Wednesday, October 24, 2012
The state Senate candidates in the 37th District talked about Marcellus shale gas and public education during the event hosted by the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce.
Candidates vying for the seat in the state's 37th Senate District said they support Marcellus shale drilling in the region, but contrast on ways to correct public funding issues in the state's school districts. D. Raja, a Republican business owner and former Mt. Lebanon commissioner, faced off Friday with state Rep. Matt Smith, of Mt. Lebanon, during the first candidate forum of the race. The candidates fielded questions from constituents during the forum, hosted by the Pittsburgh Area Chamber of Commerce at the Tonidale in North Fayette. Raja and Smith seek to replace former Sen. John Pippy, R-Moon, who resigned from his seat in June. The 911th Airlift Wing: The next senator for the state's 37th senatorial district must work to …
Thursday, October 18, 2012
A "meet-the-candidates" breakfast with state Senate contenders Matt Smith and D. Raja is slated for Friday morning in North Fayette
Candidates for the state's 37th senatorial district will face off in a meet-the-candidates event sponsored by the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce. Mt. Lebanon Republican D. Raja and Democratic state Rep. Matt Smith will take part in a morning discussion Friday morning at the Cornerstone at Tonidale along Steubenville Pike in North Fayette. The talk will be moderated by Frank Polito, a regional director of government affairs for Comcast. Tickets for the event, which is scheduled to take place from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m., are $30 for chamber members and $45 for non-members. The event is billed as an opportunity to meet the candidates and "exchange ideas about the latest issues impacting our region," according to a statement from …
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
A candidate profile of D. Raja, who is running against Matt Smith for Pennsylvania state senate.
Name: D. Raja Place of residence: Mt. Lebanon Attended college: Yes College: Raja graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1989 and received an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University in 2003. Job titles held: CEO and founder Employers: Computer Enterprises Inc., a company that provides IT services Party affiliation: Republican Running for: Pennsylvania State Senate Running for position: Pennsylvania State Senator District: 37th Incumbent/Seat last held by: Former Sen. John Pippy Previous elective offices: Served as a Mt. Lebanon commissioner and later as president of the commission Unsuccessful bids for elective offices: Previously lost his bid for Allegheny County Executive to Rich Fitzgerald 1910 Cochran Road Manor Oak Two, Suite …
A candidate profile of Matt Smith, who is running against Raja for Pennsylvania state senate.
Name: Matt Smith Place of residence: Mt. Lebanon Attended college: Yes College: Smith graduated from Rollins College in Winter Park, FL, and later from University of Duquesne Law School Job titles held: Attorney, Pennsylvania state representative Party affiliation: Democrat Running for: Pennsylvania State Senate Running for position: Pennsylvania Senator District: 37th Incumbent/Seat last held by: Former Sen. John Pippy Previous elective offices: Currently serves in the state house for the 42nd legislative district. Was first elected in 2006. P.O. Box 13445 Pittsburgh, PA 15243 Name: Jake Pawlak Website : http://www.votemattsmith.com Twitter : @VoteMattSmith Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/VoteMattSmith?fref=ts
Saturday, July 14, 2012
State Rep. Matt Smith announced he will seek the Democratic nomination to replace former state Sen. John Pippy.
In what might have been the worst kept political secret this election season, state Rep. Matt Smith announced he will seek the Democratic nomination to replace former state Sen. John Pippy. The three-term Democratic representative must go through the Allegheny and Washington counties Democratic committees nomination processes after Greg Parks withdrew his name from the race late last month. That allowed Smith to throw his name into the ring to be the likely challenger running against Republican nominee D. Raja. Both men live in Mt. Lebanon. “I committed myself from my first campaign forward to being a champion of government reform and accountability, job creation and smart, fair tax policies,” Smith said. “While we have made great strides…
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley will have to decide whether to hold a special election to fill the last few months of John Pippy’s senate term.
State Sen. John Pippy’s resignation could leave his constituents without a senator for the next six months. According to state law, if a senate vacancy happens less than seven months before the expiration of the term, Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley has 10 days to decide if there should be a special election or let the seat remain empty. Pippy, R-Moon, resigned from his position over the weekend after voting on the budget. However, his district and capital staff members are expected to remain intact to assist constituents. With less than six months left until the term expires, Cawley will have to decide if a special election is “in the public interest,” according to state law. Matthew Keeler, a spokesman for the state Department of State, said Cawley …
Friday, August 19, 2011
State budget drastically cut funding for environmental projects
The Renew Growing Greener Coalition this week called on state lawmakers to protect the commonwealth’s economy "by protecting its environment and restoring funding for the state Growing Greener program." “Growing Greener has done more than preserve Pennsylvania’s land, water and air,” Andrew Heath, executive director of the Renew Growing Greener Coalition said in a statement. “It has contributed billions of dollars to the Pennsylvania economy by helping to boost tourism, create jobs and generate revenue.” Heath made his remarks as the House Democratic Policy Committee held a hearing in Harrisburg on Marcellus Shale earlier this week. The coalition is urging lawmakers to allocate a portion of any severance tax or impact fee on natural gas …
Monday, April 4, 2011
Local legislators react to the state budget proposal and negotiations.
State legislators have spent the past month discussing Gov. Tom Corbett’s budget proposal and Democrats are continuing to question his priorities while Republicans are considering restoring some funding to higher education. As expected, education funding is the hottest topic after Corbett proposed cutting more than $500 million from basic education for local school districts and slashing state-fund higher education in half. Corbett has said the cuts are essential to balancing his $27.3 billion budget. The state legislators who represent people living in the Chartiers Valley area all agree that education funding is driving the current budget negotiations. State Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Brookline, said reducing spending is understandable, but …
40.392815
-80.01872
State Sen. Wayne Fontana
930 Brookline Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/education-funding-driving-budget-debate
1795609
/locations/4067666
40.407623
-80.086452
State Rep. Nick Kotik
115 E Main St, Carnegie, PA
/articles/education-funding-driving-budget-debate
1795601
/locations/4067667
40.505318
-80.207389
State Rep. Mark Mustio
1009 Beaver Grade Rd Ste 220, Moon Township, PA
/articles/education-funding-driving-budget-debate
1795603
/locations/4067668
40.381426
-80.044285
State Sen. John Pippy
650 Washington Rd, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/education-funding-driving-budget-debate
1857832
/locations/4067669
40.37627
-80.03721
State Sen. Matt Smith
319 Castle Shannon Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/education-funding-driving-budget-debate
1795605
/locations/4067670
Shirley Dean
11:11 pm on Thursday, October 25, 2012
Here's your options people, Raja who is a reformer that isn't a career politician and who brings a fresh perspective, OR Matt Smith who is a Harrisburg politician that lied about taking a pension, voted for raising taxes on small businesses, and has voted for over 5 billion in new spending INCLUDING the Arlen Spectar Library AND funding for Jerry Sandusky's 2nd mile. YES THIS IS A VERIFIABLE FACT… more ›