Seth Warren

Several months ago I compared the policies of the two Democratic candidates for Allegheny County's chief executive post. Between the two, I endorsed Mark Patrick Flaherty over Rich Fitzgerald (whom at that point I'd nicknamed "Frackwater" for his corporate interests in water treatment and his cavalier attitude towards the environment in regard to drilling the Marcellus Shale). I was disappointed when "Frackwater" Fitzgerald ended up winning the primary election by ten percentage points. By election day, I'd developed quite the negative opinion of Fitzgerald, not only due to his corporate connections and lack of environmental concern but because of his extremely negative campaign against his opponent (which I found reminiscent of Barack Obama's misogynist campaign against Hillary Clinton).

About the only thing which had impressed me about Fitzgerald was that he made an appearance at Outrageous Bingo to introduce himself and shake hands with participants. Unlike Dan Onorato speaking at Pride during his dismally failed run for Pennsylvania governor, Fitzgerald looked at ease with the crowd and in his element. Whether this is a sign of true benevolence towards the GLBT community or merely an expect act by a well-trained political actor is yet to be seen. I regret that I didn't have a chance to buttonhole him and hand him one the Mark Patrick Flaherty fliers I had in my jacket pocket. I'm certain the look on his face would have been amusing.

So, we now have a general election less than three months away which pits Republican D. Raja against Democrat Rich Fitzgerald. For a moment, let's strip away my personal impressions of both men and take them at their word from their websites:

Neither one of these candidates particularly impresses me. If anything, which the exception of Fitzgerald's evolving position on drilling the Marcellus Shale, these two candidates if not outright ducking the issues don't seem to have thought any of them through too deeply.

Furthermore, Raja's statements on government and public transit reform are the same Republican claptrap that voters have been subjected to for decades. Suffice it to say that when people are voted in on a platform of government reform which promises to make government more like a business usually nothing happens (and when it does, those who voted these clowns in usually suffer buyer's remorse).

Like so many elections, it's a race of the lesser of two evils. I don't particularly like either one of these two men. I also don't think either one is particularly qualified for the position he seeks, but conversely neither one reeks of incompetence either. Based on just their resumes and what they purport to bring to the job, I may very well hold my nose and vote for Fitzgerald.

That said, there is a question which has been nagging at me ever since Rich Fitzgerald became a candidate for chief executive. During the 2010 Pennsylvania governor's race, I volunteered to do phonebanking for Joe Hoeffel during primary season. I remember calling a Rich Fitzgerald on the Democratic voter rolls. Upon telling the individual on the other end of the line who I was and I why I was calling, the following was quickly spat back in my ear, "go to hell - I'm Dan Onorato's cousin!" Before I said anything else, I heard the phone loudly click off as the call was disconnected.

I have to wonder if this is the same Rich Fitzgerald who now thinks that he's getting my vote just because I'm registered as a Democrat. If so, then his cousin should have learned otherwise. Still, I have no proof either way (and not for failing to dig for it either), but there's still a devilish part of me that wishes to give Fitz a lesson on Democratic unity regardless of who is he related to.

Since Dan Onorato decided not to seek a third term (in what may arguably be his wisest political move ever), I've actually become interested in the race for Allegheny County chief executive. The lone teabagger has dropped out of the Republican side of the race, leaving the crook and the Mt. Lebanon councillor/businessman. If registered Republicans have any members left in their ranks with two sane brain cells to rub together, they'll cast their primary ballots for D. Raja, the aforementioned member of Mt. Lebanon's town council.

Meanwhile, on the Democratic side of the primary ballot, where your's truly casts his votes, we've got a race between County Controller Mark Patrick Flaherty and County Council President Rich Fitzgerald. At first glance, it would seem that this would be a "flip a coin" vote. What distinguishes these two men? Thus, I've decided to go to their respective campaign websites and pick at their issues:

Of the four issues both candidates touch on between their respective websites, Flaherty and Fitzgerald seem to agree on half of them. While their positions on drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale are similar, Flaherty's caution regarding the matter gains him points in my book. Finally, Fitzgerald's silence on the matter of mass transit where Flaherty not only addresses the issue but throws out some - admittedly embryonic - ideas on what to do about it gives this voter more than enough reasons to back Flaherty at the polls.