Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz received the endorsement of Former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy today.
“There are two types of people in politics; one has a legislative mentality and one has an executive mentality,” Murphy said. “I think Allyson is a doer, and she is an executive.”
Murphy was the mayor of Pittsburgh for 12 years, beginning in 1994.
This endorsement addresses two concerns of the Schwartz campaign: one, that she doesn’t have the leadership experience of the other candidates and two, that she doesn’t appeal to Western Pennsylvanians.
Many of her previous endorsements have come from the Philadelphia area, notably Philadelphia City Democratic Chairman Bob Brady and IBEW 98. While this endorsement may help her support west of the Susquehanna, the heavier hitters in Pittsburgh are still solidly on the fence.
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Pittsburgh mayor have given no indication that they intend to endorse any of the Democratic candidates for governor before the primary. Both will undoubtedly be wooed by the candidates, as no one in the field is from Western PA and most are from the Philly area.
But this Pittsburgh endorsement comes on the heels of the strong performance she gave at the 14th Ward Democratic Club and the CMU College Dems forum on Sunday.
Other candidates include State Treasurer Rob McCord, former DEP Secretaries Katie McGinty and John Hanger, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, former Revenue Secretary Tom Wolf, Cumberland County minister Max Myers and Lebanon County Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz.
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3 Responses
Executive vs. Legislative? Congresswoman Schwartz was a Senator in the General Assembly from January 1, 1991, to January 4, 2005, and has been a Member of the US House of Representatives since January 3, 2005. While I can understand the drive for candidates to seek endorsements from those who have held or are holding public office, I would think they would better screen the announcements for language that uses logic. Oh wait, we are talking about life-long politicians…
Not news — Murphy was reported as a supporter weeks ago in the Philadelphia Magazine article that detailed how Schwartz isn’t telling the truth about being the “mother of CHIP”.
This endorsement means little for Democratic voters in Pittsburgh and even less for those of Western PA. Murphy is not a mayor that residents remember kindly.