Ross Township Democrat Running for Allegheny County Council

Glad to see someone is going to take on the extremely Republican/Tea Partier Matt Drozd.

From the North Hills Patch:

Daniel A. McClain Jr. has announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the District 1 seat on Allegheny County Council.

District 1 is currently represented by Republican Matt Drozd. The district is comprised of Aleppo, Ben Avon, Coraopolis, Emsworth, Findlay, Glen Osborne, Glenfield, Haysville, Kilbuck, Moon, North Fayette, Ross, and West View.

"To be a great county means safe neighborhoods, affordable and quality housing, reliable public transit options, sustainable infrastructure funding, and economic development that provide quality jobs at living wages," said McClain. In a statement, he indicated that his campaign would seek to inspire a public conversation on critical issues and viable solutions that "especially reflect the views and wishes of residents in County Council District 1."

McClain, 34, grew up in the North Hills and was a 1996 graduate of Avonworth High School. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics from Penn State University in 2000 and his M.B.A. degree from Robert Morris University in 2006. He currently serves his community as the Treasurer of Girty’s Run Joint Sewer Authority Board and the Vice Chair of the Ross Township Democratic Committee.

McClain was hired by U. S. Steel Corporation in 1999 as a management associate and advanced through a series of increasingly responsible roles before relocating to the Republic of Serbia in 2008 to serve as Director - Transaction Processing Center where he was responsible for accounts payable, account receivable, and payroll transactions at U. S. Steel’s Serbia facility. He returned to Pittsburgh when he assumed his most recent position, Manager - Internal Audit in 2009.

"My private sector experiences, along with my firm grounding in our community have taught me that we have so much to be proud of in District 1 and throughout Allegheny County," he said. "I intend for my campaign to focus on solutions to our problems and a serious and informed dialogue about the challenge of working together to ensure future economic development and job creation so that all of our residents and communities share in our revitalization."

State House Elections - 21st District *UPDATED*

Here is the new map of the 21st State House Distinct. The green parts are the old district and the aqua blue line is the outline of the new district.



The 21st District had to add some population to it and also was facing other city Representatives that had to expand out because of population loss. Overall this district looks pretty good for the incumbent, Rep. Dom Costa. It adds more of Ross Township to the 21st, but Rep. Costa's base is in Bloomfield, Morningside, and the North river towns of Millvale, Etna, and Sharpsburg. Also added to the Democratic city base is part of Lawrenceville.

This should be a very solid Democratic seat and the only real election would be in the spring primary. From what I hear Dom Costa is popular with every faction of the city Democratic Party. If anyone decides to run against him and make it a race, it would have to be someone from Ross Township. It would be an uphill battle because he has represented most of Ross Township since 2008.

I also should mention that the State House GOP tried to force Dom Costa and Adam Ravenstahl to face each other by putting them both in the 21st District (h/t Early Returns). However, the backlash of the greedy power grab that created 2 Allegheny County seats with no incumbents living in them must have forced House Republican leadership to split the district between Costa and Ravenstahl.

Incumbent: Dom Costa (Democrat)

Possible Challengers: Matt Drozd (h/t politicspa)

Another tough seat in a Presidential year for a Republican, especially one that not a moderate in any way.