Heidi Wheaton in 2009 approaches one of the most pivotal moments of her political career, and the direction she chooses could greatly affect her future in Lancaster County politics.
Wheaton's six-year term as an East Hempfield Township supervisor enters its last year in January. She's already won two municipal elections since 2001, but the contest looming next year may be her most difficult. And a loss would be a massive setback if she wants to win higher office some day.
Wheaton told me Thursday that she hasn't decided yet what to do about re-election.
County voters will recognize Wheaton as the media-savvy conservative firebrand who twice ran against endorsed Republican candidates — once during the 2006 primary to replace retiring state Sen. Noah Wenger and again in 2007 for one of two GOP nominations for county commissioner.
She lost both races despite dominating news coverage that included blunt remarks about the local Republican party (as when she compared the Lancaster GOP to the former Soviet Union); sleek plublicity such as Web sites and billboards; and well-financed campaigns (although a lot of the money came from her own pockets).
She came back in 2006 to nab a spot on the Lancaster County Government Study board, her first win in a race beyond East Hempfield's borders.
Name recognition, deep financial pockets, experience running countywide campaigns — why isn't she a lock for another term as a township supervisor?
She might be, but during her state Senate and county commissioner campaigns, the support she garnered in her own backyard — or the lack thereof — has to be troubling.
Against Mike Brubaker in 2006, Wheaton lost East Hempfield by 651 votes, a 22.8 percent margin. She didn't win a single precinct within the township.
A year later, more of the same: Wheaton competed for two GOP county commissioner nominations, and in East Hempfield she finished last among the four candidates.
The eventual winners — Brubaker in 2006 and Dennis Stuckey and Scott Martin a year later — were backed by the local GOP power structure, a significant advantage in Lancaster County politics. Yet Wheaton matched them with high-powered rhetoric and get-your-attention advertising, creating a provocative political profile of herself as an anti-establishment candidate.
The 2009 race for township supervisor is her first East Hempfield contest since those high-profile losses. And if she loses a supervisor campaign, it's hard to imagine it would improve her chances in a future campaign for Congress, state Senate, state House or county office.
Wheaton may not even want to run for higher office years from now, but given her track record, nobody would be surprised if she did.
Wheaton is certainly not destined to lose in 2009 if she runs for re-election. Consider the following:
tDoug Brubaker, considered an ally of Wheaton's, won a nomination for township supervisor during the 2007 primary against two endorsed Republican candidates. The local GOP then backed a write-in candidate against Brubaker in the general election, but Brubaker prevailed.
tWheaton would have the highest name recognition of any candidate running for her seat.
tWheaton stood up for several residents of a housing development who voiced problems about the construction of their homes. The issue sparked a debate about East Hempfield's code inspections and led to bringing in a new inspector.
tIn 2005, Wheaton supported a forensic audit of the township's golf course, which, she has said, uncovered thousands of unaccounted-for dollars.
Wheaton could always decide not to run next year and return to private life. The advantage is avoiding an embarrassing loss and keeping her prospects for public office intact (assuming, again, that she wants to serve in higher office).
Or she could chance it and enter the campaign.
This boils down to one of the more intriguing campaign story lines for 2009.
E-mail: dpidgeon@lnpnews.com