WEST CHESTER, Pa. — Political newcomer Neil Young rallied a tight-knit community of supporters Monday night, making an appeal for change in the Philadelphia suburbs.
With 22 years of experience as a secondary civics teacher in Chester County — he’s not the legendary Canadian-American singer-songwriter — Young says he felt compelled to run for Congress to “return the people’s house to the people.” His career has taken him to places far and wide, including rural Afghanistan — where he taught illiterate girls to read during the Taliban’s insurgency.
A crowd of Young’s supporters filled a community room in West Chester, and many of the older attendees said they’ve known him since he was a little boy — as a friend to their own children. All expressed confidence in the character of their candidate — you might say he has a “heart of gold” — with several telling The Post that Young is “the real deal.”
“Neil Young will work tirelessly to make lives better,” said Dr. Stephen Swymer, a former school principal Young worked under. “That’s what teachers do.”
By throwing his hat into the political arena, Young is challenging incumbent Democratic Rep. Chrissy Houlahan in Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District. Rated D+5 by the Cook Partisan Voting Index, the district contains all of Chester County and some Reading suburbs in neighboring Berks County.
“The person who touts herself as a moderate, 99.1% of the time, she’s lockstep with Joe Biden,” Young said of Houlahan’s record in Congress. “I had to actually go back and look at it . . . but it’s true.”
In challenging Houlahan, Young says he has three goals.
First, be part of the “momentum” building toward change — including aligning himself with former President Donald Trump on a number of issues.
“I want to be part of what I see as the momentum that is building toward change in this country,” Young said. “I want to align myself with President Trump and his ideas, in terms of we’ve gotta take back the executive branch.”
Second, Young wants to engage the next generation. He says this is shaped by his perspective as both a teacher and a father of three boys, as well as the fact the average registered Republican in Chester County is 67 years old.
“I think [young people] are beginning to reject the messages of the left,” Young said. “I think the messages of the left are hollow. They’re leaving them unfulfilled.”
His staff appears to be achieving that second goal, as 18-year-old Lucca Ruggieri — a former student of Young — is managing his teacher’s congressional campaign.
Third, Young says he wants to be and remain part of his community — keep on “Rockin’ in the Free World,” in other words.
“I think you’ve gotta know people to represent people,” Young said, quipping that he “probably knows more people” in Chester County than Houlahan.
Young was joined on Monday by fellow GOP House candidate David Winkler, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Madeleine Dean in Pennsylvania’s 4th Congressional District. That district encompasses most of Berks and Montgomery counties and is rated D+7 by the Cook Partisan Voting Index.
Winkler, a combat veteran and former law-enforcement officer, vowed to work with Young, the teacher, on issues of common interest if elected and share valuable expertise from their respective fields.
“Neil’s an amazing guy,” Winkler said. “I can sure as hell trust somebody like him.”
