What does the election of Barack Obama mean for Northeastern Pennsylvania?

All of 3 years old, Maribel Olea didn’t vote, and won’t be able to until Barack Obama is long out of office. She may well end up picking his successor’s successor’s successor.

But if Obama can stick to his education promises, there may be no place where the impact of the president-elect will be more profoundly felt than in pre-school programs like Head Start, where Maribel is learning to count and read. And there may be no issue where the difference between Obama and Sen. John McCain was more apparent, even if education took a back seat to national security and financial insecurity during the campaign.

“We have a waiting list of 400 to 500 children,” Luzerne County Head Start Executive Director Lynn Biga said. If Obama follows through on a plan to spend billions on early education, that list could evaporate.

“He understands that the earlier we help these children, the better,” Biga said. And to those who argue Obama is proposing “cradle to grave” government care, she counters, “That’s not what this is about. This is just giving these kids what they need to succeed.”

Biga is pragmatic. The stock market meltdown and resulting federal bailout could stall new funds. And even if the money does come, Obama wants to increase the training of teachers at all levels, which could make finding qualified staff problematic. And there is the perpetual question of classroom space.

Biga believes Obama has his eye on the big picture, intent on helping families as well as children, a hallmark of Head Start. “We recognize that a family is the first and most important educator.”

Suggestions from a veteran

Because he believes Republicans have always treated the military well, retired Staff Sgt. Mark Brown, a former section chief with the 109th National Guard Field Artillery, was disappointed when Republican Sen. John McCain didn’t win the presidency.

But Brown, of Nanticoke, suggests ways the incoming commander in chief can improve conditions for active military personnel and veterans.

Having served in Iraq from December 2003 to February 2005, Brown said he thinks Iraqis must take responsibility for their own country.

“Hopefully he can start withdrawing our troops out of there,” Brown said, noting it should be done slowly and safely without endangering the troops.

If the Iraqi people would support such a measure, America should maintain a small body of soldiers to provide training and diplomatic support, he said.

Obama has proposed sending troops to Afghanistan to seek out leaders of the terrorist network al-Qaida, which carried out the Sept. 11 attacks.

Since the Iraq War began in 2003, National Guard units have been activated for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

America’s security would be better protected having active duty and reserve military stationed stateside, Brown said.

Brown acknowledges the current administration has made some progress on veterans’ health care issues by starting to help them immediately after they return home rather than waiting for problems to surface months or years later.

But he insists more must be done. The nation and Pennsylvania need more veterans hospitals, especially in rural areas, and staffing must be increased at existing facilities to alleviate the long waits to see a doctor or specialist.

Concern about regulation

Barack Obama was the choice of millions of Americans, but the president and chief executive officer of a local bank that holds millions of dollars in customer deposits wasn’t one of them.

Robert C. Snyder, of Luzerne Bank, said he supported John McCain’s bid for president because “I would have rather gone with the more conservative candidate who was more attuned to small businesses.”

Obama’s campaign trail tax plans would hurt small business owners, Snyder said. His bank has locations in Luzerne, Wilkes-Barre, Dallas, Plains Township, Wyoming and Swoyersville.

“For us personally, the small businesses are our niche, our bread and butter. It’s a very important sector to us,” Snyder said.

“If they’re going to be hurting, how does that affect our ability to lend them money?” Snyder asked. “Are they going to be taxed into oblivion?”

He said Democrats in control of the White House and Congress will lead to “big government,” and for community banks, that equals trouble.

Snyder said the Wall Street mess is on the front burner and he’s concerned Obama’s fix will be in the form of more regulations for all sectors of the financial market, including community banks. “I think it’s kind of inevitable,” he said.

“I’m afraid of a big government fix to a system that’s not broken. Wall Street was broken, not community banks. We have more capital than any time in our history,” Snyder said. His bank was not involved in subprime mortgage lending, he said, and has acted responsibly in lending practices.

Watching and waiting

Rabbi Larry Kaplan, of Temple Israel in Wilkes-Barre, said the Jewish community was watching and participating in the presidential election cautiously, “because so much is riding on it” related to the safety and security of Israel.

Statements by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about “wiping Israel off the map” concern most American Jews, whom Kaplan said have always been patriotic and “at the forefront of causes that try to bring about a more just and moral society.

“So, looking at the two candidates, American Jews had to pretty much choose who would be better: a – for America, and b – for Israel,” Kaplan said.

Most Jews believe John McCain would have continued military and financial support to Israel, and Obama’s suggestion of “unconditional meetings with other regimes … was kind of na�ve. But then, he has surrounded himself with foreign policy advisers that I think have calmed their concerns,” Kaplan said.

Obama’s appointment of Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel, whose father fought in the Israeli War of Independence, to be his chief of staff gives American Jews “a sense of security” that Obama’s administration would make a prime concern security of the state of Israel as well as “America and the rest of the world,” Kaplan said.

Spiritually speaking, from “an almost generic clergy point of view,” Kaplan said it’s good to see “a new spirit in America that has brought more smiles these last couple of days than I’ve seen for quite some time. People aren’t talking as much about politics as they are about hope.

“I think in general, people are, if not happy with the outcome, I think they’re going to be very willing to give (Obama) a real fighting chance,” Kaplan said.

Hoping energy gets attention

Americans will likely see the new administration move toward emissions reductions in response to global climate change, according to an energy industry official, but much of the implementation cost would be borne by electricity ratepayers.

Energy policy was largely headed the same direction no matter which candidate won, noted Dan McCarthy, a spokesman for Allentown-based PPL Corp. “There’s general agreement over a lot of these things, where we need to go and what the country ought to be focusing on,” he said.

PPL supports responding to climate change through the expansion of nuclear power, increasing development of renewable sources and advancements in technology to cut emissions from coal plants. Along with energy conservation and transmission-grid improvements, those are “all things that President-elect (Barack) Obama has said as well,” McCarthy said.

One detail on which Obama and PPL disagree is emission-credit allocation. Obama has called for creating credits that allow air-pollution emissions and then auctioning them all off to polluters. Auctioning costs simply would be passed on to ratepayers, which the industry estimates could increase rates perhaps 30 percent.

PPL is pleased Obama wants a worldwide response to climate change, McCarthy said, but hopes the incoming president doesn’t transpose regulatory concerns in the financial sector to the energy industry. “There’s a general distrust, perhaps, of deregulation,” McCarthy said.

However, the company hopes to see a comprehensive plan for the nation’s energy future.

“The president-elect has a lot on his plate,” McCarthy said. “We think a national energy policy is in everybody’s best interest.”

Eyeing change in health care

A new president could bring much-needed change, but Thomas Pugh, senior vice president of John Heinz Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, says it’s too early to tell if Barack Obama’s election will transform the medical field.

“We’ve seen the national health plans put forth by both campaigns before…and I applaud the idea for universal coverage for the United States,” Pugh said. “But, it’s very difficult to tell right now. Some of it is a plan and some of it is rhetoric and will be changed in the next six months or so.”

Pugh said he believes Northeastern Pennsylvania could be greatly affected by a new president’s health care plan, because of the number of uninsured elderly and children here.

Obama pledged to provide affordable and accessible health care for all Americans, lower health care costs by nearly $2,000 for families and hopes to require coverage of preventive services.

“Obama pledges some sort of insurance for everyone. It’s difficult for a provider to continue to treat for free. Everyone wants to be paid,” Pugh said. “If Obama’s plan can impact (a rising number of insured patients), that would help us all a great deal.

“A lot of how we’re paid right now, you treat the patient and two years later, that payment could be denied. We want to guarantee the payment if you deliver the service,” Pugh said.

Pugh said John Heinz, which offers mostly rehabilitation services, has a place in the health care spectrum that focuses on rehabilitation for catastrophic cases, including spinal and brain injuries.

“Everyone says let’s wait and see what happens,” Pugh said. “I doubt if health insurance is going to be high on the list with the way the economy is now – it’s going to take a back seat.”

Business needs help

Sanfilippo, president and co-founder of the Web-design and e-commerce company Solid Cactus, voted for Barack Obama to be the nation’s next president.

“My expectation is hopefully after eight years of President Bush, new leadership is going to turn the economy around and stimulate job growth and spending,” Sanfilippo said.

This past Thursday, Solid Cactus laid off 40 people because of the sad state of the economy. His customers are not spending money because their customers are not spending, he explained.

The choice was not difficult for Sanfilippo, a registered Republican. Sen. John McCain was “completely out of touch,” he said, and made a poor choice when selecting Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate.

It’s time for fresh blood, Sanfilippo said, as he bristled over the way President Bush and his administration have tried to deal with the economic crisis.

Too much attention is being paid to big business with the $700 billion bank bailout, he added. “They’re not doing a ___ ____ thing for small business owners.”

He suggested one way to help small businesses is to give them a break on paying taxes for a quarter. If not that, do something else that will help the little guy.

A Congressional edge

Luzerne County Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla said U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski’s re-election was “vital” to the area – especially with a Democrat in the White House and a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress.

Petrilla said Kanjorski’s seniority in the U.S. House of Representatives, his experience in financial matters and his friendship with President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden – a Scranton native – will guarantee good things for Northeastern Pennsylvania.

“I think Congressman Kanjorski’s re-election will help bring needed projects back to this area,” Petrilla said. “He cares about this area, and I believe he will work hard for this area and I believe his seniority will be very beneficial to get federal dollars for us.”

Petrilla pointed to the $250 million levee-raising project as an example of how Kanjorski’s connections in Washington benefited the region. Former President Bill Clinton acknowledged Kanjorski’s efforts when he campaigned here last week.

“I have no doubt Kanjorski will have great relations with our new president and vice president and that is a tremendous advantage for our area,” Petrilla said. “I know I can call the congressman’s office any time and talk to him about issues concerning the county, and he will help any way he can.”

Petrilla said voters in the 11th District realized that with Democrats in charge, the election of Kanjorski “would be a great advantage to our area.”