Yesterday was primary day in Pennsylvania and there’s really nothing to see here (except a long-term Harrisburg mayor is trounced in a primary) but there are some interesting portents for the future. Specifically, Luke Ravenstahl and Seth Williams are long-term players in the Pennsylvania party.
Boy-Mayor Ravenstahl trounced formidable opposition to consolidate his position. With a likely gubernatorial run by both Western Democratic poweres Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and Auditor general Jack Wagner next year, Luke may be moving up in position and may be the last untarnished man left standing in a major position from Western PA.
Seth Williams trounced machine-supported candidate Dan McCaffery to all-but-certainly become the next Philly DA. A few recent Philly DAs….
– Lynne Abraham — front-runner for US Attorney
– PA Chief Justice Ron Castille (R)
– Governor Rendell
– Senator Specter (R — his first switch)
Sure Luke posted a big win for himself. But it’s worth noting that his opponents weren’t that threatening, and that he failed miserably in some city council races. He was strongly backing opponents of Natalia Rudiak and Daniel Lavelle, but those two won regardless. He’s got another term, but he’ll likely face opposition from the city council.
He’s flawed. The extent to which he’s flawed is a matter of debate. But I’m not a fan, and he’s certainly not very impressive.
As a Pittsburgher (well, a Pittsburgh suburbanite, hence I couldn’t vote in that race), let me say that Luke Ravenstahl has shown himself to be incredibly naive and horribly in over his head. He seems to enjoy the perks of his office the way a child enjoys candy: one of the first things he did as mayor was use his newly-acquired clout to meet Tiger Woods when he was in town. Despite his age and residual “newcomer” status, he has become of the biggest roadblocks to governmental reform within the city. Last year, before the Steelers vs. Ravens AFC Championship game, he informally changed his name to “Steelerstahl,” but in the process he sent in an incomplete name change form to the civil court…all because he wanted to stage a photo op in the court records building. The guy needs to be put out to pasture BADLY…and he’s only 29! It saddens me that Pittsburgh mayors don’t have term limits.
I do recall as well that he is fairly socially conservative, but that is pretty much the norm for politicians of both parties in southwestern PA (Mike Doyle, who represents most of Pittsburgh in Congress, is pro-life).