Seat in a special election. Democrat jon ossoff got more votes than any of the other 18 candidates, but he needed more than 50 of the vote to avoid a runoff. He fell short with 48 . Now, instead of taking the seat outright, which is what democrats had hoped for, hes forced to go head to head with his republican challenger. In kansas, republicans held the seat vacated by mike pompeo, the new cia director, with 52 of the vote, but it was a good showing for the democrats, who had 45 in a strong gop district. The libertarian candidate was just shy of 2 . And with me now, democratic analyst Eleanor Dezzi, she had a long history of working in Pennsylvania Democratic politics, and is the founder of the dezzi group. Eleanor has been a delegate to multiple democratic conventions. And charlie gerow, charlie is the ceo of quantum communications. He advises business, government leaders, and politicians. Harrisburg magazine calls him the citys most politically wellconnected conservative. Thank you both for being here today. Eleanor dezzi thanks for having us. Lauren eleanor, let me start with you, whats the takeaway from this georgia contest . Was this good news or bad news for democrats . Eleanor well, i think that it was truly striking high to try and make 50 , but i think 48 was really good, and i think that jon has a very good chance of beating karen handel. She has ashe has a long history, but some of it is not very positive. And jon is young, hes energetic, hes got Top Secret Service clearance, hes worked on National Security issues in washington. And i think hes a young, bright star, has a masters degree from the London School of economics, hes lived in that district for a long time. I think he did a very good showing, and i think its going to be a very interesting race because karen has that history with the susan g. Komen foundation. And when she was secretary of state for the state of georgia, she got into some very negative Voting Rights issues. So, she has a lot of baggage, and i think jons a bright, rising star. Its going to be a very tough race, and theres going to be a lot of outside money there. Lauren there already is a lot of outside money. Eleanor yes, a lot of outside money. Lauren and charlie, let me ask you, both for republicans and democrats, is there some sort of danger of focusing so much on a race right now when 2018 is just around the corner . Charlie gerow well, the resources will always be there, lauren, 2018 is going to bring out lauren it will always be there . Charlie its going to bring out money that you and i have never seen before in congressional races. You saw ossoff spend 10 million, almost all of it, almost all of it from outside the district. And ultimately, politics is local. He did the very best that he could on tuesday night. He got some temporary bragging rights, but that braggadocios going to be very shortlived because i think most of the experts, both in georgia and nationally agreed that if you didnt get to the 50 mark, that when the june 20th runoff system came in this very bizarre way that georgia elects its folks, that he was going to fall short. This is a district that has historically been very republican. Its been in republican hands since jimmy carter. Lauren and, you know, you mentioned, all politics is local. My parents actually happen to live in this district, so i charlie well, then you know it well. Lauren i was looking for some information from them about what they were seeing, expecting that maybe it would be a lot of sort of trump themed ads. And actually, they saw a lot of things that were more local focused about the actual candidates. So, when you look at these local races, how much of it becomes this National Narrative about whether or not you support donald trump, and how much of it is really local . Charlie i think the National Media wants to make it all a plebiscite on the new administration. These special elections tend to be used by the media as bellwethers for how the new team is doing. But ultimately, i think youre correct, it does boil down to local issues. One of the big issues in this particular race is the fact that jon ossoff doesnt even live in the district. So, i think youre going to hear a lot of that sloganeering, youre going to hear about the records of both of them. Youre going to talk about what theyve done for the people of the sixth district of georgia much more than what donald trump and his team is doing in washington. Eleanor the problem is, too, in these special elections, you dont have the turnout that you get in a general election because people are engaged in other things around. You know, i was talking about the date of june 20. You have graduations, you have fathers day, you have all kinds of things that people were focused on. Theyre not thinking election. So, you actually have an extra little charge in here to try and get focus of the people on this. I mean, is it going to be an insider election, or will all this money bring out the people . Were not quite sure. Lauren let me bring things now back to our area. Come from georgia, come back to this area. What have you learned from this that will come to play in 2018 in races in this area . Weve got a lot of swing districts here. Eleanor we have a lot of swing districts, not so much in philadelphia, but in the counties and what have you. We have a United States senate race in 18 in pennsylvania. The senior senator, bob casey, is raising a lot of money, and he has a very stellar reputation here in pennsylvania. But i think that in the suburbs and in some of the rural areas, youre right, we have a lot. But remember, the Democratic Party is looking that if they can swing 24 seats, they will have control of the house. I think there will be an emphasis on the congressional seats, and a lot of outside money in a lot of these districts that youve never seen before. Charlie now, i was just going to jump in and say before we get to 2018, there may actually be a special election here in pennsylvania because its widely rumored that tom marino, congressman from the tenth district, is going to take the position nationally as the drugs czar, which would set up a special election right here on our own turf. So, thats going to be a lot of fun to watch. And eleanors right, the race for the democrats in 2018 will be on house side because there are a lot of seats, 25 to be precise, where republicans are sitting in districts carried by hilary clinton. Those tend to be very marginal seats, and they only need, as she correctly pointed out, 25 to take control. But on the other side of the building, the senate is going to be a tremendous problem for the democrats because there, theyve got to defend 25 of the 33 seats that are up, and almost half of those seats are in districts that donald trump carried by huge margins, not just by significant margins, but by overwhelming numbers. And so, i think that youre going to see the republicans add to their lead in the senate, while theyre going to have to defend their turf on the house side. Lauren how do you expect the president to be used or sort of played in these house races especially . Do you expect hes going to be making visits . Charlie oh, absolutely. Hell be used judiciously. Hell be used where hes able to be used to good effect and where hes got strong support within certain districts or certain areas, and hell be less wellused in other districts. Hell be made an issue in every one of them. Thats why these special elections are getting so much attention and why theyre being nationalized to the extent that they can. But ultimately, i think youre right, lauren, all politics becomes local. Lauren if donald trump were to come to some of the districts in the philadelphia suburbs, for example, what would the democrats response be . Try to use that against the candidate . Eleanor oh, absolutely. You know, its really interesting because each candidate is going to have their poster, their own fundraiser, theyre all going to look at it, and theyll determine whether they invite him in or not. I mean, and by the way, we have to look at what the issues are in those districts right now. I mean, whatif you have a district with a lot of people who are focused on National Security, cyber security, things like that, or if you have a district where you have a large immigrant population, do you really think that you want to bring donald trump in right now . I dont think so. Lauren and, you know, there has been some talk nationally about whether or not donald trump is getting any legislative winds, you know, whether hes accomplishing anything. And, you know, you think about maybe a negative for the white house. But i was wondering, for republican members of congress, is that really a negative . Because when healthcare doesnt come up for a vote, they dont have to have a vote on record as having voted yes or no. Charlie i think its much more of a problem for republicans, quite frankly, lauren, among their base than in general elections. There are a lot of folks that voted for the republicans, sending them to washington to do specific jobs that havent yet been accomplished, and some of those folks are a little restive at this point. So, i think youre going to see an increased surge of activity and effort to get some legislation passed because much of what donald trump has done to good effect thus far has been either through appointments, or by wielding theeither the executive action or executive order penned that barack obama so famously did and messed things up so badly. Hes had to undo a lot of that. But now, its time to get down to working with congress to get the legislative agenda accomplished. Lauren so, do you think that our voters will hold it against them if they havent voted on anything . Charlie i do, and i mean, i think that youre already seeing a little bit of that. The fact that the house chose to go out on a lengthy recess right now is a small issue, but those small issues combine to become big issues. Eleanor if you notice when a lot of the legislators are coming back to their districts, theyre trying to hold town meetings. And these town meetings are turning into fiascos because the people are speaking, and theyre saying, we sent you there to address this, that, and the other thing, according to the district. They havetheir issues have not been addressed. You know, talking to voters, they still feel that there is gridlock in washington. They do not feel that any legislative agenda has been passed. They dont feel that healthcare has been solved, not that its going to be solved anytime soon, but they dont feel theres any change. And people are looking for change. Donald trump used his term make America Great again, and ive heard a lot of people say, i havent seen any greatness. So, we are not a very patient voter base. You know, i always say its instant pudding and instant jello. Everybody wants everything instantly, and we havent seen any change. Lauren yeah, you know, we started off this morning talking about a lot of that energy that democrats had. Right after the election, we saw protests, we saw people joining local groups, a lot of energy, a lot of people wanting to get involved. Do you expect Something Like that is going to carry on up until 2018, or are you seeing a dip . Charlie i think theres going to be a real problem for the Democratic Party in that regard, and it is this. The socalled Resistance Movement didnt do the Democratic Party much good because what theyre doing is theyre dragging a party that was already mired in some real difficulty further and further and further to the left. And what eleanor was suggesting a minute ago, i think, is that both parties need to find a little bit more Common Ground in the center. And what had been mentioned by the media as going to be a big problem for the republicans had donald trump not won the presidency, has now become, in my judgment, a significant problem for the democrats. Eleanor one of the things we have to do as a party and the Democratic Party is bring the party together. And we, you know, weve had some factions here, you know, with senator sanders and what have you. I think hes going to be a real force in the 18 elections, and we need to see charlie hes still telling people hes not a democrat, though. Just the other day, he was asked pointblank, are you a democrat . No, im not. And i think therein lies the problem. Most americans are not socialist, Bernie Sanders is. And that element of the Democrat Party right now is the controlling element. It hasnt been historically, but i think theyve got a real problem if they allow it to continue to be. Eleanor and notand most americans are not far, far to the right. So, thats the republican issue, where they have to come and become more of Arlen Specter type republicans. And so, i think we both have a lot of work to do. Lauren lot to watch heading to 2018. Thank you so much, both of you, Eleanor Dezzi and charlie gerow. Charlie great to be with you. Eleanor thanks, lauren. Lauren next on nbc10 issue, a new program uses technology to help homeless teens. Well tell you why its creator thinks it could benefit a lot of people in our area. Plus, attorney general Jeff Sessions raises eyebrows after calling marijuana only slightly less awful than heroin. Well tell you what scientists think. And later, a ranking of the best suburbs in pennsylvania. Find out if your neighborhood made the list. The number one spot is right here in our area. Lauren many teens and other young people who are homeless cling to their cellphones. Its often their only connection to a stable lifestyle. Now those phones could be used to help them find a healthy meal in a way thats dignified and compassionate. With me now to discuss the program is mick ebeling. Mick is the founder and ceo of not Impossible Labs. The mission of not Impossible Labs is to use technology in a way that solves problems for people in difficult situations. Thanks for being here, mick. Tell us what this program is. Mick ebeling so, hunger not impossible is about recognizing the absurdity of hunger in our country. Statistically, theres 42 Million People in this country who live in a food scarce environment. And i think people can talk about food scarcity or people being hungry, and its like, yeah, yeah, and they kind of forget about it; but try explaining it to a child, my 6yearold. If i was to say to trace, there is 42 Million People in this country that go hungry every day, but theres plenty of food to feed them, he would say, daddy, that doesnt make sense, right . So, what not impossible does is we look at these things that are absurd, and we say, okay, that doesnt make sense just from a logical standpoint; how do we fix it . So, what hunger not impossible is doing is using the one thing that unifies us pretty much as a species right now, which is funny to say, but its a cellphone, you know . Lauren and so, how does it work . Mick very simply, a person who is in a food scarce environment, ranging from any age, will get a text message from the ngo theyre affiliated with saying, would you like to get fed today . And they respond simply with a one or a two. One for yes, two for no. Then theyre giving menu options to choose from. Those menu options are healthy, very nutritionally curated food. They choose one of those menus, and then they go to a restaurant, a quick serve restaurant, a fastfood restaurant, or a Grocery Store to pick up the food. They pick it up on a to go order, so they pick it up and they leave. And the process of picking it up is just as if you and i were to go in and pick it up. We have a redemption code, we have our name, and we leave, and we have our food. Lauren so, how do you find the people who need this . Mick we dont, the local ngos do. Lauren and heres some jargon there for me, whats an ngo . Mick oh, an ngo is a nongovernmentits like charities, people who are already passionate about working with the homeless or working with the people lauren so these are people who are already familiar with the mick so, lets say theres laurens, you know, Childrens Charity that handles feeding kids who cant eat every day. You have the 100, 200, 300 kids that you already know, you know their families, you know the situation. You would be in charge of making sure that those are the kids that you would help. That way, were not in the role of finding those people and curating those people. Thats your role, and thats your job to do that. Lauren so, you already did a pilot of this in california, right . And now, youre going to be rolling it out a number of places, including philly. So, whatd you learn during that pilot that youre now going to be applying here . Mick heres the main is the thing is that the face of homelessness, the face of people who live in a food scarce environment, dont look like what you think it looks like, right . Its not the person sitting on the side of the street with a bag that says, you know, throw a couple dimes in. These are people who work, that they still cant make ends meet. These are people who go or kids who go to school. So this is about helping people deal with this basic need of just being fed, just being hungry so they can go to school and they can work. So, thats one of the main things that we learned when we were doing the pilot in venice beach. So many of the people were appreciative of just being able to take care of that fundamental need so they can go about their lives and try to get ahead. Lauren how many people do you think that youll actually be able to help in this area with that . Mick i mean, statistically, this area is rife with homeless situation and with kids who come from an environment where theyre not sure where their next meal is coming from. So, i think when you look at school systems, you look at churches, you look at the local charities or ngos, i mean, the population, i dont have the exact number for you, but this is one of the reasons we came here. This city, not only is this a city that you can feel the community in this city, but its a city of innovation. Its a city, i mean, look, ben franklin, look at the people who have come from this place. This is a place that is just, its perfect for this type of a program. Lauren and as people are using this program to get the food they need, is there any other opportunities, since you now have their cellphone number, to connect with them and get them any other services . Mick this program is, its exactly the case. This program is not about feeding people free meals for the rest of their lives. This is about taking care of that basic need, building some stability in their life so that they can go to school, they can go get a job, they can get some job training. We just got to take care of that need first because if you dont know where your next meals coming from, if youre hungry, you cant think about going to school, you cant think about getting a job. Youve got to think about, i got to take care of this need right now. So, this is all about basically giving people a little bit of a push and letting people pull up, as opposed to creating a program that keeps them on it forever. Lauren mick, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Next, on nbc10 issue, attorney general Jeff Sessions says marijuana is almost as bad as heroin. But some drug experts disagree. Well break it down. Plus, the best suburb in pennsylvania. Find out if its your neighborhood when we come right back. We buy any car any make, any model, any age, any price from 50 bucks to 100 grand we buy any car any, any, any, any at webuyanycar. Com, the gimmicks stop with our ads. Trading in our selling your car is hasslefree with just three easy steps. One, get your free online valuation. Two, drive to your local car buying centre. And three, walk out with your check in as little as 30 minutes. So dont wait. Get your free online valuation now. Find out how much your cars worth at webuyanycar. Com find out how much your cars worth lauren attorney general Jeff Sessions recently raised eyebrows by claiming marijuana is only slightly less awful than heroin. Now, our partners at factcheck. Org take a look at whether experts agree. Nbc10s Jim Rosenfield has the results. Jeff sessions need to confront this heroin and opioid abuse. Jim rosenfield attorney general Jeff Sessions talking about fighting Violent Crime in america by taking on the growing problem of opioid addiction. Sessions rejects the idea that legalizing marijuana will help. He told a group of Law Enforcement officers in march, quote, i am astonished to hear people suggest that we can solve our heroin crisis by legalizing marijuana, so people can trade one life wrecking dependency for another thats only slightly less awful. Vanessa schipani we at factcheck. Org deal with facts, and its important to mention that that is a subjective statement, but it runs counter to the opinion of experts. Jim factcheck. Org says heroin is three times more harmful than marijuana based on a ratings scale put together by experts in the United Kingdom and europe that takes into account harm to society and user. Vanessa no one has ever lethally overdosed on marijuana, whereas just in 2015 alone, 13,000 people overdosed on heroin. Jim experts also looked at dependency rates when putting together the ratings scale. Vanessa one in ten people roughly become addicted to marijuana after regular use, whereas heroin is highly, highly addictive. Jim as far as solving the heroin crisis, there is evidence backing the idea that medical marijuana may help curb the opioid epidemic. Vanessa so, one study, for example, found that in states where medical marijuana was legalized, there was a 25 reduction in opioid overdoses. Jim another study found that people with chronic pain reported they reduced the amount of opioids they used. Vanessa marijuanas not harmless, but its considerably less harmful than heroin. Jim researchers say its important to point out while these studies look primarily at prescription opioids, their use is linked to the risk of abusing heroin. Jim rosenfield for nbc10 issue. Lauren the centers for Disease Control tells us the past misuse of prescription opioids is the strongest risk factor for starting and abusing heroin. Lauren a website ranking pennsylvania suburbs by crime rate, schools, and affordability puts a neighborhood in our area at the very top. Find out if you live there next. Lauren is your neighborhood the best in pennsylvania . Well, if you live in chesterbrook, chester county, the answer is absolutely according to niche. Com. And many other local areas ranked highly as well when it comes to crime rate, schools, and affordability. Our area has seven of the top ten suburbs, including chesterbrook, penn wynne, devon, ardmore, narberth, and upper uwchlan township. You can check out nbc10. Com or our nbc10 app for the complete list of the top 100 suburbs in the state. Thats it for this edition of nbc10 issue, thanks for joining us, have a great sunday. Cc by aberdeen captioning 18006886621 abercap. 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