32nd District primary race features pair of longtime combatants
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Longtime state Rep. Anthony DeLuca of the 32nd District will face a primary challenge Tuesday from Penn Hills school board President Erin Vecchio.
There is no love lost between the two candidates. Both Democrats from Penn Hills, Mr. DeLuca, 79, and Ms. Vecchio, 59, have had an adversarial history.
She unsuccessfully sued him in federal court in 2009, saying Mr. DeLuca used his influence to have her fired from her job as a state Department of Revenue manager. He denied he worked to get her fired.
Undefeated for 36 years, Mr. DeLuca is seeking his 19th term in the district, which includes Blawnox, Penn Hills, Verona and parts of Plum and O’Hara. No Republican is running.
Ms. Vecchio served on the Penn Hills school board from 1988 to 2009, then was elected again in 2016. She said she believes she can do a better job representing the district.
“I don’t feel Mr. DeLuca is doing anything for the community he represents,” she said. “Instead of progressing, we’re moving backwards. It’s time for a change. I have a plan. He’s running on his record.”
Ms. Vecchio favors raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and said she would support the complete legalization of marijuana. The state in 2016 legalized only medical use of the drug.
“They need to decriminalize marijuana, and that would help combat the opioid addictions,” she said. “If you tax and regulate it, you’re not going to have a problem.”
Ms. Vecchio also points to taxing natural gas exports as a way to generate revenue.
“It could finance our whole education system,” she said.
Ms. Vecchio said she would like to see campaign finance reform to stem corporations and special interests from using donations through their political action committees.
Mr. DeLuca, who is the minority chairman of the House Insurance Committee, said he has gotten more than 83 bills passed over the years, including a measure to regulate the tattoo and piercing industry that recently passed the House and moved to the state Senate.
“I want to get things done in the district,” he said. “I like to work for people in the district.”
But partisanship is at its worst now in the state capital, Mr. DeLuca said, as evidenced by the lack of cooperation he has received over a slate of what he calls “good government” bills he introduced. The legislation is aimed at expanding voting and increasing transparency by permitting same-day voter registration and early voting.
Other bills in the package would limit outside income for legislators to 35 percent of their base legislative salary and would require them to disclose details about where the income is derived from. Another would require candidates to resign from office if they plan to seek a different post.
So far, none of the bills has received consideration in the House State Government Committee, headed by Daryl Metcalfe, R-Cranberry, prompting Mr. DeLuca to start an online petition.
“I can’t believe [Mr. Metcalfe] won’t let out early voting [for consideration],” he said. “Thirty-five states have early voting, and we’ve not been able to go into the 21st century. There’s no reason to keep that kind of legislation bottled up. Everyone wants it.”
Mr. DeLuca also points to the millions of dollars in state funding that he has steered to local projects, including a new Penn Hills library in 2007 and municipal center in 2016.
“There’s a lot of projects that you have to bird dog to stay on top of,” he said. “I have to make a case for my projects. I have to stay on top of it.”