Staff writer
The sprawling 49th Legislative District faces many challenges, the three candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in the April 22 primary agree.
But the candidates differ on how to address those challenges in the diverse district that runs from Fayette County, through the Mon Valley and across southern Washington County to the West Virginia line.
Incumbent Rep. Peter J. Daley has held the seat for 26 years and is seeking his 14th term. He is opposed for the nomination by Barbara Reis, who is the North Charleroi tax collector, and Randy Barli, who has twice run unsuccessfully against Daley. There is no Republican candidate on the ballot.
"I am the wife of a steelworker about to lose his job," said Reis. Her husband is one of about 240 steelworkers who are expected to be laid off after Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Co. announced it will close its Allenport mill.
Reis said working to keep the mill open and to increase economic development in the district is the biggest challenge she sees. Part of the solution, she said, is completing the Mon-Fayette Expressway. She said she would support privatizing the last two sections if it is the only way to complete the project.
Daley, who is chairman of the House Commerce Committee, said he met with W-P officials when rumblings about the mill first surfaced late last year to offer state financial help.
He said W-P gave him assurances that it would not shutter the plant, and he was blindsided by the recent announcement. "I'm shocked," he said. "We had our finger on the switch."
Daley said he is working with state officials to try to find a buyer for the mill and also to mitigate the effects the closing will have on the tax base of the community and school district.
Daley also said he brokered the deal that won the commitment of $500 million to complete the expressway section from Centerville to Brownsville.
In addition, he is creating a pilot program with the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Administration to turn abandoned Mon Valley community storefronts into new housing and bring people back to the downtowns.
Barli said state government is burdened with "money mismanagment and irresponsibility" and that voters have to stand up for change.
The candidates also agree that property tax reform, promised with the legalization of slots, is a big issue.
"Property tax has to be eliminated as quickly as possible," said Daley. He would support a half-percent increase in sales tax and a small increase in income tax to augment slots revenue and replace property taxes.
When asked why all the slots revenue was not earmarked for property tax reduction, Daley was candid: "The leadership in government at the state level creates a lot of gluttony."
However, he said Washington County is lucky to have a casino within its borders that will generate a local revenue stream. He proposed designating $3 million annually from the approximately $12 million local share to establish a bond fund local governments can access for infrastructure projects.
Reis said gambling revenue is going to be higher than initially believed, and that money should go to property tax elimination. She would also support a small increase in the sales tax.
Barli said legislators "should be able to back up what they said" on property tax reform but was skeptical that it would occur because of the tax-and-spend mentality of the present Legislature.
Barli said he's making his third run for the seat "for the same reasons I did in the beginning - because of the condition we're in."
Reis, whose brother-in-law is state Rep. Don Walko, D-Pittsburgh, said she has wanted to run for a long time. She does not believe Daley is delivering on his promises to his constituents or providing enough information and services. "I know I can do better," she said.
But Daley disagrees, saying he conducts town meetings and outreach and has brought $135 million in projects to the district. "She has no issues to run against me on," he said.