Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
November 28, 2006
Democrats win control of Pa. House after 12 years in minority.
Democrats won control of the state House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years Tuesday as Chester County officials settled a pair of tight House races three weeks after the election.
The results dramatically alter Harrisburg's political landscape after four years in which Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, has been forced to bargain with two chambers controlled by the opposite party.
If the results of the 156th House District race withstand any potential Republican court challenges, Democrats will have a 102-101 advantage in the new session of the Legislature. It will be the first time since 1994 that Democrats will be in charge of the House.
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Delaware County Daily Times
November 9, 2006
PA House 161st: Lentz Pulls Out Victory.
Bryan Lentz defeated Republican Tom Gannon in a tight race, putting a Democrat in charge of the 161st Legislative district for the first time since 1974. That year, the infamous Watergate burglary proved a windfall for Democrats on Election Day.
This morning with 40 of 44 precincts - 91 percent -- reporting, Lentz stands with 12,529 votes - 51 percent. The incumbent Gannon, garnered 11,820 votes - 49 percent.
This year, one could point to a slew of Republican scandals, including the FBI investigation into possible influence peddling by (soon to be former) U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon, as fodder for Democratic success at the polls.
Or one could point to the unpopular, ongoing war in Iraq, where death rates are escalating, causing the popularity of the Bush administration to dwindle.
Or maybe voters were still sour about the midnight pay raise the Republican-led House and Senate voted for itself last summer in Harrisburg.
Either way, Lentz capitalized on an opportunity when he set out to unseat Gannon, who had held the office for 28 years.
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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
November 9, 2006
New Comers Defeat Republican Hopefuls.
Smith captures Republican seat
After five-time Republican incumbent Tom Stevenson lost to Mark Harris in the May primary, voters in the 42nd Legislative District knew they'd have change after this week's election, but it wasn't clear who, or which party, would take the seat.
Democrat Matthew Smith, 34, won handily over Mr. Harris, a Republican, garnering 15,831 votes to 11,253 in unofficial tallies."We absolutely brought home a victory," Mr. Smith said at his election night headquarters at Molly Brannigans in Mt. Lebanon. "This was a victory from Bethel Park all the way up to Rosslyn Farms." As he spoke, he held his arms high in the air like a winning prizefighter.
Mr. Smith, a native of Bethel Park, lives in Mt. Lebanon with his wife, Eileen, who is expecting the couple's first child in April. He is a lawyer with Babst Calland Clements & Zomnir in Pittsburgh.
After the obligatory thank-yous to volunteers and his campaign manager, Dan Miller, Mr. Smith said that his hard work had paid off.
Mr. Smith believed it was his door-to-door effort that made the difference with voters. More than 50 regular volunteers helped behind the scenes, and getting people to the polls was a major goal.
"I was totally unknown during the primary because it was uncontested," he said. "I think we needed to do the door-knocking. [It] was very important to us."
Sleep was on his immediate agenda, followed by a trip out of town for a wedding. Then, he said, he would begin planning for his new job.
"I think we need to head out and deliver these reforms," he said of his first order of business. Some of his goals included making state government more transparent by giving more information, such as his House voting record, online.
Mr. Harris, 21, of Mt. Lebanon, said he got caught up in a wave of change that locked out many Republicans because of voters' displeasure with performance of those in power.
"This isn't the final loss. This is a setback in the battle," Mr. Harris said. While he wouldn't say if he would run for another public office, he said "I'm proud of the race we ran. ... I'm certainly not done fighting the good fight."
46th District: White wins
Saying he had a message that connected with voters, Cecil lawyer Jesse White became the first new state representative elected in the 46th District in a generation.
Although absentee ballots had yet to be counted, Mr. White, a Democrat, held a significant lead over Republican Paul Snatchko on Wednesday morning, with 11,589 votes to Mr. Snatchko's 9,968 votes.
The two were vying for the soon-to-be-vacant seat when 26-year incumbent Rep. Victor J. Lescovitz, D-Midway, retires at the end of the year.
The race featured detailed proposals about property tax reform, term limits and a smaller Legislature from Mr. White, 28, who is a small-business owner, and Mr. Snatchko, 30, a McDonald councilman and political consultant.
Both candidates previously ran against Mr. Lescovitz.
The race was anticipated to be close, said Joseph DiSarro, professor and chair of the department of political science at Washington and Jefferson College.
"I didn't expect a blowout," Mr. DiSarro said.
Mr. DiSarro said the large number of socially conservative Democrats in the district made the race an uphill climb for the pro-choice Mr. White, but that his legal work and relationships in the community might have helped him in the end.
"He turned it into a fantastic election campaign in the primary and general election," Mr. DiSarro said of Mr. White, who defeated an older and better-known opponent in the primary.
Mr. White said his top priority would be to create an economic resource center, which became the centerpiece of his campaign. It will allow local government and nonprofit agencies to connect with grant writers, who can assist in applying for grants and loans.
"I felt confident that we had done the things we needed to do to get out there who I was and what my plans were," he said.