A Trump ally joins the 2022 race for U.S. Senate, the President endorses a candidate for state Senate in Northeast PA, plus WNEP has a new president and general manager. All of that and more are in this week’s Ups and Downs.

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Kim Ward. The state Senate Majority Leader revealed this week that she was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer during an interview on the Marty Griffin show on Newsradio KDKA. Ward said that she received the diagnosis two weeks after being elected Majority Leader in the state Senate, but didn’t want to share the news then. She had every right to keep her diagnosis private, but she helps raise awareness of the matter by going public with the news. We wish Senator Ward well! 

Sean Parnell. The PA17 hopeful and Trump ally joined the 2022 race for U.S. Senate and received some support from someone who certainly has the president’s ear and a few additional western PA Republicans. Sean Parnell formally launched his candidacy after a month of speculation that he would seek the statewide office. On the same day he made his announcement, Donald Trump Jr. sent out a tweet, saying “He’s 100% rock-solid America First and isn’t afraid to stand up and fight back against the radical Biden agenda and the leftwing media mob.” On Friday, Reps. Mike Kelly and Guy Reschenthaler wrote a joint op-ed in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review announcing their support for Parnell’s push for Senate as well. 

Chad Salsman. The Bradford County District Attorney who “said the criminal charges against him were a pack of vicious lies,” pleaded guilty and “admitted that he abused his power, promoted prostitution and tried to interfere with his trial,” ABC27 reports. Salsman also resigned from his position as Bradford County DA after pleading guilty to those criminal charges. 

Thomas Farley. Philadelphia’s Health Commissioner announced on Thursday  that he was resigning after “admitting that he arranged for the cremation and disposal of remains from victims of the 1985 MOVE bombing found about four years ago in the city Medical Examiner’s Office, but without identifying the remains or notifying family members,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. 

Dylanna Grasinger. Sometimes, no news is good news. This was the case this week for this Democratic hopeful for Erie County Executive. The Erie Times-News first reported that Erie County Councilman Carl Anderson, a Democratic candidate for Erie County Executive, “filed for bankruptcy in 2009 after his former employer took him to court for not returning what amounted to a signing bonus of $77,400, according to court documents.” Just a few days later, the Erie Times-News reported that Tyler Titus and Rita Bishop, who are also seeking the Erie County Executive Democratic Party nomination, declared bankruptcy in 2015 and in 2002, respectively. While this issue shouldn’t bar someone from elected office, it’s unwanted publicity for the other three Democratic candidates right before the primary. 

Sam DeMarco. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Allegheny County Council passed a bill, sponsored by Councilman DeMarco, on Tuesday that “would create a working group to help municipal police departments find funding and develop policies for using officer body cameras.” DeMarco is surely looking forward to next week as well when the Allegheny County Republican Committee, which he is the chairman of, will welcome Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as their keynote speaker for their Lincoln Day Dinner. 

Chuck Peruto. While all eyes are on the Democratic Party primary for Philadelphia District Attorney this week, the GOP candidate found himself in headlines, but not exactly for the right reasons. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Peruto’s campaign website, which included sections about “gay bashing” and “the girl in my bathtub” caused a controversy. 

Marty Flynn. With just a few days until the closest watched special election in Pennsylvania takes place, a Scranton native offers support for a candidate in the race in Northeast Pa. On Friday, President Joe Biden endorsed state Rep. Marty Flynn’s bid for the open seat over Lackawanna County GOP Commissioner Chris Chermak. 

Jake Corman. The bill, sponsored by the state Senate President Pro Tempore, in which “parents could have the option to letting their children repeat the grade they are in to make up for any disruption to their education caused by remote and hybrid instructional models implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19 this school year,” passed by a 48-0 vote, according to PennLive. 

Criminal Justice Reform. Something that both sides of the aisle in Pennsylvania seem to agree on is the need for criminal justice reform. This was evident when Sen. Bob Casey and Rep. Guy Reschenthaler reintroduced the Clean Slate Act last month, “see bipartisan momentum” for the proposed legislation in Congress, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Julie Eisenman. There’s a new leader at this Northeast PA TV station. The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader reports that Julie Eisenman has been named the president and general manager of WNEP, the ABC affiliate in Pennsylvania’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton market, effective June 14. 

TWEET OF THE WEEK

featuring Jesus of Nazareth, PA, born in Bethlehem, PA https://t.co/2wuzXOVFVm

— Erin Covey (@ercovey) May 10, 2021

Tried explaining the Philly DA’s race to my 4-year-old and let’s just say his mandatory minimum sentencing if I stole his Legos is way harsh

— Dan Hirschhorn (@Inky_Dan) May 13, 2021