{"id":240,"date":"2016-11-02T11:14:46","date_gmt":"2016-11-02T15:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/stateofpa\/?page_id=240"},"modified":"2016-11-03T15:26:28","modified_gmt":"2016-11-03T19:26:28","slug":"meet-scranton-breakfast-club","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/stateofpa\/scranton\/meet-scranton-breakfast-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Scranton Breakfast Club"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Paula Seligson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joe Albert\u2019s weekly breakfast with a group of friends is like a dirty habit he can\u2019t kick. \u201cInstead of smoking, we come here,\u201d he joked.
\nWalk into the Downtown Deli and Eatery in Scranton\u00a0on Saturday\u00a0mornings, turn right and go to the big round table at the end for a breakfast group of mostly veterans, a retired priest and a self-described Demopublican. The group of (nearly) lifelong Scrantonians talks news, politics and their home.<\/p>\n

The group has been meeting every\u00a0Saturday\u00a0morning for about four years.\u00a0 Their founder, Eugene \u201cIke\u201d Refice, a photographer and World War II veteran, passed away last year.<\/p>\n

Their regular waitress, Maggy Hanlon, 25, looks forward to seeing them each week.\u00a0 The group always teases her, she said, and she can list off their orders from memory, such as \u201cone blueberry pancake, only two pieces of bacon, not three.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re just jokesters,\u201d Hanlon said. \u201cWhenever they come in, you know they\u2019re going to laugh and have a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is stimulating conversation every single\u00a0Saturday\u00a0morning from various opinions and various walks of life,\u201d said Bob Shlesinger. \u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re all friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife just wants me to get out of the house,\u201d David Wenzel added.
\nSo where do their beliefs fall on the presidential election?<\/p>\n

\"30703381895_69f9849583_z\"<\/p>\n

Joe Albert,\u00a069<\/strong><\/p>\n

Served in the Army, President of Eli H. Albert Agency (insurance)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Voting for: Trump<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI can give you a hundred reasons not to vote for Trump. There\u2019s only two reasons to vote for Donald Trump. One, he can\u2019t be bought. Everybody agrees with that.\u00a0 And two, he will shake up Washington, and everybody agrees with that. And the questions people have to ask themselves is, do they want Washington shook up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s only one reason to vote for Hillary. In 30 years name one thing she\u2019s successfully done.\u00a0 You can\u2019t. If you like Obama, vote for her, because you get four more years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"30071337484_b528d5bdb5_z\"<\/p>\n

David Wenzel, 71<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former Mayor of Scranton, 1986-1990.\u00a0 Advocate for people with disabilities.\u00a0 Served in the Army in Vietnam and lost both legs, his left arm and vision in his left eye to a land mine.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Voting for: Undecided<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wenzel is a lifelong Republican. \u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t know who I\u2019m voting for at this point.\u00a0 When I look at those names on the ballot, I might not pick either one of them really at this point right now, to tell you the truth\u2026 \u00a0I\u2019m just going to have to do a lot of soul searching between now and the election.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"30071338854_68574ccc0d_z\"<\/p>\n

Mike Iacavazzi, 75<\/strong><\/p>\n

Served in the Air Force, retired from the U.S. Postal Service<\/strong><\/p>\n

Voting for: Trump, but still weighing the options<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c(Hillary Clinton) said she\u2019s going to follow Obama. I want a change, see what\u2019s going to happen.\u201d \u00a0That\u2019s why he plans to vote Trump. \u00a0\u201cShe\u2019s going this way, he\u2019s going that way, I know what\u2019s going to happen with her, I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen with Trump, maybe I\u2019m taking a gamble, I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Clinton wins: \u00a0\u201cI\u2019m realistic.\u00a0 They say she\u2019s going to win.\u00a0 Okay, she wins. I have to deal with it\u2026 She would sell her soul to the Republicans just to get what she wants, to be in the history books. You can work with Hillary. If Hillary gets in I can live with that because she will work to get her programs through, a piece of it. She will work with the Congress, whereas Obama has been giving Republicans a tough time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"30703386725_8751db3d64_z\"<\/p>\n

Bob Shlesinger, 66<\/strong><\/p>\n

Executive Director of the Scranton Public Theater<\/strong><\/p>\n

Voting for: Trump<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shlesinger is a self-described Demopublican. \u00a0\u201cI spent my life in the arts and development area, and traditionally I have always voted for the Democrats, because I\u2019m a Democrat in my heart, but over the years I\u2019ve become a Republican in my pocket book.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shlesinger said he is tired of pay-to-play. \u00a0\u201cHillary is for more government, Trump is for less gov. I believe in less government now.\u00a0 Trump talks about casting the right people on the right spots to run for things.\u00a0 When you have more government, you\u2019re not necessarily casting the right people to run various organizations, you\u2019re playing the patronage game, you\u2019re going to give it to those who did whatever they did to get you elected.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"30071335154_f71a9308bf_z\"<\/p>\n

Edgar \u201cGar\u201d Kearney, 78<\/strong><\/p>\n

Served in the Coast Guard, retired editor at the Scranton Times-Tribune.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Voting for: Trump, but that could change<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf the election were today I think I\u2019d vote for Trump.\u00a0 I know he\u2019s a wild man but we\u2019ve got checks and balances to keep him under control I hope. And he\u2019s just saying things everybody else feels, and I have my fill of Clintons.\u00a0 They have so much baggage.\u00a0 I know Trump is no angel but they\u2019re just as bad I think and this has been a bad election\u2026 Nobody decent is coming forward anymore to run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kearney said he votes Democrat locally, and Republican for president.\u00a0 The last time he voted Democrat for president was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. \u00a0\u201cI should have voted for Goldwater.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"30666443406_d20eb62c7c_z\"<\/p>\n

Monsignor Constantine Siconolfi, 82<\/strong><\/p>\n

Retired ordained priest for the Roman Catholic Church in Scranton.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Voting for: \u201cI have to consult with my master first,\u201d he said, looking up.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Paula Seligson Joe Albert\u2019s weekly breakfast with a group of friends is like a dirty habit he can\u2019t kick. \u201cInstead of smoking, we come here,\u201d he joked. Walk into the Downtown Deli and Eatery in Scranton\u00a0on Saturday\u00a0mornings, turn right and go to the big round table at the end for a breakfast group of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":258,"parent":12,"menu_order":10,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMeet the Scranton Breakfast Club - Election 2016: The State of Pennsylvania<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/stateofpa\/scranton\/meet-scranton-breakfast-club\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet the Scranton Breakfast Club - Election 2016: The State of Pennsylvania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Paula Seligson Joe Albert\u2019s weekly breakfast with a group of friends is like a dirty habit he can\u2019t kick. \u201cInstead of smoking, we come here,\u201d he joked. 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