In the 49th District, the best choices are Henderson, Cook
The last time the seat in Pennsylvania’s 49th Legislative District was open, “M*A*S*H” was still on television in prime time, the Milwaukee Brewers were still in the American League, Fleetwood Mac’s “Mirage” was atop the album charts, and “E.T.” and “An Officer and a Gentleman” were reeling in audiences at the multiplexes.
So it’s not surprising that the announcement earlier this year that Pete Daley would be retiring after 34 years of representing the 49th Legislative District in Harrisburg would prompt a horde of candidates to toss their hats into the ring. Voters in that district have six Democrats and two Republicans to choose among in Tuesday’s primary election, and several of the candidates come to the contest with impressive credentials.
On the Democratic side, there is Mark Alterici, a 20-year member of Charleroi Borough Council; Randy Barli, a Coal Center resident and perennial candidate who has run against Daley six times; Alan Benyak, a Charleroi attorney; Brendan Garay, a graduate student at California University of Pennsylvania and the president of the university’s student government; Donn Henderson, a former Main Street and borough manager for Charleroi; and Robert Kepics, a retired steelworker and mayor of Monongahela.
On the Republican side, there is Bud Cook, an e-marketing coach who hails from West Pike Run Township, and Melanie Patterson, a former teacher and owner of a vacation-house rental business who lives in Washington Township, Fayette County.
We were able to evaluate the candidates in a debate jointly sponsored by the Observer-Reporter and the Monongahela Area Chamber of Commerce, and Democratic voters in the district have a tough choice to make. All except Barli come with experience in elected office, and all have vowed that they would try to lure jobs into the Mon Valley, and not be contributors to the gridlock in the state Capitol that prompted a nine-month budget standoff that ended last month. The differences between the Democratic candidates are, on balance, relatively minor.
However, we think the best choice for Democratic voters is Donn Henderson.
First, we believe Henderson would be a forceful and passionate advocate for the interests of his constituents. He also has the right mix of experience, having served as a supervisor in Fallowfield Township, and as a borough manager and Main Street manager in Charleroi. We were also struck by Henderson’s candor in acknowledging the need for a severance tax on natural-gas drilling in order to bring more revenue to state coffers.
On the Republican side, Bud Cook is making his second run for the seat in the 49th Legislative District, having been the Republican nominee in 2014. We believe Cook deserves a second chance to be the GOP’s standard-bearer in the general election.
During the debate, he showed an ability to give reasoned, thoughtful answers on the issues that face the commonwealth as a whole and the district specifically. With his marketing background, Cook would be a genial and enthusiastic booster of the Mon Valley if elected.
The 49th Legislative District includes portions of Fayette County and 27 municipalities in Washington County, including Monongahela, the boroughs of California, Charleroi, Donora and West Brownsville, and Carroll, Fallowfield, North Bethlehem, West Bethlehem and West Pike Run townships.