Wednesday, January 9, 2013
The new state senator serving Upper St. Clair announces appointments to several senate committees.
Pennsylvania Sen. Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon, has been appointed to the state Senate's finance committee. The senator, who earlier this month was sworn into the seat vacated by former Sen. John Pippy, of Moon, was also named to the professional licensure committee; the game and fisheries committee; and the community, economic and recreational development committee. He will also serve as the Democratic chair of the state government committee, according to an announcement from spokeswoman Lauren Hurley. As a state representative, Smith served as the Democratic vice chair of the House finance committee. Smith's district includes Upper St. Clair. Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook
Thursday, January 3, 2013
PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center is hosting the event for Pittsburgh-area constituents.
Upper St. Clair residents can meet their new state senator from 5:30 to 7:30 Thursday night at Il Pizziola in Mt. Lebanon. Sen. Matt Smith (D-Mt. Lebanon) was sworn in on New Year's Day following the retirement of John Pippy. PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center is hosting the event "to allow Pittsburgh-area constituents to meet and chat with their newly-elected state senator, and socialize with neighbors and others who are concerned about protecting our environment." State Rep. Bob Matzie (D-Ambridge) and state Rep. Erin Molchany (D-Mt. Washington) are also scheduled to be at the event. Will you attend the meet and greet? Why or why not? Tell us in the comments. Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Matt Smith was at the state Capitol in Harrisburg for an unusual New Year’s Day swearing-in ceremony.
Matt Smith’s New Year's Day celebration got off to a good start Tuesday afternoon when he was sworn in as the area’s new state senator. Smith, who previously was a three-term state representative for most of the South Hills, was at the state Capitol in Harrisburg with friends and family for the unusual New Year’s Day swearing-in ceremony. The Mt. Lebanon Democrat takes over the 37th state Senate seat vacated by the retirement of John Pippy, a Republican from Moon Township. Smith defeated D. Raja, a Republican from Mt. Lebanon, in the November election to win the senate seat. “It has been an amazing and humbling journey to arrive at this moment,” Smith said in a statement. “I am thankful to reach this milestone and look forward to returning…
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The state Senate candidates in the 37th District talk Marcellus shale gas and public education during the event, hosted by the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce.
Candidates vying for the seat in the state's 37th Senate District said they support Marcellus shale drilling in the region, but contrast on ways to correct public funding issues in the state's school districts. D. Raja, a Republican business owner and former Mt. Lebanon commissioner, faced off Friday with state Rep. Matt Smith, of Mt. Lebanon, during the first candidate forum of the race. The candidates fielded questions from constituents during the forum, hosted by the Pittsburgh Area Chamber of Commerce at the Tonidale in North Fayette. Raja and Smith seek to replace former Sen. John Pippy, R-Moon, who resigned from his seat in June. The 911th Airlift Wing: The next senator for the state's 37th senatorial district must work to stave…
Monday, October 8, 2012
What you need to know for Nov. 6.
As we look ahead to November’s elections, Upper St. Clair Patch is devoted to bringing you the information you need about every race in town. Here's our start on the candidates and issues we'll be covering as November draws near. State Rep. John Maher, R-Upper St. Clair, faces state Rep. Eugene DePasquale of York County in the November general election for Pennsylvania. Maher is also running unopposed for state representative of the 40th district—an office he has held since 1997. If he wins the auditor general position, the 40th district will have to choose a new representative. Many thought Raja would face an uncontested election for Pippy's vacated seat. But in July, state Rep. Matt Smith, who serves the state's 42nd legislative …
Thursday, September 13, 2012
A resident of the 37th district rejects negative campaigning in the state senate race.
- OPINION
-
Thursday, September 13, 2012
To the Editor: As one who has supported the election campaigns of D. Raja in the past, posted a lawn sign on his behalf, and talked up his candidacies to many friends and acquaintances, it is with utter disgust that I note the negative television ad he is currently airing against his opponent in the State Senate race, Democrat Matt Smith. This disgraceful promotion is particularly outrageous, given that the Raja candidacy was subjected to the slimy, smarmy Mark Mustio campaign in the primary election. For the Raja campaign to take a page out of the same dishonorable playbook is to insult and patronize every voter of the district. As an intelligent, thoughtful voter, I have never been swayed by the tactic of "vote for me because my …
Saturday, July 14, 2012
The state representative will challenge D. Raja for Pennsylvania's 37th senatorial district, which includes Upper St. Clair.
State Rep. Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon, has announced he will challenge Republican D. Raja for Pennsylvania's 37th senatorial district in November's general election. Smith, who now serves the state's 42nd legislative district, will run as a write-in candidate. The winner of the election will fill the seat vacated by the former Sen. John Pippy, of Moon. No Democrat sought the seat during the spring primary. Former Democratic candidate Greg Parks, who was also running as a write-in, dropped out of the race in June. Former Mt. Lebanon commissioner D. Raja won the district's Republican primary for the nomination earlier this year. The software company CEO lost his 2011 bid to become Allegheny County Executive to Democrat Rich Fitzgerald. It…
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Pennsylvania's 37th Senatorial District seat will remain vacant for now.
Pennsylvania's Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley has decided that there will not be a special election to fill the state's 37th Senatorial District seat, which was left vacant by the recent resignation of Republican John Pippy. The 37th District includes Upper St. Clair. Consistent with state law governing special elections, Cawley decided that such an election would not be in the best interest of the public given that the regularly scheduled election for the full four-year term of Pippy's old seat will take place on Nov. 6. Questions remain regarding which Democrat will face Republican D. Raja in that November election to fill Pippy's seat. Greg Parks was expected to run against Raja, but Parks has dropped out of the race.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley will have to decide whether to hold a special election to fill the last few months of John Pippy’s senate term.
State Sen. John Pippy’s resignation could leave his 37th District constituents, including Upper St. Clair residents, without a senator for the next six months. According to state law, if a senate vacancy happens less than seven months before the expiration of the term, Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley has 10 days to decide if there should be a special election or let the seat remain empty. Pippy, a Moon Township resident, resigned from his position over the weekend after voting on the budget. However, his district and capital staff members are expected to remain intact to assist constituents. With less than six months left until the term expires, Cawley will have to decide if a special election is “in the public interest,” according to state law. …
Sunday, July 1, 2012
The budget was enacted with just minutes to spare from the Saturday midnight deadline.
For the second year in a row, Gov. Tom Corbett beat a midnight deadline and signed a state budget that includes no new taxes. "Hopefully we're developing a habit, and I think the Pennsylvania citizens will appreciate that habit of on time," Corbett said after the signing ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda. The final $27.66 billion budget package includes several significant victories for the Corbett administration, including a tax incentive aimed at luring a Shell Oil Co. plant to Beaver County, a measure to alter how teachers are evaluated, and a proposal to tame rising prison costs through targeted sentencing, the Post-Gazette reported. The spending plan, approved by the House on Thursday and the Senate late Friday, maintains funding at …
Oren Spiegler
7:28 pm on Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Kudos, Senator! With Matt Smith as a member of the Finance Committee, perhaps there is a glimmer of hope that the long-languishing issue of property tax relief will be addressed. As a member of the House Finance Committee, Matt Smith voted to send to the full House a measure that would have benefited homeowners by diminishing their increasingly untenable burdens. A sufficient number of … more ›