to working with you in the future.

Sincerely,

Linda

November 8, 2024
Flood Insurance Task Force Recommendation Advances

Acting on a recommendation from the Flood Insurance Premium Assistance Task Force, State Rep. Perry Warren successfully amended a Senate bill to add two hours of flood insurance training to the continuing education requirements of insurance brokers.

S.B. 1241, sponsored by state Sen. Chris Gebhard, R-Berks/Lancaster/Lebanon, deals with pre-examination education requirements for insurance producer licensees. The bill passed the House and is now back in the state Senate for a concurrence vote. As vice-chair of the House Insurance Committee, Warren proposed the flood insurance continuing education amendment in the committee.

The House passed this bill as Hurricane Milton was approaching landfall in the United States. The Flood Insurance Premium Assistance Task Force, with Warren and State Sen. Steve Santarsiero as members, met throughout the first half of this year to work to lower the rates of flood insurance and mitigate the impact of floods for residents and municipalities. This amendment implements one of the recommendations of the task force. "I look forward to working with my colleagues in both chambers to continue to enact the recommendations," said Warren.

The Flood Insurance Premium Assistance Task Force was created by Act 22 of 2023 as a result of legislation that Warren sponsored. Santarsiero originally proposed the task force as a member of the PA State House.