I think this might be a race to watch if Bracken and Maggi give good primary challenges. Bracken looks good on MH funding which is near and dear to my heart.
The Wheatley/Payne race will certainly be interesting, but from an LGBT perspective both are good on our particular issues. From a "what the heck is going on in Pittsburgh politics" perspective -- it will be quite a ride.
Back here in the Northside, Ravenstahl (#Chet4Pgh) is an unknown entity. He's running on his brother's coattails and Luke has done nothing to be proactive on LGBT issues; he's all reactivity. I don't know anything about Keller and I can say that Tuinstra has been proactive in seeking out the LGBT Steel City questionnaire.
Very early feedback. But nice to have some races to watch. I hope they all return the questionnaire's for transparency sake.
State Senator Barry Stout in the 46th District has announced that he will not seek reelection. His distric includes:
Allegheny County Townships: Forward Boroughs: Elizabeth, McDonald (Allegheny County Portion) and West Elizabeth
Beaver CountyTownships: Greene, Hanover, Independence and Raccoon Boroughs: Frankfort Springs and Hookstown
Greene County Cities: All Townships: All Boroughs: All
Washington County Cities: Monongahela and Washington Townships: Amwell, Blaine, Buffalo, Canton, Carroll, Cecil, Chartiers, Cross Creek, Donegal, East Bethlehem, East Finley, Fallowfield, Hanover, Hopewell, Independence, Jefferson, Morris, Mount Pleasant, North Bethlehem, North Franklin, North Strabane, Nottingham, Robinson, Smith, Somerset, South Franklin, South Strabane, Union, West Bethlehem, West Finley and West Pike Run Boroughs: Beallsville, Bentleyville, Burgettstown, Canonsburg, Centerville, Claysville, Cokeburg, Deemston, Donora, East Washington, Ellsworth, Finleyville, Green Hills, Houston, Long Branch, Marianna, McDonald, Midway, New Eagle, North Charleroi, Twilight, West Alexander, West Brownsville and West Middletown
Why should this register? After all, his district barely abuts Allegheny County.
Exactly!
In 2008, Barry Stout - Democrat voted for the "Marriage Protection" amendment to be voted out of committee.
As I said in 2008, "Yikes!"
Here's an election we should watch. The Senate may vote on the marriage amendment again as well as hate crimes legislation. There's always the potential for anti-discrimination legislation to reach the Senate. Someday.
State Rep Tim Solobay has thrown his hat into the ring. Solobay was one of the few Democratic House members who voted NO on the marriage amendment in 2006. He has a Facebook page (you know how that pleases me). He identifies as a "moderate blue dog democrat." So that's an interesting mix.
According to the Post-Gazette, two Washington County commissioners, J. Bracken Burns and Larry Maggi, also may seek the Democratic nomination in the May 18 primary. I don't know much about Burns or Maggi. Anyone?
Word is still out and then there's the question of who replaces Solobay. These rural SW Pennsylvania districts are really important to our community and I urge you to identify folks you know in Stout's district and ask them to pay attention. I'm fairly certain the Steel City Stonewall Democrats will be sending a questionnaire to Solobay, Burns and Maggi since part of the district is Allegheny County. Keep your eye out for it.
It is very interesting to read their rules for voting. You have to have been to two DFP meetups or attended two events since February 2009 (within the last year). I think that's a very reasonable way to avoid the endorsement vote being packed by "sudden" members. Endorsement requires 70% vote and vote counts are not released.
From casual conversation with members of various "clubs who endorse" my undesrstanding is that vote packing is a longstanding tradition. Sad to say. I'm not in favor of people being able to walk in off the street, pay cash and cast an endorsement vote. I think it is ripe for fraud and damages the credibility of the club/organization. Attending an event or two over the course of 12 months is not an arduous burden to meet for voting privileges. It is incumbent on the organization to avoid the appearance of impropriety (along with actual impropriety) and DFP seems to have a threshhold that's reasonable.
