Jonathan B. Robison

Table of Contents

Georgia Berner — A real Democrat to challenge Hart for Congress
Re-elect Congressman Mike Doyle
Also Chad Kluko or Tom Kovach to challenge Tim Murphy
Will Valerie McDonald Roberts be Gov. Ed Rendell’s running mate for Lieutenant Governor?
Alan Sandals and Chuck Pennacchio – Two pro-choice challengers for the U.S. Senate.
Legislative races
No Primary Contests for Oakland Legislators: Jake Wheatley and Dan Frankel, Jim Ferlo and Wayne Fontana.
Other Allegheny County State House districts have contests.
Democratic State Committee
Democratic Ward Officers including the 4th Ward Chairperson – I’m running for election to a full term.

A Look Ahead –
Allegheny County Democratic Committee – County Chair Election June 11, following Ward Chair Elections
A Judicial Appointment for Wrenna Watson?
City Controller next year

But HOW will we vote? New Electronic Voting Machines
Changes to the registration form.
Recent Victories – Judge Hens Greco, Senator Fontana, City Councilman Peduto, and recently, Rep. Shawn Flaherty

Transportation Issues:
More Questions and No Money for the Mon-Fayette Expressway
Transit Funding – PAT and SEPTA face disaster.
IRAQ – NOW WHAT? Vigils every Saturday to bring our troops home.
Single Payer Health – Community Hearing May 21. I’ll talk about MY experience in the “donut hole.”
Are They Wiretapping ME? I’m going to ask, by submitting a FOIA
Personal Note: MS Walk Sunday Apr. 23 - my scooter and I will there.
About This Newsletter

GEORGIA BERNER FOR CONGRESS
Possibly the most important race in Allegheny County is Georgia Berner for Congress in the 4th Congressional District.
This district is northern Allegheny County, nearly all of Beaver County, Lawrence County, and parts of Butler, Westmoreland and Mercer counties. The current congressman is Bush loyalist Melissa Hart.
Georgia Berner is owner and C.E.O. of a small manufacturing company in New Castle. She is a long-time volunteer and a co-founder of the Volunteers Against Abuse Center (VAAC) in Butler County.
On health care, she says, “I will fight for all Americans to have full access to universal health care with a single payer system. As a business owner, I have made quality health care available to my employees and their families for the past 22 years. I have found a way to put health care in my company’s budget. I believe the greatest nation in the world can find a way to put it in the Federal Budget.”
Georgia Berner is also a solid supporter of reproductive rights. lesbian and gay rights, and peace. Her primary opponent is an establishment male positioning himself as a moderate. For example, he tries to straddle the fence on abortion. She has campaign offices in New Castle and Bridgewater. For further information or to volunteer, or to donate, go to http://www.georgiaberner.com, Or call 724-766-8027

RE-ELECT CONGRESSMAN MIKE DOYLE
This is an easy choice in an easy race, with a good incumbent and a good newcomer. Mike Doyle in the 14th Congressional District combines solid constituent services with increasingly progressive positions on issues. He now supports reproductive rights and lesbian and gay rights, as well as all the Democratic economic and environmental issues, although he is not supporting federal funding for abortions except in cases of rape, incest, and life endangerment.
Doyle’s opponent in the primary is Mike Isaac, who will also be a new committeeperson in the 14th Ward and is solidly in support of reproductive rights and lesbian and gay rights. No Republican candidate filed. The Gertrude Stein Political Club, which supports reproductive rights as well as lesbian and gay rights. gave both candidates “honorable mention” for the Gertrude Stein Club slate
Mike Doyle’s website is www.house.gov/doyle; Mike Isaac’s is www.isaacforcongress.org

Another Republican incumbent will be challenged in the absurdly gerrymandered 18th District. There are two Democrats running in the primary, Chad Kluko and Tom Kovach.

Valerie McDonald Roberts For Lieutenant Governor
Gov. Ed Rendell is unopposed in the primary, but there is a contest to select who will be his running-mate in the fall. Valerie McDonald Roberts, who was elected Recorder of Deeds in Allegheny County, is challenging the incumbent, long-time party veteran Catherine Baker Knoll. As you probably know, the governor and lieutenant governor are chosen separately in the primary. The winners then run as a team in the general election.
Many people support Valerie because she is a fresh face as well as a representative of the African-American community with serious experience in government. She is someone who could be seriously imagined as governor if, for example, the next president of the U.S. taps Gov. Rendell for a cabinet post. Valerie, like most Democratic leaders, supports the Roe v. Wade decision, while Knoll is anti-abortion. We agree with people who think that Valerie would be a stronger running-mate for Governor Rendell. Her website http:/valerieforpa.com
The 4th Ward Committee, meeting Mar. 29, voted to suggest a vote for Valerie.. This was NOT an endorsement – no local Democratic committee has that power. The Democratic State Committee, which among other things, permits proxy voting, subsequently endorsed incumbent Catherine Baker Knoll.

U.S. SENATE
We have two good, progressive pro-choice candidates in the Democratic primary. Of the two, we prefer Atty. Alan Sandals over Chuck Pennacchio, a college history professor. The party-endorsed candidate, Bob Casey is currently state Auditor General. He is supported by Gov. Ed Rendell and the party establishment. He is a mainstream moderate Democrat. He is opposed to a woman’s right to choose abortion. However, he is not a fanatic on the issue like his late father. Both Pennacchio and Sandals are both good on reproductive rights and gay and lesbian rights. Both want to leave Iraq; Casey apparently wants to stay two more years. Both are stronger than the party-endorsed candidate on traditional Democratic economic issues. Neither of the two more liberal candidates is in double digits in the polls.
The Gertrude Stein Political Club, of which we both are charter members, voted to endorse Alan Sandals while voting an “honorable mention” for Chuck Pennacchio. The GSPC website is http://www.gertrudesteinclub.org
Assuming Bob Casey is the nominee, after the primary we will work as hard as we can for the nominee against Rick Santorum. The contest for U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania is one of the most important in the country. The incumbent, Rick Santorum, claims to be a conservative. He is not. Like the rest of the Bush gang, he is dedicated to making the rich and powerful more rich and powerful. If we Democrats are to gain a majority in the Senate, we must win this one
My goal as 4th Ward Democratic Chairperson will be to bring in the 4th Ward by the biggest margin a Democratic Senate candidate ever got in the ward. In 2004, we brought in John Kerry by a bigger margin than Johnson over Goldwater. Casey may be a conservative Democrat and anti-choice. But Santorum is a dedicated, consistent fascist. After all, in World War II we had to ally ourselves with some pretty ugly characters to defeat fascism.
The two challengers are progressive activists on issues such as Iraq, the rights of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities, separation of church and state, a living wage, and workers’ rights. Anyone who wishes details can go to their websites, http://www.alansandals.com and http://www.chuck2006.com/
Some friends think that Casey would be the strongest candidate against Santorum. Other friends think that Sandals and Pennacchio are saying things that need said, things that we have been saying.

Legislative Races
Oakland is divided between two house districts and three State Senate districts – and none of the incumbents have primary contests.
In the 19th District, St. Rep. Jake Wheatley is a hard worker and a stalwart on progressive issues. Mark Brently, a somewhat flaky and unpredictable member of the Pittsburgh School Board, withdrew from the Democratic primary to run in the fall as a Republican. Bill Robinson filed, then withdrew, deciding keep his County Council seat to which he narrowly won re-election. In the 23rd, Dan Frankel is considered one of the intellectual and political leaders in Harrisburg. No one of either party filed against him. State Senator Jim Ferlo is unopposed on the ballot in his ridiculously gerrymandered 38th State Senate District. Jim recently published a newspaper advertisement with hundreds of co-signers calling for the impeachment of George Bush. In the 42nd Wayne Fontana, winner in a tough special election last year, likewise has no one from either party filed against him. Oakland also has part of the 43rd District, but odd numbered State Senate districts are not up for election this year.
Other Allegheny County State House districts have primary contests. One hot one will be the 24th District in Homewood, East Liberty, and Wilkinsburg. Ed Gainey got the Democratic Party endorsement over incumbent Joe Preston. Some community activists and committeepeople apparently feel that Gainey will work harder and more closely with them. The GSPC endorsed incumbent Preston, while giving Gainey an honorable mention. In the 27th, incumbent Tom Petrone won party endorsement over Mike Galovich, by a two-vote margin that some committeepeople blame on flaws in the voting process. Dan Cindric is also running, with significant backing of community activists, and with the endorsement of the GSPC and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In what some consider to be Mon Valley spitting contests, Clerk of Courts George Matta won endorsement rather than incumbent Marc Gergely in the 35th and C.L. Jabbour won endorsement rather than incumbent Kenneth Ruffing in the 38th. There may be an interesting primary race in Beaver County, in the 14th District, with Jay Paisley challenging Mike Veon.. Veon is a politically entrenched leader of the Democratic minority in the state house. He was forceful in getting approval of the legislative pay raise, which was later repealed.
There are challenges against incumbents Don Walko in the 20th, Frank Pistella in the 21st, Paul Costa in the 34th, and David Levdansky in the 39th. Several are worthy candidates. In the 21st, the GSPC endorsed Frank Pistella while giving Atty. Lisa Bennington an honorable mention, Two newcomers are unopposed in the primary; This May 11, Shawn Flaherty won a special election in the 30th District. This seat has not been held by a Democrat for many years. This victory is important to those working to gain a Democratic majority in the Pennsylvania House this fall. And Chelsea Wagner is unopposed in the primary in the 22nd, the seat now occupied by turncoat Diven.

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Democratic State Committee
We have a number of friends running for the Democratic State Committee. They include Ellen Harrison, Matt Arena, and Brenda Frazier in the 38th State Senate District, Robert Frank in the 42nd district, Barbara Daly Danko, Rich Fitzgerald, Tara Reynolds, Barbara Ernsberger and Marvin Leibowitz in the 43rd, and Carmella Mullen in the 45th. In the 43rd, there are seven candidates filed for seven seats, so all will win.

A Look Ahead – ACDC Chair Election Meeting June 11
June 11 is being set as the date for the reorganization election for the Allegheny County Democratic Committee – sometimes referred to as the ACDC. It will be in the Teamsters’ Temple, 4701 Butler St. There will be a period of several hours during which ACDC members may vote.
There are apparently four candidates so far. The incumbent chair, former Jury Commissioner Jean Milko, says that she is running for re-election.. Vice-chairperson Ben Woods, determined to bring back the good old days for the party, said that he would not run against incumbent Jean Milko, and is now running hard. Atty. Jim Burn, a member of the Allegheny County Council, mayor of Millvale, and an appointee of Dan Onorato on the Port Authority board and on Dan’s new Transportation Action Team, is running. So, apparently, is Dennis Simon, Democratic chair in East Pittsburgh. Stay tuned.

Judicial Appointment Coming Up
There is a vacancy on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, because of the retirement of Judge Walter Little, and people are recommending Wrenna Watson. We agree with Democratic Party leaders who are saying that it’s “her turn” after her previous candidacy. We urge her appointment by Gov. Rendell. She was rated “Recommended” by the ACBA, and was recently appointed to the Zoning Board of Adjustment and the City Planning Commission by Mayor O’Connor. She has extensive experience actually adjudicating cases as a hearing officer in mental health commitments and for the state Liquor Control Board.

City Controller will be a Hot Fight Next Year
City Controller is up in 2007, and it’s a good bet that the incumbent Tony Pokora will face serious challengers. Tony became acting City Controller when Tom Flaherty was elected judge. We were personally involved in Tony’s start in politics. In 1972 I was legislative district coordinator for George McGovern. Tony was still in high school, but he was bright and energetic, and I asked him to serve as deputy director of the South Side McGovern office on E. Carson Street.
Several well-known names have been mentioned. They include Rev. Jim Simms who was formerly president of the Allegheny County Council, and Prothonotary Michael Lamb.

Electronic Voting Machines to Face Us in the Primary
We will vote in the primary May 16 – but HOW?
Our old reliable lever voting machines are being replaced by electronic touch-screen machines. County officials were pressured to move faster than they wanted, by the new federal HAVA – the Help America Vote Act. The federal government is picking up the cost of the new machines – some $12 million for Allegheny County – if the county acts promptly.
The primary will be a test. Unless the challenge in Federal Court succeeds, we should have at least two of the new machines from ES&S at each polling place for the primary.
Questions remain. Can we have confidence in the results without a voter verifiable paper record for any recount? State law may mandate this for the fall. Can the voters – and the election boards – adjust to the new machines, which work much like the ATMs you use? Most important, will the new machines work? We’ll see.

Changes to Registration Forms
By the way, when you register voters, use the new forms from Allegheny County, which have a box in the upper right corner for either your driver’s license number or the last four digits of your Social Security number. This is now required for voters new to Allegheny County The Republicans claim that more voter identification is necessary, and deny that it is another tool to discourage some of the poor people from voting.

Recent Victories – Kathryn Hens-Greco, Wayne Fontana, Bill Peduto on City Council, and most recently, State Rep. Shawn Flaherty
This year we have important work. But we should celebrate some recent victories.
One is certainly the judgeship won last fall by Kathryn Hens-Greco. The victory came from a host of volunteers and good campaign management by her husband Sam Hens-Greco. By the way, Sam is now running the congressional campaign of Georgia Berner – see above.
Another victory was Wayne Fontana for State Senate in the 42nd District over turncoat Diven. Fontana must run for a full term this year, but he is unopposed.
We also celebrate the re-election of our own city councilmember, Bill Peduto. He won the Democratic primary last year despite losing the endorsement. (He was simultaneously running in the primary for mayor, which was won by Bob O’Connor.) He remains a very bright, very hard-working independent Democratic voice on City Council.
Very recently – on May 11 - Shawn Flaherty won the special election in the 30th Legislative District, As we discussed above, this is important for Democrats statewide..

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Transportation Issues
There are more questions and doubts about the Mon-Fayette Expressway into Oakland – but still no construction money for the parts north of Duquesne.
The Turnpike Commission is still planning and buying property for the Mon-Fayette toll road into Oakland, a $4 billion lunacy to subsidize more cars driving to Oakland, using Bates Street as the on-off ramp. The best news is that no one will give the Turnpike Commission the money to actually build anything north of the city of Duquesne. So the Turnpike Commission came up with the wombat plan – get some outfit in Australia to buy the unbuilt highway, build it, and pocket the tolls.
We can do better, with the Citizens’ Plan, put together by community groups convened by Penn Future. The Citizens’ Plan strategy is fix it first. Use our scarce dollars to do necessary repairs on our roads and bridges – before any more bridges fall down. The plan also includes the long-discussed light rail line, underground through Oakland, then at grade to Hazelwood and Homestead, Please see the attached memo from more details.
Meanwhile, the State Legislature still hasn’t provided any dedicated, predictable, and adequate source of operating funds for the Port Authority. (Under federal law, capital funds for construction are kept separate.) Last year Governor Rendell provided temporary funds to keep the public transit systems running until the end of this year The failure of the Legislature to act will mean disaster for PAT in Allegheny County, SEPTA in the Philadelphia region, and ACCESS. Not only will there be fare increases, but also drastic service cuts, probably including elimination of all service Sundays, most service Saturdays, and service after 9 pm everyday. What about people who need transit to get to work on weekends? Without state action, too bad.

IRAQ – NOW WHAT?
Now what? More and more politicians are agreeing that it’s time to bring our troops home. You can act.
There are one-hour peace vigils every Saturday at noon at Forbes and Braddock, and 1 pm at Penn and Highland in East Liberty. I’m at one or the other almost every weekend; please join me. Often there is also a vigil at the military recruiting station on Forbes and Oakland Ave.
Perhaps most important is counter-recruitment. Can we encourage our young people not to believe the sales pitches from the military recruiters? Can we talk with people who got signed up, and are now being sent to Iraq – some of them for a second or third time? Can we tell them that it’s not too late to apply for conscientious objector status?
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Single Payer Health Community Hearing
Sunday, May 21, 1:30 p.m., at Temple Sinai, 5505 Forbes Ave.
At the community hearing Sunday, May 21, I’m going to talk about MY OWN personal experience caught in the “donut hole” of Part D Medicare. You won’t believe what I’m now being forced to pay for the medicine to try to control my multiple sclerosis. Neighbors will be sharing their views at the Citizens Hearing on Health Care Reform, 1:30 Sunday May 21 at Temple Sinai, 5505 Forbes Ave., sponsored by the Western PA Coalition for Single-Payer Health Care. For more information, call Sandy Fox at 412-421-8233, or e-mail her at sm2fox@yahoo.com
The “system” of paying for health care in our country is a disgrace. Let’s do something about it.

Are They Wiretapping ME?
This administration doesn’t pay attention to anything we say. But they sure want to listen to us – without bothering with getting a court order before they wiretap. Well, I’m curious – what have they got on file about me? I’m going to ask. Like hundreds of others in Pittsburgh, I’m going to submit a request under the Freedom Of Information Act. – a FOIA. For further information, contact the Pittsburgh ACLU, Pittsburgh ACLU, http://www.pgh.aclu.org

M.S. WALK SUNDAY MORNING APR. 23 –
PLEASE JOIN ME OR CONTRIBUTE
On a personal note: I will be on the MS Walk Sunday Apr. 23 – on my scooter, of course. You are invited to join me, or join in contributing to the MS Society to help support medical research into a cure for MS. Please see the attached flyer for more details.

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ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
Because the “Dear Friends” letter is a political tool, it is sent out free. Mary and I send it to about 2000 people in advance of the primary and general elections.
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Love and Peace,
Jonathan and Mary Robison