The smear of Finn
Sleazy attack on principled candidate won’t stand
Nice little restaurant you got there, Sonja. Be a shame if something happened to it. ...
That’s the mafioso-style message delivered to Sonja Finn, the owner of Dinette in East Liberty. She ran a spirited campaign in the recent special election for the District 8 city council seat. Although Ms. Finn had snagged the Democratic committee endorsement, her primary rival was Erika Strassburger, chief of staff for the outgoing councilman. Ms. Strassburger had the backing of the major Democratic powers in town, despite being forced to run as an independent. The night before the vote, one of the unions that endorsed Ms. Strassburger sent out a press release: “32BJ SEIU Demands Answers on Sonja Finn’s $50,000 in Federal Labor Violations.”
The service employees union had dug up a Department of Labor matter against Ms. Finn — something about sharing tips with the restaurant’s dishwashers — that had been concluded in September 2017. Union leader Sam Williamson claims that in reaction to “chatter” in the labor community about this infraction, the union made a Right to Know request for documentation — and, lo and behold, received the info the day before the election. What fortuitous timing.
Media outlets did not take the bait for this transparent trick. The election went on. Ms. Strassburger won handily. Her qualifications are not in doubt, but she benefited from a system that gives insiders every advantage.
What’s left is the foul taste of machine-style politics, seeking to damage the reputation of a principled restaurant owner — and to discourage mere civilians from daring to enter a political race.
First, the attempt to impugn Ms. Finn the restaurateur will flop. A veteran of top kitchens in San Francisco, she is highly regarded locally and nationally. When she returned to Pittsburgh to open Dinette in 2008, she declared that she would pay her kitchen staff an above-average wage and contribute to health care coverage, in order to build loyalty and treat her co-workers fairly. She has succeeded at that. Her culinary skills and integrity were also noted by the Carnegie Museums, where she was contracted to run the Café Carnegie.
The union was hoping to float a story that played against her professional standing as a socially conscious business owner. The attack, Ms. Finn told the Post-Gazette, “was for sure meant to harm my business and harm me. And I have no doubt that it will.” We do not share that fear. Diners will reject these sleazy tactics and continue to support her convivial neighborhood spot serving thin-crust pizzas and inventive salads.
Pittsburgh is lucky that Sonja Finn ran for public office. We need people like her — principled, experienced, outgoing — willing to take a chance in local politics. She and her kind should be encouraged, not run down in desperate attempts at intimidation.