Union members spread their support for Hillary on the Penn State Altoona campus Thursday, sporting shamrock-green T-shirts and buttons sprinkled among the hundreds present.
Wearing the green American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees shirt and a U.S. Postal Service cap adorned with Hillary buttons, Bill Garman said he will vote for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton because “she’s for the working person, the working man.”
The National Association of Letter Carriers endorsed Clinton in September.
“When Bill was in [office], everything was good,” said Garman, who works for Altoona’s post office. “That’s why I’m voting for her.”
Former President Bill Clinton appeared on campus Thursday afternoon to drum up support for his wife. This was his third appearance in the Alleghenies in as many weeks, although Hillary Clinton has yet to visit the central region. Opponent Sen. Barack Obama stopped in Altoona Saturday and visited State College Sunday.
About 1,900 students and area residents crowded into the Adler Athletic Complex to hear Clinton speak. Nearly 200 more gathered in a Port-Sky Cafe dining room, where a planned audio-video setup failed to work.
Campus officials encouraged that group to wait outside to see if Clinton would greet them before leaving for Pikeville, Ky., the next stop on his “Solutions for America” tour.
Local union volunteers worked the line of people snaking around campus in anticipation of Clinton’s speech.
Mary Ann Chamberlain of Duncansville, also wearing the bright-green union T-shirt, has knocked on many doors in Altoona, Cresson, Gallitzin and Portage seeking support for Hillary Clinton. She was surprised at the positive feedback.
“I’ve had very high ratings for Hillary in the door-knocking that I’ve done,” she said. “I was for Hillary from the beginning, but I thought most support would be for Obama.”
In her time volunteering for political campaigns, Chamberlain said she has seen the most reaction from people this year.
“I think they see how the recession is going and they see how the war is going,” she said.
Chamberlain said she’s ready for the war in Iraq to end. Her daughter, now in Norfolk, Va., already has served four tours abroad. “I just want my kid home.”
Health care was a common concern among students, especially evident when Bill Clinton asked how many people know someone without health insurance. Hundreds raised their hands.
Clinton told the crowd that 30 cents of every dollar they pay for health care funds paperwork. He asked how many Altoona businesses could continue to operate losing that 30 percent. He said Hillary’s plan would allow people the same health coverage as government employees.
“If it’s good enough for our families, it’s good enough for yours,” he said. “We’ll all be in huge pools, so administration costs will drop by half, maybe more. Everybody will be able to afford it.”
That plan means a lot to Adrien Trujillo of New Jersey, who will be a senior this fall.
“It’s important, speaking as someone who doesn’t have health care,” he said. “She really wants to help people.”
Marlene Sheets and Molly Shaffer of Altoona, who started the line to see Clinton about 6:30 a.m. after a morning walk, also like Hillary Clinton’s health care plan. Shaffer believes Hillary Clinton will continue Bill Clinton’s work for the middle class.
“I think she would really work hard for the middle class,” Shaffer said. “We’re losing our middle class, it seems.”
