1 day Ago By Chris Potter
No less than a half-dozen Democrats have entered the race to replace Matt Gergely, who died earlier this month, as their party’s nominee to fill his seat in the 35th state House District . Six Democrats declared an interest in the seat and paid a $250 filing fee to the local party by a 5 p.m.
deadline Tuesday. The robust field boasts candidates who have first-hand knowledge of what it means to represent the area: All but one hold a government post either at the municipal or school board level. The candidates are seeking to be their party’s nominee in a special election slated for March 25.
Special elections do not have primaries, and nominees are chosen by party committeepeople who represent each voting precinct in the district. Those officials will choose between the following hopefuls: Timothy Eads , a Munhall borough councilor and the fire chief and emergency management coordinator for Homestead Rikell Ford , a licensed social worker and board president of the Clairton City School District, who challenged Gergely for the 35th District seat in 2023 Dan Goughnour , a McKeesport police officer who sits on the board of the McKeesport School District and describes himself as having been a close friend of Gergely Mary Nesby , a Homestead borough councilor and “advocate for economic sustainability and community empowerment” Louis Ransom Jr ., of Munhall, the borough manager for Braddock and previously a longtime tipstaff in the Court of Common Pleas Dexel Tolliver , a Clairton resident and vocational readiness and employment officer for the federal Department of Veterans Affairs.
The 35th District comprises a number of Mon Valley communities, including Clairton, Duquesne, Homestead, Munhall, White Oak and parts of West Mifflin. But it is dominated by McKeesport, which Gergely and his predecessor, current Lt. Gov.
Austin Davis, both called home. Only one of the six candidates now running, Dan Goughnour, lives in McKeesport — a potential early advantage given the concentration of votes in that community. In any case, Democrats have just days to familiarize themselves with the field: Parties have until Monday, Feb.
3 to register their nominees with the Department of State, and Democrats will make their choice at a nominating convention in McKeesport on Saturday, Feb. 1. Candidates will have a chance to address committee members just prior to that vote, and to participate in an online forum later this week.
The vote itself will be handled through ranked-choice voting, in which voters rank their candidates according to preference. Those ratings are used to winnow down the field one by one until one candidate emerges with a majority. The Allegheny County Democratic Committee has used the approach in previous special elections because it means committee members can reach the outright majority required by party bylaws without having to go through repeated rounds of voting.
Technically, the choice made by committee people is only a recommendation: The choice of a nominee must be ratified by the state party’s executive committee. But the committee almost invariably accepts the recommendation made by local leaders. Republicans have said they will choose a candidate of their own sometime this week, although their choice will be made quietly by a small group of party leaders.
The Republican Committee of Allegheny County says it has been consulting with local civic leaders and Harrisburg party officials on the choice. Gergely’s death left the state House evenly divided, with Democrats and Republicans each holding 101 seats. The 35th District is heavily Democratic, but whichever party captures it on March 25 will control the legislature’s lower chamber.
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