I'm confused.

I'm trying to get a handle on the Democratic platform. I called my kid to tell him that I switched parties. My son told me that I have been a Democrat all these years, but I just didn't realize it. Thanks, Joe.

Looking for answers, I first went to the Mt. Lebanon Democrats website. I thought I would start with their useful links. Oh boy.

Local Blogs

Blog-Lebo – bloglebo.blogspot.com
Center Court – jposti.blogspot.com

Not what I am looking for. I want a list of Democratic values. So I went to the state level.   Pennsylvania State Democratic Party –www.padems.com Nope. Not there either, but I did find out something interesting. Mt. Lebanon's commissioner from Ward 4 is no longer on the staff. 

Is this odd or what?

President of the commission, Dave Brumfield, is not running for re-election again. Yay. The Democratic candidate running in Ward 4 is Craig Grella. Craig is on the PA Democratic Party staff as Digital Operations Director. It is a paid position. http://www.padems.com/party/staff/ Does anyone see that as a problem?

Still on the quest for the Democratic platform, so I went to the Democratic National Committee – www.democrats.org Bingo!

The 2016 Democratic Platform

So here is where I get confused.

Preventing Gun Violence
Our newly elected congressman seems to be leaning toward Republican values. Four more people were killed with an AR-15 outside of Nashville, TN.

Reining in Wall Street and Fixing our Financial System

Both Conor Lamb and Keith Rothfus voted to weaken a Wall Street regulation. 

And some progressive Democrats took issue with Democrats like Lamb for supporting the rule change, worrying that the Democratic Party is sending out the wrong message to Americans who are wary of financial institutions. U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) tweeted on April 17, “Why did 78 House Democrats vote with Republicans to weaken the Volcker Rule, which was passed after the financial crisis to stop banks from making speculative investments? We need a Congress that stands with the American people, not the big banks.”

I'm still trying to sort it all out.

Is this odd or what? UPDATED 2X

President of the commission, Dave Brumfield, is not running for re-election again. Yay. The Democratic candidate running in Ward 4 is Craig Grella. Craig is on the PA Democratic Party staff as Digital Operations Director. It is a paid position.  http://www.padems.com/party/staff/ Does anyone see that as a problem?

Craig's professional website www.craiggrella.com is now being used for his commission race. His professional website was more like his LinkedIn profile. 

A couple of things I noticed about Grella's website. His committee address is not in Mt. Lebanon as indicated (15228) but in the city. While I appreciate his sense of humor, his website is being paid for by Friends of Craig Grella, the website which previously was his professional website.

Craig's vision for Mt. Lebanon is admirable. Our schools provide an education second to none, and Craig wants to do everything in his power to keep it, as well as other things, that way. However, Craig is running for commission, not school board director.  He has no magic fix for Mt. Lebanon, but seems to be running on the "unity" platform.

I find it unusual for a staff member of the PA Democratic Party to be running in the commission race here in Mt. Lebanon. Is that another conflict of interest that Mt. Lebanon voters are presented? I'm not comfortable with it, but I am not faced with that dilemma, only the residents of Ward 4.

Update March 29, 2017 4:51 PM Now, it is getting really odd. Craig Grella's non-profit Orgspring Inc in Pittsburgh has never filed a 990.  I see that since income is less than $25,000, filing is not required. But here's the oddest part. Craig Grella is declaring ZERO income. Source: nonprofitfacts.com And before the trolls start attacking, yes, I see the small print on this website. "Use at your own risk."

Update March 29, 2017 9:35 PM A non-profit with less than $50,000 in receipts can file a 990-N. It’s just an e-postcard with basic information on it. Guidestar does not list 990-N’s. Orgspring is up to date on their filings.