Letter stirs the pot in sheriff’s race

connected to him.

“I don’t know how many people the sheriff has hired, but I don’t have that many friends,” Deputy Kraus joked.

“Those comments are simply fiction,” Mullen campaign manager Marty Marks said. The office has struggled to hire black female deputies — “It’s not for lack of trying,” Mr. Marks said — but as a whole, “The office reflects the population of Allegheny County.”

Ms. McCarthy said it was “wrong to assert that there aren’t any [LGBT deputies]. But it’s not anyone’s place to discuss someone else’s personal life.”

The club endorsed Sheriff Mullen, praising his stewardship in a statement, which later observed it “usually turns away from candidates who make unsubstantiated accusations.”

Candidates often seek the club’s backing: Its politically engaged membership hails from a voting ward — centered on Squirrel Hill — that is among the state’s most vote-rich. And this year, the club backed incumbent Mayor Bill Peduto over city Councilwoman Darlene Harris and the Rev. John Welch. Members also supported the school board’s District 5 member, Terry Kennedy, over challenger Ghadah Makoshi.

In judicial races, the club backed Debbie Kunselman, Maria McLaughlin, Geoff Moulton and Carolyn Nichols for the statewide Superior Court, and Ellen Ceisler and Todd Eagen for the state’s Commonwealth Court. For Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, club members backed Patrick Connelly and David Spurgeon.