Victory for Manero
After studying and teaching government for many years, Mr. Manero is finally getting a taste of the action.
PW’s own Government and Politics teacher Mr. Manero has been elected to Plymouth Council, the local government in Plymouth Meeting.
November 2015
Zyanne Clay-Hubbard '17
2015 was a major election year for Pennsylvania, especially in Montgomery County. Several offices were vacant: positions as large as County Commissioner and Sheriff, and as small as Township Councils.
After teaching Government and Politics for several years, PW’s own Mr. Manero chose to get involved in the system about which he had spent so long teaching. He decided to run for Plymouth Council. “I've always been interested in local government,” Mr Manero said in an interview.
He ran unopposed in the primaries in the spring, and secured the Democratic nomination for Plymouth Council Ward 2. He was then launched into the fast paced world of politics. “A lot of it was so new to me,” Manero says in an interview. “I enjoyed meeting a lot of people I didn't know, some politically involved people.” He spent the summer months sweating in the heat, knocking on doors and getting to know the people he wanted to represent. He shook hands, he learned names, and he listened to the problems people had.
As the campaign went on into the fall, his navy blue signs went up all around the area. In the last few weeks before the election, the onslaught of flyers and promotional advertisements began. Every day, mailboxes were full with flyers advertising what each candidate promised to do. Mr. Manero says this was one of his favorite parts of the campaign process. Glossy photos of Mr. Manero were mailed out, captioned “Teacher. Coach. Mentor.”
But mixed into the piles of flyers were many negative ads, with slogans that read “Vote No for Manero” and Photoshopped images of various quality. However, our Government teacher (who chose to run a clean race without negative ads) refused to let it get to him. “They didn't really bother me. Honestly I laughed most of it off,” he said.
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After months of work, the big day approached: Election Day. Mr. Manero spent the day at the polls, shaking hands and handing out stickers. “The last hour was really nerve-wracking, knowing that the polls were about to close.” When the polls closed, and the votes were counted, Manero was victorious, by a very slim margin: 19 votes.
In the wake of his election, he looks forward to taking office formally in January. “I’m really looking forward to being on the decision-making side of [government]. I'm looking forward to really learning all the ins and outs."
As a student of Mr. Manero and a resident of Plymouth Council Ward 2, I look forward to the great things he is going to do for our community.
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