Hoeffel making a name for himself in U.S. Senate race

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04150/323874.stm

The Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania is trying to overcome a major obstacle in the western part of the state.

Quite simply, most people in the left half of the commonwealth have no idea who he is.

"You folks don't know me very well," U.S. Rep. Joseph M. Hoeffel said at a campaign stop in Highland Park this week. "I bet you've never heard my name before."

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He has selected David Sweet, a former state representative from Washington County, as his campaign chairman. Sweet managed Gov. Ed Rendell's successful 2002 campaign.

He also has located his Western Pennsylvania headquarters in the offices of the Allegheny County Democratic Party, facilitating cooperation.

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The Specter team is trying to paint Hoeffel as "far left,"

Yeah it's true. I mention Joe Hoeffel in Western PA and people are like Joe who? I haven't seen any TV ads yet. He needs to campaign here more.

What are his ideas? Really need to get rid of spector and english, badly!

Joe Hoeffel ("Huffle") has been fighting for Pennsylvania’s families for over 25 years. First elected to Congress in 1998, he’s earned a reputation as a hardworking moderate legislator, a deficit hawk on the budget and a strong advocate of expanded healthcare coverage.

This group is for state-wide supporters of Congressman Joe Hoeffel's campaign to take back the US Senate in 2004

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HoeffelforSenate

ABOUT JOE HOEFFEL

Joe Hoeffel has been fighting for Pennsylvania’s families for over 25 years. First elected to Congress in 1998, he’s earned a reputation as a hardworking moderate legislator, a deficit hawk on the budget and a strong advocate of expanded healthcare coverage. Joe represents Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District, and is a member of the International Relations and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees.

Now in his third term, Joe works hard to promote fiscal restraint, balance the federal budget, pay down our national debt, reform education, improve international relations, protect the environment and expand health care.

And Joe works hard to bring millions of federal dollars back to Pennsylvania. He’s secured new economic development projects; established a new public health center in his district; brought home millions of dollars in public transportation and public school teacher funding; established a new center for land use planning and sustainable growth at Temple University; and restored critical education funding to schools in his district.

Joe introduced legislation to provide an additional $35 billion in federal funds to public schools and to eliminate wasteful Corporate Welfare. He fought for the Patients’ Bill of Rights to reform HMOs, is committed to preserving Social Security and Medicare and believes we must provide a prescription drug plan for seniors under Medicare without privatization.

As a member of the International Relations Committee, Joe is a strong proponent of a vigorous role for the United States in international efforts to bring peace to the Middle East and throughout the world. He’s supported virtually every anti-terrorism bill and voted to give the President the authority to use military force in Afghanistan and Iraq. At the same time, Joe pushed for building a broader international coalition against Saddam Hussein and he criticized the unilateral policies of the Bush Administration. Joe continues to advocate for a broad coalition of nations to take part in the rebuilding of Iraq and its government, believing it is imperative that America resist unilateral actions abroad and work to build international coalitions to accomplish our goals.

A life-long resident of Pennsylvania, Joe, 53, first served four terms in the State House (1977 –1984). In 1991, Joe was elected to the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, where he served until his election to Congress in 1998.

Joe graduated from Boston University and Temple University School of Law. Married for 26 years, Joe’s wife, Francesca, is a registered nurse with a master’s degree in public health nursing. They have two children – Mary, 23, and Jake, 21.

http://www.hoeffelforsenate.com/