What's next?

Now that the 2013 Berwick Mayor race is out for me I am looking for other projects!  Besides getting back to my art, I will be working on some big, hopefully earth changing projects! More to come...  Stay tuned.

Summer, Summer, Summer

Starting out to be a very nice summer, not too hot, not too cold - let's keep it that way!

Montgomery County PA Volunteer Fire Police Association

Please visit the Montgomery County Volunteer Fire Police Association website. I am a life member and regularly attend these meetings. The website is really cool even if you are not an Association member!
Montgomery County PA Volunteer Fire Police Association

Berwick Area Community Watch meeting 5/14 Press release

View the press release for the upcoming Berwick Area Community Watch meeting May 14, 2013:
Berwick Area Community Watch Meeting 5/14/2013

Berwick Area Community Watch Facebook Page

The Berwick Area Community Watch is now on Facebook - visit and "like!"
Berwick PA Area Community Watch

Spoke at LCC Berwick this month, see Press Release

I was invited to speak at Michelle McCabe's management class at LCC Berwick this month.  See press release:
http://www.pr.com/press-release/484758

How to choose the best candidate when voting in an election

Author: Andrew Shecktor/March 18, 2013

There are very few resources available that assist the average person in the process of researching candidates in an election and in making an informed decision. This article should provide some insight into this.

The process is essentially the same regardless of whether this is a local, state or national election. Choosing the right candidate for local offices (particularly council, school board and mayor (when applicable) is especially important, as these offices directly affect you as resident of your community, yet turnout for local elections is generally significantly lower than for state or national elections, where an individual vote is less likely to affect the outcome, and the outcome is less likely to affect the citizen.

In order to affect your decision you should use all resources available to you (Local news, newspapers, Internet, etc…) Your decision should not be affected by the candidate being a personal friend, nor exclusively by the recommendation of a friend or colleague.  Neither should you select a candidate based solely on party affiliation, as the better candidate, particularly in a local election may come from either party. Party issues come into play more in state and national elections than in local elections (with the possible exception of school board.)

The following is a checklist for selection of the best candidate (of course this is only a partial list, and many times specific issues will override other qualifications.) Following this list are some general notes. Most of this information is based on elections in Pennsylvania, but most can be applied to any state. I have been a bit vague to provide a bit less confusion in general and in particular to those not in Pennsylvania.

Checklist for selecting a candidate for office:

1. Research all the candidates: The people who win the elections make policy decisions that will affect you personally and professionally. Before you vote, do some research on all of the candidates running for office.
2. Attend town council or city hall meetings and other public events:  Most candidates for state, local, and national offices will hold public events that allow you to hear their ideas and ask questions. These events are a great opportunity to get to know the candidates and help you decide who you should vote for.  
3. Contact a campaign manager for the office: If you have any questions or would like to engage more directly (volunteer, donate money, etc.), most campaigns have Web sites and Facebook pages with easily accessible contact information.
4. Register to vote: Make sure you are registered to vote at your current address. If you have moved since the last election, contact your local board of elections to confirm that you are registered at your new address.  This must be done within a specified time prior to the primary or general election.

5. Know where to vote and what to bring with you: You can find your polling place online.  Each state differs in what documentation you must bring with you to vote, so make sure you know what your board of elections requires.
6. Vote in the primary election: The primary election determines which candidate will represent each party during the general election, and is actually more critical in local elections which may have a number of candidates running for each office.
7. Vote absentee: Request an absentee ballot as soon as possible if you will be out of the area or will be unable to go to your polling place, for example due to an injury or other known commitment that would prevent you from being able to get to the poll.
8. Overseas voting: If you are living abroad or advising students who are living abroad, familiarize yourself with the overseas absentee voting procedure and find out the procedure for the state where you are registered to vote.
9. Vote! It is a civic duty to participate in the election process. For your convenience, many states allow for early voting, something to consider if your state permits it. Be sure to remind all of your family, friends, and colleagues to vote too. Remember, every vote counts!

http://www.facebook.com/andy4berwickmayor

Press release for my Mayor campaign is out!

View press release at: http://www.andy4berwickmayor.com/pr.html

It's Official!

It's official - the papers have been filed with the courthouse to add my name to the ballot for Mayor. Game on! Not sure who I will be running against yet, but hopefully will know soon.

Note: If you have had trouble locating any of my websites, it may be that my name is "Shecktor", and Google seems to think I don't exist! A search for "Shecktor" results in "Showing results for schecter. Search instead for shecktor." Somehow Google thinks that Shecktor is a name or term that does not, or should not exist (there are only about a dozen of us in the world!) Please search as often as possible for "Shecktor" and be sure to press the button to show the correct results! Maybe Google will eventually get the hint! Also, search in Google, Bing and Yahoo for "berwick mayor", or "shecktor" and click my links to help improve my visibility! It is tough having a unique name!

Another interesting fact it that this spelling also is the name of  a Marvel Comic character, Professor Shecktor. Odd that they should have used this exact spelling, which originated from an phoentic spelling by a German border guard at Ellis Island.  Our family is from Russia, and my grandfather had no clue how to spell anything in English!

Please check out my Mayor campaign Google Group!

Please check out my Google group for my campaign for Mayor of Berwick!
http://groups.google.com/group/andy4berwickmayor

Upcoming fine art events in PA to be posted!

I will be updating my PA fine art website with a bunch of upcoming events. Lots of things happening in the spring and summer! Check it out at http://www.fineartpa.com/

New Tumblr blog for my Mayor site

Probably not the brightest thing I have done, but I have set up a Tumblr blog for my Mayor campaign. Feel free to post comments related to Berwick or local politics. Photos and submissions should be limited to Berwick area events. We shall see if we can all play nice... I will also post some photos and event information, and will also post on my andy4berwickmayor Facebook page.
http://andy4berwickmayor.tumblr.com/

My personal blog on Tumblr

My personal blog on Tumblr - I have uploaded some photos of Berwick, PA.
http://shecktor.tumblr.com/

Fine Art in Pennsylvania site - will be updating!

I will be updating my website http://www.fineartpa.com/ shortly with upcoming events in Columbia County, PA.  If anyone has an upcoming art event (as in fine art) please let me know so I can add it to the site.

My websites

I have created a number of websites and other pages for my various activities - they are as follows:
"http://www.shecktor.com"
Andrew Shecktor Webpage
"http://www.facebook.com/andrew.shecktor"
Andrew Shecktor Facebook
"http://www.shecktor.blogspot.com"
Andrew Shecktor Blog
"http://www.shecktor.mynetworksolutions.com"
Andrew Shecktor 1 page
"http://www.fineartpa.com"
Shecktor Fine Art 1 page site
"http://www.maxfax.cnc.net/"
My fire police website
"http://www.consumersrevenge.com/"
ConsumersRevenge.com
"http://www.consumersrevenge.blogspot.com"
ConsumersRevenge Blog
"http://www.andy4berwickmayor.com"
Andrew Shecktor For Berwick, PA Mayor 2013
"http://www.facebook.com/andy4berwickmayor"
Andy For Mayor Facebook
"http://www.andy4berwickmayor.blogspot.com"
Andy for Mayor Blog
"http://n3oma.mynetworksolutions.com/"
N3OMA/AAT3JF - Andy
"http://www.shecktor4president.us"
Andrew Shecktor US President
"http://andrewshecktor.mynetworksolutions.com/"
Shecktor Enterprises 1 page

My rants and raves...

Personal page. Will post random thoughts on various issues. My primary website is http://www.shecktor.com/. I am running for Mayor of Berwick this year http://www.andy4berwickmayor.com. Also, working to save our local one screen theater, as the digital age quickly approaces. Please help us if you can - http://www.gofundme.com/1t8c48.