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Allegheny County Democratic Committee favors moderates over progressives in primary endorsements | TribLIVE.com
Allegheny

Allegheny County Democratic Committee favors moderates over progressives in primary endorsements

Jamie Martines
Jamie Martines
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Allegheny County Democratic Committee members voted Sunday to endorse moderate Democrats over their progressive opponents, signaling that party insiders could be leaning more conservative as the April 2020 primary approaches.

But some political observers said that endorsement might not reflect what the broader swath of Democratic and independent voters are thinking; in fact, the county party endorsement might not mean much at all.

“It does not matter as much as it used to,” said Philip Harold, a political science professor at Robert Morris University. “It used to be very important. But not in this millennium.”

In an unusual move, Allegheny County Democratic Committee members voted to endorse challenger Chris Roland over incumbent state Rep. Summer Lee in the 34th District Democratic primary.

Roland has served on North Braddock Borough Council for 12 years and works as a supervisor at Round Hill Park with the Allegheny County Parks Department. He has aligned himself with County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and pledged to support Gov. Tom Wolf’s agenda.

Lee, the first black woman to serve in the Legislature from the region, was a newcomer to state politics when she defeated longtime incumbent Paul Costa in the May 2018 primary with two-thirds of the vote — and without the backing of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee.

Since then, she has championed a range of progressive causes — opposing fracking, advocating for a $15 minimum wage and sponsoring criminal justice reform legislation — and garnered a reputation for challenging the party establishment.

“As an outsider, as an academic, I would have assumed that the incumbent received the endorsement,” said Dana Brown, executive director of the Pennsylvania Center for Women in Politics at Chatham University. “I think that’s what traditionally occurs. It does seem to appear then that the Allegheny County Democratic Committee is wanting to be more moderate. They want to be the more moderate party and not embrace the progressive wing entirely.”

In a statement, Lee said she was “really overwhelmed by the support we’ve received throughout the campaign, and especially since the endorsement decision.”

“We’re honored to have support from a huge, enthusiastic volunteer corps and hundreds of individual donors,” Lee said. “We know how to build a grassroots campaign and we’re up to the challenge of engaging and reaching even more voters this primary.”

Not receiving the party endorsement doesn’t hold as much weight as it did 10 or 20 years ago, as more people avoid aligning themselves with a party by registering as independents, Brown said.

“We’ve also seen a number of progressive candidates win in 2018, so it is a real battle with the structure of the party and the party as an institution,” Brown said. “The voters have the ultimate decision.”

Lee was one of those candidates in 2018, along with Rep. Sara Innamorato, who beat incumbent Dom Costa in the primary for the 21st District seat he held since 2009. Innamorato won the primary by 28 percentage points.

Innamorato — who, like Lee, is affiliated with the Pittsburgh chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America — received the Allegheny County Democratic Committee endorsement Sunday. She does not have an official challenger in the primary.

Candidates stand to win by having the committee’s backing by having access to resources and manpower, Harold said.

“It does give you some access to networks of support,” Harold said.

Lee launched the UNITE political action committee in 2019 to address that gap in resources. The PAC endorsed three political newcomers in the Democratic primary that year. All three won, including at-large Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam, D-Ross, who defeated 20-year incumbent John DeFazio, D-Shaler, who was backed by the county Democratic Committee.

In a statement, Roland said he was grateful for the committee’s support.

“We are building a diverse and inclusive coalition, which is why our campaign builds momentum every day. I am running for state representative because I want to go to Harrisburg to help pass Gov. Tom Wolf’s progressive agenda, which will mean more jobs, better schools and more access to affordable health care for the people of the Mon Valley,” Roland said.

Allegheny County Democratic Committee Chair Eileen Kelly did not respond to a request for comment.

Members of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee also voted Sunday to endorse 20th District incumbent Rep. Adam Ravenstahl over attorney Emily Kinkead, whose progressive politics have been compared to Lee and Innamorato.

Lissa Geiger Shulman lost to Marco Attisano for the 30th District state House nomination. Shulman has been endorsed by both Innamorato and state Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-Ross, who flipped the Republican state Senate district in the 2018 general election.

Committee members also voted to endorse Heather Kass over Jessica Benham for the 36th District state House seat — which will be vacated by 13-term Rep. Harry Readshaw, who announced his retirement in January.

Kass has been endorsed by Readshaw but has been criticized by other members of the party for her connection to social media posts written in 2015 and 2016 that oppose the Affordable Care Act, mock drug addiction and gun control, and support President Trump.

The Kass campaign did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

“I will continue running the same campaign that I always intended to run — one focused on talking to the full electorate who will be voting at the end of April and continuing to learn about the issues important to them, not one that aims to please a small group of political insiders,” Benham said in a statement Monday.

The Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council did not endorse a candidate in the 36th District race earlier this month, but council President Darrin Kelly released a statement Monday criticizing Allegheny County Democratic Committee members for endorsing Kass.

“Many union members in Western Pennsylvania are also Democratic Committee members, including myself, and we know that many times we disagree over policies and priorities and strategies,” Kelly said in the statement. “For those same reasons, we sometimes disagree over which candidates we support. But there is absolutely no disagreement over the fundamental values that we all share.

Kelly went on to reference Kass’ social media posts.

“As I told Ms. Kass when she sought the Labor Council’s endorsement, her social media posts made me sick,” Kelly said. “They do not reflect our values in the labor movement or in the Democratic Party, and they should be disqualifying for anyone seeking our support.”

Council representatives did not respond to a request for comment Monday regarding whether the council would support the Benham campaign in light of the county committee endorsement.

In the 34th District, the council endorsed Roland over the Lee campaign.

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto tweeted his support for Benham on Tuesday.

“Proud to endorse Democrat @jessicalbenham for PA State Representative,” Peduto tweeted, using her Twitter handle in lieu of her name, and included a link to Benham’s campaign website listing additional endorsements from unions, elected officials and other organizations.

Jamie Martines is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jamie by email at jmartines@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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