Eisenreich for the GOP
She’s the better pick in county council District 2
Fifteen years ago, Allegheny County replaced its outmoded three-commissioner system with a county executive and council. In that time, Republican Jan Rea has been the only council member to represent District 2.
Last year, Ms. Rea announced she would not seek another term, which opened the door for the two capable candidates who are seeking the GOP nomination in the May 19 primary. Since no Democrat is on the ballot, the winner is likely to win election in the fall and become the council member who represents Bell Acres, Bradford Woods, Crescent, Edgeworth, Franklin Park, Leet, Leetsdale, Marshall, McCandless, Ohio, Pine, Richland, Sewickley, Sewickley Heights and Sewickley Hills.
Mary Anne Eisenreich, 64, the southwest regional director for former Gov. Tom Corbett, and Cindy Kirk, 58, a nurse administrator at UPMC, are informed and articulate and, in an interview with Post-Gazette editorial writers, followed Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment — “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.” The candidates, both of McCandless, discussed issues facing the county while respecting each other’s views — not that they expressed any sharp disagreements.
Both favored, with some differences, the restaurant health grading system being contemplated by the county. Ms. Eisenreich was straightforward in her support for posting letter grades at dining entrances, saying, “Public health is of prime importance.” Ms. Kirk qualified her backing, saying she was concerned about the quality of county inspectors and that she wouldn’t want the grades to hurt the businesses.
They differed slightly on Marcellus Shale gas drilling on county land but said they would have voted for drilling near the airport. Ms. Eisenreich said each site proposal should be considered separately and that she would have voted against drilling at Deer Lakes Park. Ms. Kirk would have approved the contract for Deer Lakes since the drilling will occur under the park.
Both candidates criticized the county’s property assessment system, saying there are too many disparities involving similar houses. They agreed that the assessment process must be fixed, then done on a regular basis. Ms. Eisenreich said the county should reassess about every four years; Ms. Kirk said it should be every seven to 10.
They said the county must meet the federal consent decree deadline for replacing the region’s leaky, polluting network of water and sewer lines. Ms. Eisenreich said that although “we need to find federal dollars to help pay for this,” water and sewer bill rates have not kept up with the need to repair the system. While Ms. Kirk said it is too late to ignore the health and environmental problem, she seemed more wary of rising customer rates and said state and federal help must be obtained.
Republican voters will have a tough choice in this race, but we give the edge — and the Post-Gazette endorsement — to Mary Anne Eisenreich. Her broad experience in handling regional issues for the governor’s office would be a key asset on county council.