In the 49th District, Benyak the choice
The Milwaukee Brewers were still in the American League, “M*A*S*H” was still on network television, and Michael Phelps, Andrew McCutchen and Lady Gaga were yet to be born the last time the 49th Legislative District did not have an incumbent representative running for re-election.
But in January, longtime Democratic representative Pete Daley announced he would be relinquishing the seat after a 34-year tenure. In the spring primary election, seven Democrats and two Republicans competed for the right to succeed Daley, and the field was winnowed to Democrat Alan Benyak, a Charleroi attorney, and Republican Bud Cook, a businessman who is making his second bid to win the post.
It used to be that Republican candidates to represent the 49th District were sacrificial lambs, thanks to its overwhelming edge in registered Democratic voters. But Cook ran a credible campaign in 2014, and this time around has offered more-detailed proposals on how he would invigorate the Mon Valley’s moribund economy. The scope of Cook’s ideas and his can-do optimism are worthy of notice – he sees the Mon Valley as being a recreation mecca – but we question whether his ideas could come to fruition and would provide a sufficient number of good-paying jobs to truly reinvigorate the area. Cook also supports efforts to boost prevention and education efforts in the face of the opioid epidemic, and job training and retraining programs for workers.
However, Benyak has the right combination of skills and vision to represent the 49th District. A practicing attorney and former military lawyer, he sees technology and manufacturing as the keys to redeveloping the Mon Valley. He would also like to see Washington County develop a community college. We do, however, disagree with him about the severity of the state’s pension issues – Benyak sees it as “a problem, not a crisis.” Nevertheless, the practicality and feasibility of Benyak’s plans give him an edge in this contest.
The 49th Legislative District includes portions of Fayette County and much of the Mon Valley, including California, Charleroi, Marianna, Monongahela and Carroll, Fallowfield, North Bethlehem, West Bethlehem and West Pike Run townships.