For Immediate Release
Date: Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Contact: Joe Otterbein Jr., 717-235-2428, joeotterjr@netscape.net
Eric Loeb, 215-849-2737, info@goodworks-pac.org
JOE OTTERBEIN JR LAUNCHES UNUSUAL BID FOR US HOUSE
Shrewsbury Democrat Calls for More Democrats to Compete for Nomination
(York, Pennsylvania) Today Shrewsbury resident Joe Otterbein announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination to challenge Representative Todd Platts. Instead of hoping to keep other candidates out of what many consider a long-shot attempt to defeat the three term incumbent, Otterbein is asking other Democrats to challenge him.
Otterbein told supporters at the York County Judicial Center that, “Politics should be about people getting together and solving problems. As competitors we can work together to find solutions to the real problems in our communities. Rather than bluster and preaching to the choir, we Democrats need to get off our stumps and into our communities to work side by side with our neighbors. We need to earn their trust with our sweat.”
For nearly 50 years, Joe Otterbein Jr. has worked in his family’s bakery, as a caterer for hospitals and hotels, and most recently as the food services director of a large meals-on-wheels program. "After high school I went to work at my dad and granddad's bakery. I didn't have the chance to go to college. I learned that if something needs to get done, you do it. Arguing and finger-pointing just meant that the bread didn't get made and our customers went somewhere else, and that wasn't an option."
Otterbein is supported in his efforts by a Philadelphia-based political action committee, GoodWorks-PAC.org, founded by Eric Loeb. “GoodWorks-PAC.org helps competing Democratic candidates work together on public service events,” said Loeb. “Public service is important for campaigns because it brings politics back to fundamentals. Politics started when people worked together to address their community needs. Now our national politics are about consultants and ads and who-you-know, not what you can do. If more politicians put their muscle where there mouth is, maybe the voters would not be so cynical and we’d elect better people.”
“Politicians should stop worrying about their next ad campaign and instead just roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. As a voter you can learn a lot more about a person when you have to rely on them to help you hang a sheet of dry-wall or prep a picket fence for painting than you can from any 30 second ad,” said Otterbein “Competition forces candidates to work harder and produce results, and that’s good for everybody. The best person for the job will be clear enough when we are knee deep in muck cleaning a river or side by side packing cookies for our troops. By bringing Democratic voters and candidates together we can again make politics what it should be – people working together to solve problems.”
Otterbein is married to Stacey Otterbein, and has four children, Angela, Holly, Joey, and Kimberley.
Loeb created an online Presidential campaign for Clinton/Gore in 1992 while a doctoral student at MIT. He has since advised numerous campaigns, including serving as the chief software engineer for Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000, and as chief Internet architect for the Democratic National Committee.
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The web address for Joe Otterbein Jr. is http://www.OtterbeinForCongress.com.
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