Kathy Dahlkemper/File photo

The latest office to open will be in Sharon, the 27th of the campaign so far. That includes the one in downtown Erie.

Dahlkemper will be joined at 7 p.m. by Farrell Mayor Olive McKeithan, along with volunteer leaders and staff.

The office will serve as a hub for Democratic activities in the area such as registering voters and talking one-on-one to voters about Obama’s record, the campaign said.

– John Guerriero

Volunteers will gather at the campaign headquarters, 1305 State St., to register voters, and talk to people about the latest registration statistics and voting laws. The event will start at 11 a.m.

President Barack Obama/AP file photo

Part of the effort will be to make sure that voters know about Pennsylvania’s new photo ID bill. For the Nov. 6 election, voters will be required to show an acceptable photo ID to cast a ballot on the electronic voting machines.

If they don’t have one, they’ll be able to cast a paper provisional ballot, then have six days to show the photo ID to election officials.

The Erie effort will be duplicated across Pennsylvania as campaign volunteers and community leaders will host registration drives, talk about the importance of the election and remind them how important it will be to vote in November, the campaign said in a statement.

The campaign today also launched GottaVote.org, which it called a one-stop shop for voting facts, reminders about key dates and deadlines and alerts on the status of voting rights in states.

– John Guerriero

Tom Smith, file photo. GREG WOHLFORD/

Nate Silver, a writer with the New York Times, thinks so now that Republicans have nominated businessman Tom Smith, of Armstrong County, to oppose U.S. Sen. Bob Casey.

Here’s what Silver wrote:

“Finally, in Pennsylvania, Republicans were in need of a strong candidate to seriously challenge the Democratic incumbent, Bob Casey, who is fairly popular. Instead, their field failed to coalesce and they picked an inexperienced nominee, the businessman Tom Smith, in their primary in April. We classify the race as Safe Democrat, rather than Likely Democrat as before.”

Bob Casey/File photo

What do you think about Smith’s chances versus Casey?

Is this a slam-dunk for Democrats or can Smith surprise again, like he did in the primary?

– John Guerriero

–Kevin Flowers

Mitt Romney speaks in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

President Barack Obama. File photo/ Associated Press.

You might want to check out the Manufacturer & Business Association’s “Eggs ‘n’ Issues” briefing Wednesday at 8 a.m. It will be held at the association’s conference center, 2171 W. 38th St.

David Kozak, professor of public policy and director of Leadership Erie at Gannon University, will speak at the event.

David Kozak/File photo

The political analyst will speak on the topic: “Road to the White House: Where We’re At, How We Got Here and Where We’re Going.” Besides the 2012 elections, he will discuss the “shifting sands” of American politics.

To register, contact Ann Miaczynski at 833-3200 or 800-815-2660. The cost is $30 for members; $60 for nonmembers.

– John Guerriero

Former U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter/File photo

Well, then, you should set your DVRs to the Pennsylvania Cable Network, which is airing a 15-hour, five-part series: “Arlen Specter: An Oral History.” The series starts tonight at 7 p.m., with a new episode airing nightly through Friday at that same time.

Repeats will air at 9 a.m., Tuesday through Friday, and Saturday at 2 p.m.

The series is a compilation of one year’s worth of candid one-on-one interviews with Specter on topics such as the JFK assassination, the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearings and the professional difficulties Specter encountered due to his Jewish faith, according to PCN.

Check PCN’s website  for your cable company’s channel listing.

– John Guerriero

Democrat Joe Sinnott will run for a third and final four-year term as Erie’s mayor.

Erie Mayor Joe Sinnott/File photo

Sinnott, whose current term runs through the end of 2013, said he wants to run for a third term because he has not yet accomplished everything he planned when he took the top job at Erie City Hall.
Specifically, Sinnott said he wants to continue working with the Pennsylvania League of Cities & Municipalities’ Core Communities in Crisis Task Force, a group of elected officials working to address financial and other issues facing municipalities across the state.

He said he also wants to continue to be involved in the redevelopment of the former GAF Materials Corp. site on Erie’s bayfront and ongoing revitalization efforts in the city’s midtown.
“I said that I would stay on until I felt the work I wanted to accomplish was done,” Sinnott said.
Sinnott said he is not aware of any challengers he might face in the 2013 municipal election.

And with Senate Republicans today blocking a bill aimed at keeping them low, the Barack Obama campaign in Pennsylvania went on the offensive.

Both parties say they want an extension of the low student rates, but the GOP balks at the way the Democratic bill would pay for it. It would force high-earning stockholders in some privately owned corporations and professional practices to pay higher Medicare and Social Security payroll taxes, according to the Associated Press.

During a conference call today with reporters from the Erie Times-News and other media outlets, Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord, a Democrat; state Rep. Tony Payton, of Philadelphia County, D-179th Dist.; and Kathryn Badillo, a Millersville University of Pennsylvania graduating senior, talked about the prospect of the higher rates.

McCord said the clock is ticking for more than 7 million undergraduates, including nearly 400,000 in Pennsylvania.

McCord said that keeping college affordable is a critical part of Obama’s blueprint for the economy.

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney has said that he, too, supports a push to keep the interest rates low.

But McCord claims Romney has contradicted himself, saying he supports a budget that would double the loan rates and then saying he opposes the idea.

Payton said he still has about $11,000 in debt from his college loans, while Badillo said she will graduate with about $25,000 in loans.

“Having this debt just waiting for me after graduation is a little concerning,” she said.

If there’s any good news here, it’s that interest rates would increase only on new loans.

Obama needs to recapture the youth vote, and this is an issue that could get college students involved. But expect both Obama and Romney to push the issue.

– John Guerriero

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus released the following statement on Monday:

“For someone whose campaign slogan is ‘forward,’ President Obama spends a lot of time looking backward and blaming others for the state of the American economy. While Obama may want you to forget he’s been president for the past three and a half years, the fact that his policies have wreaked havoc on the middle class from high unemployment, high energy and higher education costs won’t be forgotten. America deserves better than Obama’s brand of hype and blame.”