TodaySigns of confusion
Republicans at odds over which two candidates are “team” in the upcoming primary.
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Article RatingAll signs point to confusion in the Cumberland County commissioners’ race.
Drive through Camp Hill and you might see a Gunnison/Barclay campaign sign. Jog through Newville and you’re likely to pass a Barclay/Eichelberger sign. All make specific references to “the team.”
The three Republicans are vying for two GOP slots in the May 15 primary. So who is the true Republican “team?”
It depends on who you ask. But one thing is clear — Barclay is the most popular candidate in the race.
“I could have saved a lot of money on signs,” jokes Barclay, who has his own solo signs out.
Barclay was elected with Eichelberger four years ago and until February, they had planned to run again as a team.
However, the county Republican Committee changed the lineup and paired Karen Gunnison with Barclay and the official endorsed team.
“We think we can do better with the Gunnison/Barclay team,” GOP Chairman Victor Stabile says.
That leaves Eichelberger, outspoken and undeterred. He declined to pull the plug on his campaign and continues to buck the committee at every turn.
He dug out four-year-old Barclay/Eichelberger signs from storage and began popping them in the ground. Eichelberger says Stabile and the committee claimed ownership of the old signs and angrily demanded he stop using them.
Eichelberger consulted an attorney, who advised him that the signs belong to the candidates once distributed. The commissioner advised Stabile as much in an e-mail: “Get used to seeing these signs. They are no longer committee property.”
In an added twist, a breakoff faction of the GOP committee — led by former chairman and onetime clerk of courts Robert Gwin — formed a political action committee in support of the Eichelberger/Barclay pairing called “Keep the Team.”
“There are a lot of people who understand that Bruce and I have worked well together and built a good record. I welcome their support,” Eichelberger says. “The fact it happened underscores that people recognize how tainted the county committee has become by personal agendas, special interests and financial connections.”
While Stabile concedes the primary is one of the most unusual elections in the county in many years, he says the GOP committee is strong.
“I’m not worried about a split in my party,” he says. “What we have now is a Republican primary where the voters are going to tell us the two candidates they want to represent us in the commissioners’ race.
“What I’m worried about is confusion. (The old signs are) an attempt to persuade the voters or leave the impression that nothing has changed when things have changed.”
Making her first run for public office, Gunnison agrees.
“The committee who are elected and represent the people have endorsed Bruce and I,” she says. “That’s the team.”
