Democratic Committee criticized over Pa. House pick
Pittsburgh’s Democratic mayor, two of its sitting Democratic state senators and its county’s largest labor union consortium joined a chorus of critics Monday in condemning the Allegheny County Democratic Committee for endorsing — among other state legislative candidates — a woman who once praised President Donald Trump, bashed Obamacare, mocked gender fluidity and said “junkies” should overdose so there is “less [expletive] in the world” in posts to her Facebook page.
The scrutiny took shape on Sunday in the hours following the committee’s endorsement meeting, with several Democrats and grassroots activists accusing the committee of being out of touch with its membership and working to stamp out progressive women — a symptom of its affinity for old-guard party-insider politics, they insisted.
They pointed first to the committee’s endorsement of Heather Kass, a certified nursing assistant and 29th Ward committeewoman, over progressive activist Jess Benham in the 36th legislative district by a 49-19 margin, asking how a committee tasked with firing up its membership to defeat Mr. Trump in November can endorse someone who doesn’t embody or express the party’s values.
“There is no room — in the labor movement or in the Democratic party — for someone who trashes the Affordable Care Act and pushes propaganda from right-wing think tanks that exist to attack unions, hurt workers and help corporate interests,” said Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council president Darrin Kelly, who has rarely — if ever — spoken out against the committee of which he’s a member.
Mr. Kelly and others said
Monday they believe Ms. Kass’ social media history — first reported by The Current in January — should be disqualifying for an endorsement. In posts from the past few years, Ms. Kass wrote that she hates the Affordable Care Act and how “these lazy no good idiots” are “sucking the system dry” — adding “Go Trump!” — and took issue with how a “junkie” can get free Narcan but children with allergies can’t, among other messages.
Ms. Kass told the Post-Gazette on Monday there is “no excuse” for making those posts, and that she’s “grown and learned since then.” She said since she posted about “junkies,” someone close to her experienced addiction, which helped change her views. Since her post about Obamacare, she said she’s tried to “educate” herself better about what the law represents.
“All I can say is I’ve apologized and grown since then,” Ms. Kass said. “Some people say that people don’t change their colors, but they have never lived in somebody’s shoes. … Hopefully, they give me a chance to grow and learn and move on from there.”
On Mr. Kelly’s statement in particular, Ms. Kass said she hadn’t seen it in its entirety, that she’ll talk with him one-on-one about it and that she’s still “100% for unions.”
The endorsement of Ms. Kass left some voting members feeling perplexed and aggravated.
Megan Zirkel, a committeewoman from Pittsburgh who voted to endorse Ms. Benham, said she was impressed by Ms. Benham’s knowledge of the “many difficulties our neighbors face,” including the belief that everyone deserves equal access to treatment, education and jobs. Ms. Benham helped found a Pittsburgh advocacy group that provides service to people with autism.
“I felt that she had a level of empathy that is not often seen in other candidates,” Ms. Zirkel said, noting that she found Ms. Kass’ social media posts to be “incredibly problematic and disrespectful.”
But, Ms. Zinkel said, she takes comfort in knowing that the real work is yet to come: the door knocking and relationship-building that will actually lead to votes in the April 28 primary.
The county committee’s endorsement has traditionally served as an institutional affirmation of a candidate’s viability across the electorate, but not every endorsed candidate ends up winning the nomination.
County councilwoman Bethany Hallam, who lost the committee’s endorsement last year but went on to beat incumbent John DeFazio in the primary, said she’s circulating a petition to call for a meeting of the entire Democratic committee “to reform this broken [endorsement] system,” among other things. State Sen. Wayne Fontana, too, said the endorsement of Ms. Kass is “another compelling reason for the Allegheny County Democrats to end its endorsement process.”
Ms. Hallam, whose petition has garnered 422 signatures, wrote on Twitter she will not be silent, and called on the committee to address the endorsement of a “[Democrat-in-name-only] who has made public, harmful statements about so many different groups of people — myself included.”
Ms. Hallam, along with state Sen. Lindsey Williams, also publicly accused Pittsburgh City Councilman Anthony Coghill of helping Ms. Kass — whose endorsement he previously rescinded — win the committee’s blessing.
But Mr. Coghill, whose committee ward partly overlaps with the 36th legislative district, told the Post-Gazette on Monday that he didn’t play a role in whipping votes for Ms. Kass, and said though he knows her and once supported her, “not one committee person in my district got a phone call from me saying, ‘I need you to support [Ms. Kass].”
“I’m flattered by the fact they think I swung that thing,” Mr. Coghill said. “I’m not that politically powerful.”
Mr. Coghill said he did greet committee members at the endorsement meeting and introduce them to Ms. Kass, but didn’t advocate for her — saying she “earned the right to be there.”
But to Tony Mosesso, longtime 18th ward chairman and voting committee member, Ms. Kass did not earn the endorsement.
“That endorsement doesn’t mean anything. What that was, those votes, was a ‘thank you to Harry [Readshaw]’ vote,” Mr. Mosesso said, referring to the outgoing state lawmaker whose retirement will lead to the seat being vacant. State Rep. Readshaw, D-Allegheny — whose retirement will take effect after the end of the two-year legislative session Nov. 30 — has backed Ms. Kass, and appeared with her Sunday on a ropeline to greet committeemembers, WESA reported.
Mr. Coghill said he can’t be sure what swung people to Ms. Kass, but “maybe it was Jessica’s message.” He said he’s heard concerns from committee members who fear Ms. Benham will eliminate fracking and be on the “same kind of level with [state Rep.] Summer Lee,” a progressive.
Mr. Mosesso said he’s “tired” of Democrats labeling young progressives as “socialists.”
“This stuff’s got to stop,” Mr. Mosesso said. “Some of these progressives are good young people. I got beat up yesterday down there because I supported Jessica.”
Ms. Benham, who said she doesn’t want to ban fracking, insisted that voters will have a clear choice in April “between me, a progressive Democrat who stands for Democratic values, and a Trump supporter.”
“I have full faith in the Democratic electorate to make the right choice,” Ms. Benham said. “I have full faith that the Democratic electorate will come together and elect a Democrat.”
Ms. Kass said she does not consider herself a Trump supporter, and called the president a “bully” and a “womanizer.” She said she didn’t support either Mr. Trump or Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Claiming that the old guard of the committee is squashing progressives, some local Democrats also took issue with the committee’s vote to endorse Ms. Lee’s primary challenger, Chris Roland, in the 34th legislative district instead of the incumbent — which the committee has traditionally done.
State Rep. Sara Innamorato, who won her primary over a longtime incumbent at the same time Ms. Lee did, said Ms. Lee is being targeted “by the status quo” because she is resolute in her vision for “racial, economic, environmental and social justice.”
Sam Williamson, chairman of the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority board and a regional leader with the Service Employees International Union, said the endorsements are a result of party leaders treating the committee “like a social club” and the endorsement process “like a loyalty test.”
And on Twitter, Mayor
Bill Peduto — endorsing Ms. Benham and quoting a tweet about the committee dealing a “setback” to progressive women — said the endorsements were a “terrible action for an organization that is committed to ‘Democratic’ values.”
Ms. Lee herself called out the party for failing to endorse the only black woman ever to be elected from the region, noting she’s also an incumbent who won with 68% of the vote and increased voter turnout during her first race.
“The Democratic party claims it wants more ‘diversity.’ Claims it respects the Black [people] who form its base. Claims it supports women leadership. Claims it trusts the Black women who propel it to victory every time,” Ms. Lee wrote on Twitter. “The lie detector test determined ... that was a lie.”
Mr. Roland, a North Braddock Borough councilman and Allegheny County Park Department supervisor whose candidacy was backed by Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, told the Post-Gazette on Monday he remains focused on building a campaign with supporters from diverse backgrounds. He said he worked hard to get the endorsement, attending all the meetings he could.
“I’m proud of getting the endorsement,” Mr. Roland said. “We worked hard for that over the last few months. My opponent can speak for herself.”
Allegheny County Democratic Committee chairwoman Eileen Kelly could not be reached for comment.