Westmoreland campaigns go digital
By Rich Cholodofsky
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
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Tom Ceraso's Web Page is at www.tomceraso.com
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Tom Balya's Web Page is at www.tombalya.org
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Discourse and debate among the four Westmoreland County commissioner candidates has been fast and furious in recent weeks, but few people know about it.That's because most of the give-and-take has been over the Internet, on the candidates' Web sites and blogs, so only the most politically interested and technologically savvy have seen it.Democrats Tom Balya and Tom Ceraso have repeatedly criticized their Republican challengers, Kim Ward and George Dunbar, for their silence about a credit card scandal within the Hempfield Township Municipal Authority.Dunbar has taken the Democrats to task over their enormous fundraising successes, and Ward continues to hammer away at reported problems at the Westmoreland County Prison.And so far, that debate has stayed within the confines of the Internet.All four candidates have Web sites. Ward, Dunbar and Ceraso use blogs to update their supporters on their views. Balya, who has had a Web site for more than a decade, writes longer articles on various issues and updates his views every few weeks. [Read the Article]
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Brien Wall challenges U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy
The field of candidates looking to challenge U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, is growing.Brien Wall, of Upper St. Clair, a family life specialist with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., has announced he will seek the Democratic nomination for the 18th District seat. He joins Beth Hafer, daughter of former Allegheny County commissioner and state auditor general Barbara Hafer as potential Democratic challengers.
The field of candidates looking to challenge U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, is growing.Brien Wall, of Upper St. Clair, a family life specialist with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., has announced he will seek the Democratic nomination for the 18th District seat. He joins Beth Hafer, daughter of former Allegheny County commissioner and state auditor general Barbara Hafer as potential Democratic challengers.
Democrat Candidates announce in the 18th Congressional District.
Murphy to face Dem challenger in '08
By Sarah Core,
Staff writerscore@observer-reporter.com
July is turning into a taxing month for U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy.Democrat Beth Hafer, 35, a former middle school teacher from Mt. Lebanon, announced (Read the Announcement)Tuesday that she will run against the three-term Republican for the 18th District congressional seat in 2008. Hafer said Murphy no longer represents the values treasured by the community."I was raised in a community that cared about hard-working families, quality education for our children and had leaders with strong values and ethical standards," she said in a news release. She said she plans on returning to those values by dealing with problems faced by working families, like rising health-care costs and the loss of local jobs..Hafer is a daughter of former state treasurer Barbara Hafer, who declined to run for the seat in 2006. Hafer now works as vice president for Hafer & Associates, a government consulting firm in Harrisburg.Also on Tuesday, the Pennsylvania 18th Patriots, a local group made up of war veterans and 18th congressional district residents, gathered publicly to invite Murphy to an Aug. 28 town hall meeting on the Iraq war.The group, which protested outside his Mt. Lebanon office July 3 against the continuation of the Iraq war, feel that its representative is not listening to its concerns."We got the typical response," member Caleb Payne, 24, said of Tuesday's afternoon event, where about 25 members of the Patriots were refused entry to Murphy's office. Payne said office staff told them they were too large of a group and requested they remain outside.He said the group is tired of written responses and wants to meet in person with Murphy.Paul Abernathy, 28, an Iraq war veteran who also attended the event, said he has been trying to sit down to talk with Murphy for a year."He hasn't treated us well as a representative," said Abernathy, a former Army combat engineer in the 3rd Infantry Division. Abernathy, who volunteered for the military right out of high school, said his experience in Iraq left him dismayed."I saw the current policy on the ground," he said. "It's one of futility."He said he thinks the presence of American troops is a factor of destabilization in the war-torn country, increasing violence in the area."I hope that sitting down with (us) face-to-face will help him rethink some of his polices regarding the Iraq war," Abernathy said."We're willing to work around his schedule," Payne added.The invitation comes just days after Murphy's failed vote against the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act, a bill that calls for the immediate withdrawal and retreat of the U.S. military in Iraq. HR 2956 was passed on July 12 in a 223-201 vote. Next, it will be voted on in the Senate.If passed, the bill would require that the United States begin redeploying troops from Iraq within 120 days of its passage. It would also require that the United States have a "limited presence" in Iraq by April 1.Murphy's communications director, Mark Carpenter, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.Murphy, of Upper St. Clair, has represented the district since 2003.
By Sarah Core,
Staff writerscore@observer-reporter.com
July is turning into a taxing month for U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy.Democrat Beth Hafer, 35, a former middle school teacher from Mt. Lebanon, announced (Read the Announcement)Tuesday that she will run against the three-term Republican for the 18th District congressional seat in 2008. Hafer said Murphy no longer represents the values treasured by the community."I was raised in a community that cared about hard-working families, quality education for our children and had leaders with strong values and ethical standards," she said in a news release. She said she plans on returning to those values by dealing with problems faced by working families, like rising health-care costs and the loss of local jobs..Hafer is a daughter of former state treasurer Barbara Hafer, who declined to run for the seat in 2006. Hafer now works as vice president for Hafer & Associates, a government consulting firm in Harrisburg.Also on Tuesday, the Pennsylvania 18th Patriots, a local group made up of war veterans and 18th congressional district residents, gathered publicly to invite Murphy to an Aug. 28 town hall meeting on the Iraq war.The group, which protested outside his Mt. Lebanon office July 3 against the continuation of the Iraq war, feel that its representative is not listening to its concerns."We got the typical response," member Caleb Payne, 24, said of Tuesday's afternoon event, where about 25 members of the Patriots were refused entry to Murphy's office. Payne said office staff told them they were too large of a group and requested they remain outside.He said the group is tired of written responses and wants to meet in person with Murphy.Paul Abernathy, 28, an Iraq war veteran who also attended the event, said he has been trying to sit down to talk with Murphy for a year."He hasn't treated us well as a representative," said Abernathy, a former Army combat engineer in the 3rd Infantry Division. Abernathy, who volunteered for the military right out of high school, said his experience in Iraq left him dismayed."I saw the current policy on the ground," he said. "It's one of futility."He said he thinks the presence of American troops is a factor of destabilization in the war-torn country, increasing violence in the area."I hope that sitting down with (us) face-to-face will help him rethink some of his polices regarding the Iraq war," Abernathy said."We're willing to work around his schedule," Payne added.The invitation comes just days after Murphy's failed vote against the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act, a bill that calls for the immediate withdrawal and retreat of the U.S. military in Iraq. HR 2956 was passed on July 12 in a 223-201 vote. Next, it will be voted on in the Senate.If passed, the bill would require that the United States begin redeploying troops from Iraq within 120 days of its passage. It would also require that the United States have a "limited presence" in Iraq by April 1.Murphy's communications director, Mark Carpenter, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.Murphy, of Upper St. Clair, has represented the district since 2003.
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