“I didn’t leave the Republican party; the Republican party left me!” is Pat Maisano’s emphatic reply when explaining the reasons she and her husband Dan left the Republican Party. They represent a growing number of people who have converted from Republican to the Democratic Party in recent years.
As many people know, for twenty-two years, Dan served as judge for the Chester County Magisterial District, which includes Kennett Borough and Township, as well as the townships of East Marlborough, Newlin, Pennsbury, and Pocopson. Dan retired from the bench earlier this year.
Pat is the founder and CIO of IKOR, a life management services company which provides patient advocacy for seniors and the disabled. She created IKOR when she realized that there was no national service to help seniors make living arrangements, as well as financial and healthcare decisions. IKOR now has 40 offices across the nation. Recently, she and Dan opened a beautiful suite of IKOR offices in Kennett, just off Route 1.
Dan, of course, as a judge had to be apolitical. However, since retiring, Dan, too, has been able to express his disappointment with the Republican party. He finds them to be a party of factions, comfortable with being divisive. He now enjoys the intellectual discourse that he finds with his Democratic Party compatriots.
Active in Pennsylvania Republican politics for many years, Pat began to see changes in the party that were increasingly at odds with her own political philosophy. For example, she saw a Republican party with little real power and no desire to effect change; they were apparently satisfied with the status quo. She found the Democrats able to express and debate differences with respect and little rancor; Republicans did not welcome discussions of differences of opinion.
The Maisanos have a unique and refreshing couple conversion story. Each of them separately came to a gradual understanding that the party they belonged to was not serving their needs and did not reflect their beliefs. They wisely turned to the Democratic Party and KAD which espouses freedom, fairness, and opportunity.
Submitted by Brenda Mercomes
