Delaware County voters broke tradition last November by doing something they had never done before.
They elected a woman to Congress.
That gave them something in common with several other districts in southeastern Pennsylvania. Before the election Pennsylvania had zero women in the Washington delegation. After the election they had four.
That's called change.
What has not changed is one of the mandates of the person sitting in that seat - especially here in Delco.
That would be safeguarding jobs - in particular the employment of the 4,600 men and women who walk into Boeing's Ridley plant every day.
It did not take long for Scanlon to face her first crisis.
The Army announced they were delaying a major Chinook upgrade program to be performed by workers at the Ridley facility. It could mean the loss of thousands of jobs.
It's not the fist time Boeing has been in the cost-cutters' crosshairs. The tradition of fending off those threats goes back to the 20-year reign of Curt Weldon.
The district has changed since then. It's now the 5th District, not the 7th.
But the job remains the same.
This week Scanlon went before the House Appropriations Committee to make the case for reversing the Army decision.
We talk about it on today's editorial page.
And we even have a little fun with it in our headline.
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