Bethel Park man vying for 39th seat
State Rep. Rick Saccone is vacating his 39th District seat to run for Congress, but a would-be GOP successor, Tom Kirsch, is mounting a campaign with themes that will be reassuringly familiar to Mr. Saccone’s supporters.
Mr. Kirsch, a Bethel Park Republican, said in a statement that he was “sick and tired of weakkneed politicians that only fight for special interests and not the people’s interest. … State government is broken and it’s not going to be fixed by sending the same boilerplate politicians to Harrisburg.”
Describing himself as a staunch conservative, Mr. Kirsch pledged that on abortion, “I will vote to protect life every time,” and that he would oppose “any bills that impede our 2nd Amendment rights.” The statement also touts Mr. Kirsch’s membership in the NRA and Firearm Owners Against Crime, a grassroots advocacy group for gun owners that is active in the region.
Mr. Kirsch also took a hard line on rising publicsector pension costs, saying that serious reform would involve “abolish[ing] them for all future state employees, including elected officials.”
In an interview, the 66year-old Mr. Kirsch said this was his first run for office. “I’m diving in headfirst. It’s a difficult district with more Democrats than Republicans. We’ve been going to some of the more political events, touching base with a lot of legislators and giving them some insighton where we stand.”
Mr. Kirsch’s background includes work in accounting and operations for a number of area firms, including Westinghouse, financial management firm Federated Investors, and US Steel. He has since worked on real-estate development. His wife Cathy works in oil and gas development in the region, according to biographical information sent by the campaign.
Mr. Kirsch appears to be the first Republican to declare his candidacy: Democrat Rob Rhoderick, a chiropractor in Elizabeth, also recently announced his own bid.
“I’ve heard a couple names bounced around, but nothing definitive,” said Mr. Kirsch of potential rivals for the GOP nomination. “I would expect that there will be a few more in both parties before we get too much farther down the line.”
Mr. Saccone’s campaign confirmed last week that he was not running for reelection so he could run his Congressional race against Democrat Conor Lamb. The 39th district includes portions of Washington and Allegheny counties including Elizabeth Township and Elizabeth Borough, portions of Bethel Park and South Park, Jefferson Hills and Finleyville.