Provided by the Naughton campaign:
In the second of two debates sponsored by the Bucks County Democratic Committee recently between Shaughnessy Naughton and Kevin Strouse, Naughton presented her vision to end gridlock in Congress and unseat Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick and placed special emphasis on her plan to push for a permanent drilling ban in the 8th District.
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“The 8th district needs a leader who understands the value of the Delaware,” Naughton added. “Mike Fitzpatrick has a 25% rating from the League of Conservation Voters and Kevin Strouse wants to let the frackers decide if they should frack. I am the only candidate in this race who has been willing to stand up and say, ‘Not on my watch.’” In August of last year, Strouse was quoted in a local newspaper as supporting natural gas drilling. [Midweek Wire 8/28/13] At the debate, Strouse changed his position and said that while he supports the current moratorium on fracking, which is set to expire in 2018, he is willing to “let the experts decide” on whether or not fracking would have environmental consequences.
Strouse’s campaign has received at least $10,400 from Energy Capital Partners, a private equity firm that invests heavily in fracking projects across the country. “The 8th District deserves a strong, progressive voice that won’t be influenced by whichever special interest group can write the biggest check,” said Josh Morrow, Naughton’s campaign manager. “The Delaware River is one of the region’s most important resources, and Shaughnessy is the only candidate in this race who will fight to keep it clean.”
“The Delaware River is one of Bucks County’s—and Pennsylvania’s—most valuable resources and provides drinking water to more than 15 million people,” Naughton said. “The general public still doesn’t know what chemicals are used in fracking, and I’m not willing to take that gamble with the purity of our drinking water.”
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During the debate, Naughton, a scientist and small business owner, recalled attending “Dump the Pump” rallies as a child and her experience working summers at a localtubing vendor in her hometown, Point Pleasant.
