You can’t make this stuff up. The Pennsylvania Democratic Party has sent out a mailer (see it below) that tells voters they should vote for the “Democratic Candidates for Colonial School Board” which now apparently includes Susan Moore and Cathy Pedduzi, two candidates the party attempted to label as a Republican front prior to the primary.

Incumbents Moore and Peduzzi are Democrats but did not seek the party’s endorsement. They ran with three other candidates (two Democrats and one Republican). This slate of candidates ran under the name Protecting Colonial’s Future.

During the primary, the Colonial Democrats, which is led by Montgomery County Treasurer Jason Salus, attacked this slate of candidates as a Republican front. The party was so concerned about having the unendorsed Democrats recognized as Democrats that they had the endorsed candidates run under the banner of “Democrats for School Board” which is an odd thing to do in an election that allows candidates to cross-file.

Below is a sample of one of the attack posts on Facebook:

You can read all about these attack ads here (and you should).

Now that two of the party’s endorsed candidates lost in the primary (including current School Board President Felix Raimondo), the Democratic Party sent the below mailer (paid for by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party) that attempts to unite Moore and Peduzzi with candidates that they are not running with.

Moore and Peduzzi did not participate in the creation of this mailer and weren’t notified until after they were sent. As we mentioned above, Moore and Peduzzi are running with another slate of candidates (Beth Suchsland, Beth Patruno and Chris Epstein). Paula McCauley, Leslie Finegold, and Jamina Clay-Dingle are not part of their slate.

We asked Joe Foster, chair of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee, about the mailer and he responded that the party is required to support all Democrats. We have asked to be provided documentation showing this is party policy.

Why would the Democratic Party do this? The party is obviously trying to keep its endorsed candidates in control of the board. Moore, who received more votes than anyone else in the primary, and Peduzzi are likely to win in November. If the party can make enough people believe that Moore and Peduzzi are running with Paula McCauley, Leslie Finegold, and Jamina Clay-Dingle, than the party-backed candidates will remain in control of the board. If Moore, Peduzzi and their running mates win, they will control the majority.

Thursday evening Protecting Colonial’s Future responded to the mailer on Facebook:

More to come.

Let us know what you think in the comments.

Photo: Jason Salus’s Facebook (note we added the text bubbles)