tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60891966630166446012024-03-05T16:38:27.415-08:0014th Ward Independent Democratic Club ArchivesThe Club celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2014. Herein, a stroll down memory lane, and best wishes for another 50 years of fighting the good fight.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-29698102858930401282015-06-30T13:38:00.001-07:002015-07-23T06:40:15.250-07:00Barbara Daly Danko -- "Competition makes for better candidates" <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5c26afjVW24EdFVTa97d2kB7hs5mnJ3ID0HjWlwMC09iKRLZbkviJ8UdyZEXcun0QlX368o6w1mvZnoNHW4nBBOPnV5E415Hmvhga_hyJyCHVbpjHD2RtA0P47f8p9NpFWkelQTrstiU/s1600/Barbara_April+2005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5c26afjVW24EdFVTa97d2kB7hs5mnJ3ID0HjWlwMC09iKRLZbkviJ8UdyZEXcun0QlX368o6w1mvZnoNHW4nBBOPnV5E415Hmvhga_hyJyCHVbpjHD2RtA0P47f8p9NpFWkelQTrstiU/s400/Barbara_April+2005.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barbara at the Schenley Park Skating Rink, <br />
working the club's April 2005 endorsement meeting.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Next Monday marks two months since Barbara died. (Her obituary is <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2015/05/07/Allegheny-County-Councilwoman-Barbara-Daly-Danko-dies-at-61-pittsburgh/stories/201505070161" target="_blank">here</a>.) High time that this blog made some effort, however inadequate, to celebrate her political life and dedication to the club.<br />
<br />
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Barbara first joined the club’s board in 1991, becoming a
vice-president in 1995. While many candidates through the years dropped their association
with the club after seeking office, Barbara remained very central to its activities, both after her failed bid for the
state house in 1998 and her successful campaign for county council in 2011. Not to mention her contentious fight for ward chair in 2006, when she committed to staying on the
club’s board if elected, and again, in 2008, when she was tapped for a paying gig as the Western PA Coordinator of
Women for Obama. In an email announcing the job to the club's board, Barbara wrote, “My
life will be crazy for the next few weeks, and I am going to try very hard to
keep all of my regular commitments, like to the club!”</div>
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<br />
With a Friday, July 3 deadline looming to submit letters of intent to seek Barbara’s seat on county council, this is also an opportune time to recall her always strong encouragement of those considering a run for office. <br />
<br />
Here’s a March 2007 <i>Post-Gazette</i> letter to the editor in
which Barbara makes the case for competitive elections:<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Unfair to Peduto</span></b></div>
Your March 22 editorial "<a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07081/771514-192.stm" target="_blank">Peduto's
Exit: Pittsburgh Loses in a Case of No Guts, No Glory</a>" hit way below
the belt, particularly with this sentence: "He turned his back on the
city, an act that will be recalled in shame." In my mind your editorial
represents a serious case of shooting the messenger. <br />
This race was over -- Bill Peduto knew it and so did everyone involved in
grass-roots politics in this city. You conceded as much: "This was a race
that, even if pre-determined by a strong political tide, needed to be
fought." Bill Peduto was fighting an uphill battle, attempting to speak
about issues important to our city, and for months he was getting next to
nothing for his efforts from the mainstream media, including the Post-Gazette. <br />
<br />
As someone who knows something about running for political office, let me
say emphatically that being a candidate is <i>very difficult </i>-- and for the
PG to criticize someone who put himself out there as a candidate in an almost
hostile climate because he saw a need for discussion of the issues, and because
he believed he could make a difference, is a disgrace. <br />
<br />
Mr. Peduto did not enter the race to be a sacrificial lamb. For the
Post-Gazette to say that he should have stayed in and played that role for the
good of the city is over the top. <br />
<br />
As someone who has long believed that competition makes for better
candidates and ultimately better government, I regret that Bill Peduto dropped
out of the race. But rather than belittle him, I will thank him for putting
himself in the race in the first place, and for trying to make a difference. <br />
<br />
I believe the Post-Gazette editorial board owes Bill Peduto an apology. <br />
<div align="right" style="text-align: right;">
<b><br />BARBARA DALY DANKO</b><br />
Regent Square</div>
<br />
And here is an op-ed from Barbara that the <i>Post-Gazette </i>declined to publish, also from March 2007. It contains both a very personal recollection of her father's death, and a sympathetic take on a local politician who answered when duty called ...<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Why We Like Luke</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">By Barbara Daly Danko</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span><br />
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
spent much of my adult life in politics and government – as a practitioner, as
a teacher, and as someone involved at the grassroots level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I confess to being a policy wonk, and I am
constantly telling my students to look at the issues when looking at the
candidates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have also long believed
that competition makes for better candidates and ultimately, better
government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yet, this year the
issues don’t seem to matter to almost anyone, the public at large has not
engaged in the debate, and that has puzzled me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I think I’ve finally figured out why, and to explain, I need to tell you
a story from almost 30 years ago.<br />
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>November 2,
1978 had to be the darkest day of my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My father, my hero, was on his way home from a retirement party at the
U.S. Capitol in Washington,
D.C. when he suffered a massive
coronary at the age of 62.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time
he got to the hospital he was dead – and my mother was a widow, and his four
children - one in high school, one newly married, and two still trying to
launch – were left devastated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was a
much-loved man who left us much too soon.<br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We had no
extended family living in D.C., so at first we were on our own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We made the calls, we scheduled the
visitation and the funeral Mass, we picked out the suit and tie for him to wear
in the casket – all those things that custom requires, to help the grieving get
through those first few hours and days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We didn’t sleep, we didn’t eat – we couldn’t, because all we really felt
like doing was crying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Finally, we
were forced to go to the funeral home – it was time to have our friends, and
eventually the relatives, pay their respects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And so we drove there, mostly in silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were on time, and so we each knelt before
the casket and prayed – and then we sat and waited . . . and waited . . . and
for a few moments I wondered if anyone else knew or cared about our grief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then my youngest sister’s high school
band instructor came in, and just held her, and let her cry before going over
to speak with my mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This long-time
teacher was followed by lots of other people, but he was the first, the one who
stepped forward, and in those first moments did everything right when he was
most needed . . . and for that, I will never forget him.<br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Which
brings me back to Luke . . . A year ago no one in their right mind would have
bet a dime that Luke Ravenstahl would today be the Mayor of Pittsburgh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, we all watched and lived through the
tragedy of Mayor O’Connor’s last months, the machinations on Grant Street, and finally Bob’s death on
September 1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we all watched as Luke
took the oath in a simple ceremony just hours later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots of people may have wanted to, but it was
Luke’s job according to the City Charter to step up to the plate, and carry the
City during those first few hours and days and months following Mayor
O’Connor’s death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He did it; and he did
it with class and dignity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He stepped
forward when we needed him most, to get us through this moment in our City’s
history. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that is why we like Luke.
When I hear people say, “Give the kid a chance,” I think what they are really
saying is: “We owe him.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Has Luke
made mistakes? Yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have I agreed with
Luke on every issue?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did I vote for Bill Peduto in the Democratic
Committee endorsement to keep the conversation about issues going forward?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
this year I don’t think Ed Rendell, Dan Onorato, or even Barack Obama - let
alone Bill Peduto - could beat Luke Ravenstahl in the Mayor’s race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the minds of most of the public, Luke’s
name is the only one on the ballot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
two years, when the race is for a full four year term, things will be
different, but my money says, the 2007 race is over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We Like Luke.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br />
The author is an Adjunct Faculty member at CCAC, and Chair of the 14<sup>th</sup>
Ward Democratic Committee.</i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-55210932795672195032014-05-27T12:46:00.002-07:002015-06-30T13:50:57.580-07:00Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Publishes Club 50th Anniversary HistoryAs good a place as any to put a cap on the blog, although guest posting will always be welcomed ...<br />
<br />
<h1>
<a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2014/05/25/The-Next-Page-The-14th-Ward-Independent-Democratic-Club-Pittsburgh-s-mavericks/stories/201405250105">The Next Page: The 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club, Pittsburgh's mavericks</a></h1>
<h2>
The history of the East End's self-described outpost of progressivism</h2>
<span class="storydate">May 24, 2014 11:52 PM</span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-65693370120199971432014-04-18T09:08:00.002-07:002014-04-19T16:47:39.379-07:0020th Anniversary Celebration - 1984Two great names from the 14th Ward's past--Ivan Itkin and Poli's Restaurant--featured prominently in the club's 20th anniversary celebration. Itkin was the honoree; Poli's the venue. Poli's closed in 2005 and was sold at sheriff's sale last year. Itkin has enjoyed a better fate, including 25 years in the state house and the Democratic candidate for governor in 1998 (he lost to incumbent Tom Ridge). Itkin was a very active club leader, serving as president in the early 1970s. <br />
<br />
Today, Itkin has spread his progressive political roots to his new home in Florida, where he is president of the GO GO Democrats, aka the Galt Ocean Grassroots Organization
Democratic Club, "a group of active citizens on the Galt Ocean mile in Ft
Lauderdale, FL", according to the organization's Facebook page. <br />
<br />
The club will mark its 50th anniversary next weekend with a fundraiser and endorsement meeting at Colfax School in Squirrel Hill. More information, including a ticket and sponsorship order form, is <a href="http://pgh14widc.org/data/uploads/50th-anniv-invite-2014.pdf">here</a>. <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-70426686243163345752014-02-08T08:01:00.001-08:002014-02-08T15:56:32.536-08:00Two More 1964 Club-backed Committee CandidatesTalk about qualified! And even better, both Dolores Gluck and Milton Brauman won their Allegheny County Democratic Committee seats in what was then the ward's 21st District, located north of Forbes and south of Wilkins, between Wightman and Murray.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRqazKW146Msqmku9a7OEdYyBoct54HLja5FK6LvrRY7wMUU_Bjm8KdkELmlgXXpnF7G6cu9JomsJm4hkqabxeJ_Pq_6QosVt4g_yrdp2jeBW_TOtYPnIBxZT5un9LEqW3__4mHJmUIc/s1600/Gluck+and+Bauman.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRqazKW146Msqmku9a7OEdYyBoct54HLja5FK6LvrRY7wMUU_Bjm8KdkELmlgXXpnF7G6cu9JomsJm4hkqabxeJ_Pq_6QosVt4g_yrdp2jeBW_TOtYPnIBxZT5un9LEqW3__4mHJmUIc/s1600/Gluck+and+Bauman.JPG" height="320" width="243" /></a></div>
And for a bonus blast from the past, here's Shirley Stark's letter to prospective committee constituents from 1966. She lived along the Schenley Park Golf Course, on Darlington Road, in what is now the 38th District. Again, qualifications galore and a really strong letter--Pitt and University of Chicago grad, two young children in public school, and deeply involved in local political and neighborhood groups (note that Shirley highlighted her leadership in getting a "ladycop" assigned to the intersection of Beacon and Wightman--while the nomenclature may change with the times, the need for civic-minded community activism remains). <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-44029029304111513802014-02-07T07:21:00.000-08:002014-04-19T16:51:49.586-07:00Running for Committee in 1964--Almost as Big as The Beatles!The club's archives include an interesting collection of campaign
paraphernalia from, of all things, Allegheny County Democratic Committee races.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhobeddlob0jmMr7h8kI20GfzbMXRmr-zQUFUcQm2kt5-qu5YxsudntINrnMB-YHjcpx64flGXMwAAEtjbeaV04Xa9sp1JegA1HUGX8uBitI0M98XPyvan8nbC7Re8X0MxRZVtOK-7OcfQ/s1600/Hershey+bar.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhobeddlob0jmMr7h8kI20GfzbMXRmr-zQUFUcQm2kt5-qu5YxsudntINrnMB-YHjcpx64flGXMwAAEtjbeaV04Xa9sp1JegA1HUGX8uBitI0M98XPyvan8nbC7Re8X0MxRZVtOK-7OcfQ/s1600/Hershey+bar.JPG" height="173" width="320" /></a></div>
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The position clearly carried more weight back in the salad days of
patronage and ward chair power. Many committee races involved
more than one candidate (a rare occurrence nowadays, for better or
worse), and in a few primary elections the club ran an extensive slate
of endorsed candidates in a bid to take over the ward.<br />
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According to a <a href="http://14thwardclubarchives.blogspot.com/2013/02/in-beginning.html">1964 Pittsburgh Press article </a>about
the club, "Dr. Eugene Sucov, chairman of the 14th Ward Independent
Democrats, announced his group will seek to elect 37 members of the Ward
Democratic Committee." One of those committee hopefuls was current club
board member Nat Hershey. (Here's a <a href="http://14thwardclubarchives.blogspot.com/2013/02/in-beginning.html">headshot</a> of Nat in 1964.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTxFVplCSG8DdNE3mG63APLf0NChSGc5BKYUIGhhF5eXUiVhrSU5rX03V6LYqSa9A_53AscZD5pMjtXX5HKVUOY-3pb9hmCMR0B8KSOqbjrPRbhl8N6ijAEXarCgmK-WWYe9DrEGY7Qo/s1600/Hershey+Berger+card.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTxFVplCSG8DdNE3mG63APLf0NChSGc5BKYUIGhhF5eXUiVhrSU5rX03V6LYqSa9A_53AscZD5pMjtXX5HKVUOY-3pb9hmCMR0B8KSOqbjrPRbhl8N6ijAEXarCgmK-WWYe9DrEGY7Qo/s1600/Hershey+Berger+card.JPG" height="190" width="320" /></a><br />
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Also seeking a committee seat was another club founder, Celeste Behrend, who died in 2009-- <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/news/obituaries/2009/03/30/Obituary-Celeste-S-Behrend-Liberal-political-activist-in-city-s-14th-Ward/stories/200903300134">Obituary: Celeste S. Behrend / Liberal political activist in city's 14th Ward</a>. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0rSo0DkDn_NnGzpi10sTXCDEk26ya7mVyCXLGCvIvDlOKjjxrTSwbxT9sCOeEgvp-yRJjvLjAmBaZjpR2uobHRxPBZorii_Jr6ShECWlCTAkG0k4Ix1jvr1S3PaQshCscb3_YJw6mNlo/s1600/Schneider+Behrend+card.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0rSo0DkDn_NnGzpi10sTXCDEk26ya7mVyCXLGCvIvDlOKjjxrTSwbxT9sCOeEgvp-yRJjvLjAmBaZjpR2uobHRxPBZorii_Jr6ShECWlCTAkG0k4Ix1jvr1S3PaQshCscb3_YJw6mNlo/s1600/Schneider+Behrend+card.JPG" height="189" width="320" /></a><br />
Posted below are the entire results of the 1964 14th Ward committee elections, along with a list of club-backed candidates and a map of the districts at that time (there were 32, compared to to 41 today.) Unfortunately, many of the club's candidates lost that year, including Nat, Carol Berger and Marcum Schneider. However, Celeste prevailed, and of course, Nat and other club candidates would be elected to the committee in subsequent elections. <br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
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Note the number of contested races, some with three or more candidates, as well as some of the razor-thin margins of victory. For example, in District 7, in the heart of Point Breeze, Thomas Mahon beat Thomas Sheehy by one vote, 152 to 151, with the club's candidate, Richard Rieker, taking another 82 votes. Or how about 546 votes cast for four male candidates in District 15, near Blue Slide Park? That's a huge number compared to contemporary turnouts.<br />
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Not a bad level of interest for an unpaid, under-appreciated, bottom-rung position on the Democratic Party ladder! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpluVprv3WK8UcaEqjAIXZvcEIysLUYDuMVZ-5kdG9oGcO1j1dCUr90sYML4m5JMhG4Y95CJT8ZVCsgA_tDSRvia_1bIyTWhBa6-4GAU3iTUEziCizm8GeHcaXJtlKFRovq0B78kMYRbo/s1600/Bicky.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpluVprv3WK8UcaEqjAIXZvcEIysLUYDuMVZ-5kdG9oGcO1j1dCUr90sYML4m5JMhG4Y95CJT8ZVCsgA_tDSRvia_1bIyTWhBa6-4GAU3iTUEziCizm8GeHcaXJtlKFRovq0B78kMYRbo/s1600/Bicky.JPG" height="320" width="243" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-19075762321337209272014-02-02T10:07:00.000-08:002014-02-02T10:13:20.162-08:00"Let's Start Building a Sub-stratum of Real Democracy ..."It doesn't quite have the ring of, say, "Remember the Maine, Down with Spain", but former club president Bill Behrend's call to action in 1976 highlights one of the club's catalyzing issues: reform and control of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee in the 14th Ward.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcVrRElY-aoQT05hbtfgWL8qCeNHr138Zll3eRd6QdI23CA5H9uqsRMUdVdo-BbAnLrKhdV3f0jxigq2Guhrie2XXSEj1PQ2yngM_4irCe-alq8ZQXaRvud-CXzNLqrxAuyv0HbNppuo/s1600/substratum.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcVrRElY-aoQT05hbtfgWL8qCeNHr138Zll3eRd6QdI23CA5H9uqsRMUdVdo-BbAnLrKhdV3f0jxigq2Guhrie2XXSEj1PQ2yngM_4irCe-alq8ZQXaRvud-CXzNLqrxAuyv0HbNppuo/s1600/substratum.JPG" height="400" width="256" /> </a></div>
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Note the list of endorsed committee candidates below. Dr. Cyril Wecht's name
is circled for some reason. He would quit the club the next year in a
dispute over the its mayoral endorsement, as detailed <a href="http://14thwardclubarchives.blogspot.com/2013/04/cyril-wecht-quits-club-1977.html">here</a>.
Other endorsed committee candidates include club founders Celeste
Behrend, Molly Yard Garrett and Janet Kreisman, former club president
Mary Hall, and Michelle Madoff, who would become an outspoken member of
Pittsburgh City Council in 1978.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVabn905AwQBcZbW10-9mzagb90kmgn2x19Wqb2_GzJQMN0Xm1KjevVexgNgx66pqZxGwQjt5PWtO-G2C60lFhaVCk4aNauDVBTY1BKyxhEK0FfWVirezfKJTNoclAqZMijnVMeaG8uU/s1600/substratum+back.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVabn905AwQBcZbW10-9mzagb90kmgn2x19Wqb2_GzJQMN0Xm1KjevVexgNgx66pqZxGwQjt5PWtO-G2C60lFhaVCk4aNauDVBTY1BKyxhEK0FfWVirezfKJTNoclAqZMijnVMeaG8uU/s1600/substratum+back.JPG" height="400" width="257" /> </a></div>
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The boxed text indicates that the committee was elected every two years. The cycle has now been expanded to four years and this year, 2014, all committee seats are again up for grabs. In fact, an important deadline is fast approaching. Any prospective candidate must collect 10 signatures from registered Democrats in their committee district to be included on the primary election ballot in May. Candidates may start collecting the signatures on <b>February 18</b>, with petitions due to be filed with the Allegheny County Division of Elections by <b>March 11</b>. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-66190973413189753322014-01-27T08:42:00.000-08:002014-01-28T08:36:56.771-08:00Better Luck This Year<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQVC8PGULyJ7YwqVH6GfvV92B7-0MIHURzYKiE51wiYmnEQTIGTJrzm6JKmJsrNX9-SCvPtZ8Xe0wDgbUdGFBNcKdTp_VR9JalVE8n-JPnjJOhsOXoTba7z17yGy4wY03Q3eXFniFrrg/s1600/Flaherty+governor+poster+1978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Following on the club's dynamite gubernatorial forum at Carnegie Mellon yesterday (here's some good coverage from <a href="http://www.politicspa.com/dems-face-tough-questions-in-pittsburgh-debate/54490/">PoliticsPA</a>), here's a recap of the club's last gubernatorial forum and endorsement, in 2010. <br />
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The club co-hosted the forum at the Wightman School Community Building with the University of Pittsburgh College Democrats and the League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh. KDKA's Jon Delano moderated. All four candidates in the race at the time participated, including then-Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and then-state auditor general and Beechview resident Jack Wagner. (The <i>Post-Gazette's</i> story is <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2010/02/01/Democrats-for-governor-face-off.print">here</a>.) <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCtKhRbLMJjGL4QDow_M0scNZyLkjB6hO2Cu7gBKzmfHvRJJMyIe4kObL72boG7toMZRv7OGEVyt0lvg_JKQ0uqFlX8d7hD9zoGFgyKdjH-u8_uvFPHxQMRtlGyXfDC2pgbS7a85TqF0U/s1600/hoeffel-speaking.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCtKhRbLMJjGL4QDow_M0scNZyLkjB6hO2Cu7gBKzmfHvRJJMyIe4kObL72boG7toMZRv7OGEVyt0lvg_JKQ0uqFlX8d7hD9zoGFgyKdjH-u8_uvFPHxQMRtlGyXfDC2pgbS7a85TqF0U/s1600/hoeffel-speaking.jpg" height="286" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe Hoeffel speaking in 2010 <br />
(photo from <i>2 Political Junkies</i> blog)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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That April the club threw its support behind the race's most progressive candidate, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel, who the club also endorsed in 2004 for U.S. Senate. Unfortunately, Hoeffel lost the primary to Onorato, finishing fourth in the four-person field with 12.7 percent of the vote. Onorato went down in defeat in the general election to current Republican Governor Tom Corbett. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGQlJQ4HLv-RatyYXRjnhmNCYj0ARKttXoMT_ZAF2q3QMAN1Y076k06BKwLB33IHEq6B4MErGaJV4MvQyWe-m7AT_YHwZaN3rupQW6beQK704RmRzFRy07kgc6EH635k0-2fFIwnecPkU/s1600/Onorato+club+endorsement+2010.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGQlJQ4HLv-RatyYXRjnhmNCYj0ARKttXoMT_ZAF2q3QMAN1Y076k06BKwLB33IHEq6B4MErGaJV4MvQyWe-m7AT_YHwZaN3rupQW6beQK704RmRzFRy07kgc6EH635k0-2fFIwnecPkU/s1600/Onorato+club+endorsement+2010.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan Onorato speaking at the club's <br />
2010 endorsement meeting at the<br />
Schenley Park Skating Rink Lodge</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQVC8PGULyJ7YwqVH6GfvV92B7-0MIHURzYKiE51wiYmnEQTIGTJrzm6JKmJsrNX9-SCvPtZ8Xe0wDgbUdGFBNcKdTp_VR9JalVE8n-JPnjJOhsOXoTba7z17yGy4wY03Q3eXFniFrrg/s1600/Flaherty+governor+poster+1978.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVM43u0Am-OnM3nbyaV2nerLdgpNQ6C6PSz4J4OrNgYmeme6ClZI43QNavOaatpXsR07vU8Kk-gyvGDoZSk6Ybn4vb5i_0QlBXLHMt93ettxyjz2LlvhkQhR0zkv3rkeftN6frKVEz5ZQ/s1600/Shapp+endorsement+1970.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-20004813592072176152014-01-23T13:49:00.001-08:002014-01-23T13:58:04.236-08:00Anybody but Casey, Apparently<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTN9FIQ4F_qu5Qcv_ljdcesNoeKiNtJrVv5_Pi9ghU0EHyGoJ4OA7wmYdkJU3jsbrfdDf5qlFI5TbMOqi1lwqNk4pS5mqNk_oRyzCyAM32B3s5JBdHNUgmpvq7atpT_9urUQx1wIM1Ms8/s1600/Berg+campaigning+1990.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTN9FIQ4F_qu5Qcv_ljdcesNoeKiNtJrVv5_Pi9ghU0EHyGoJ4OA7wmYdkJU3jsbrfdDf5qlFI5TbMOqi1lwqNk4pS5mqNk_oRyzCyAM32B3s5JBdHNUgmpvq7atpT_9urUQx1wIM1Ms8/s1600/Berg+campaigning+1990.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Philip J. Berg on the campaign trail, 1990</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdseIsOB2Jj5eQUlaj1nOHI0m4nzObEjozTyPXCJoCnYSE-vYWBUcTXNlE3mlLZJsXgSxQ6TeUulci-HG70lNqak48CknIAk9RfHmAX8OoM6gRoK_XV_mzI5v2RKXpyyAmMMpty87vQzo/s1600/Berg+1990+photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>
In 1990 the club endorsed Philip J. Berg for governor over incumbent Bob Casey, Sr. Berg, a Montgomery County attorney, had his hat handed to him in the primary, getting 22 percent of the vote to Casey's 78 percent.<br />
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The archives don't indicate what Berg's progressive credentials or appeal might have been in 1990, but today, he is best known as a leading conspiracy theorist. For example, Berg brought a racketeering lawsuit against George W. Bush and 154 other people charging them with complicity in the 9/11 attacks. Another lawsuit challenged Barack Obama's eligibility to become president (i.e., Berg's a birther). There's much more wackiness at his Wikipedia page (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_J._Berg">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_J._Berg</a>). <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_PwVmG_P0VxQNKuf6b-slHK81lg373V8aEBdFHtUoFKw02oeieMpW8a6qMxJW2qFn4KVqjSNNZ6QkZpb1UGymF99SYayBp2QJoddXcmA7IPcxvOki6Tqf0AMXTqH2WTYnioXfBgdxms/s1600/berg+and+obama.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
So why did the club back Berg? Probably because he wasn't Casey. Despite Casey's working class background and Democratic Party dedication, he was a staunch pro-life advocate; an absolute no-no for most club members. (During the campaign, Berg charged that Casey, a Catholic, might be controlled by the state's Roman Catholic bishops.) In fact, two years after the election, the U.S. Supreme Court considered <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_Parenthood_v._Casey" title="Planned Parenthood v. Casey">Planned Parenthood v. Casey</a></i>, a major case that upheld almost all of the abortion prohibitions that Casey signed into law.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_PwVmG_P0VxQNKuf6b-slHK81lg373V8aEBdFHtUoFKw02oeieMpW8a6qMxJW2qFn4KVqjSNNZ6QkZpb1UGymF99SYayBp2QJoddXcmA7IPcxvOki6Tqf0AMXTqH2WTYnioXfBgdxms/s1600/berg+and+obama.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_PwVmG_P0VxQNKuf6b-slHK81lg373V8aEBdFHtUoFKw02oeieMpW8a6qMxJW2qFn4KVqjSNNZ6QkZpb1UGymF99SYayBp2QJoddXcmA7IPcxvOki6Tqf0AMXTqH2WTYnioXfBgdxms/s1600/berg+and+obama.jpg" height="217" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Berg on Obama's trail, 2010, from the Birther Report website.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Another somewhat curious twist of the 1990 endorsement was the striking similarity
between the club's endorsement mailer and the county Democratic
committee's slate card, which had Casey in the top spot. Through the
years the endorsements of the club and the main party have diverged many
times, but they're usually easy to tell
apart at the polls and in mailboxes--the club's slate is on yellow
paper, the committee's list on red, white and blue card stock. Here's how
they looked in 1990:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtvOnUJVYyAjlPZQ9s8v-h5EBhFML9l8Bd0D4CAHkQdvRN9h8lYIWZ0uRXv1NJ65IQOx1OGXYGRSleqRKfH9wv86_B7wOUoicU3BKyhYx3D4e2npzr2YvOFnQimEhY7iFHNIlTuvqf30/s1600/Berg+both.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtvOnUJVYyAjlPZQ9s8v-h5EBhFML9l8Bd0D4CAHkQdvRN9h8lYIWZ0uRXv1NJ65IQOx1OGXYGRSleqRKfH9wv86_B7wOUoicU3BKyhYx3D4e2npzr2YvOFnQimEhY7iFHNIlTuvqf30/s1600/Berg+both.JPG" height="320" width="298" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3uPhwwgkgUjFRh1N_oxfA2hW-Jlq29z0DEwWh79rTt_4DcdL_MEW7d0irhiecZBP3piGC3AGueVSWS7mxWDzFGhv9PEIJwPO_Ck7LyH7pgtjVsevxgCinkysmCsV7uSw8dOs9T2hVrA/s1600/Casey+both.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3uPhwwgkgUjFRh1N_oxfA2hW-Jlq29z0DEwWh79rTt_4DcdL_MEW7d0irhiecZBP3piGC3AGueVSWS7mxWDzFGhv9PEIJwPO_Ck7LyH7pgtjVsevxgCinkysmCsV7uSw8dOs9T2hVrA/s1600/Casey+both.JPG" height="320" width="285" /></a></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-34266499698654445712014-01-21T09:54:00.001-08:002014-01-29T18:48:14.517-08:00Rendell Got Early Club Endorsement for Governor<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZFcc1jnAcTmJI03pBr6YWF1LtLBVsbF9Q9IKLLtC73dr51Lnyc2Am-RsJE2L74H69iRaudvbRoi5u7qlDG4luQXi5vY1WDwHX_v94nyPehai5LCww919FeNenOdsz8VfJGIyJZIEp2t8/s1600/1003077_649529131776695_2131242043_n.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZFcc1jnAcTmJI03pBr6YWF1LtLBVsbF9Q9IKLLtC73dr51Lnyc2Am-RsJE2L74H69iRaudvbRoi5u7qlDG4luQXi5vY1WDwHX_v94nyPehai5LCww919FeNenOdsz8VfJGIyJZIEp2t8/s1600/1003077_649529131776695_2131242043_n.png" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="st">21st District Attorney of Philadelphia - Ed Rendell meets with <br />newspaper staff in Philadelphia Evening Bulletin conference room.<br />(Photo from https://www.facebook.com/oldimagesofphiladelphia)<br /> </span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWRm8GY-6oVjvlKIjEF_Vi_mP0w1JH7rdTZpSkWPTbe1fxIb26-seAMF5wQXxGrJKjWzF5Ko5UAt8O4S2xm1AvlrUUNbg2dgRczTvNP8D2rqNdbtKFz8wJhUUUsSnboqNMivU4NeNkSew/s1600/1990+club+slate+card+front_Rendell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWRm8GY-6oVjvlKIjEF_Vi_mP0w1JH7rdTZpSkWPTbe1fxIb26-seAMF5wQXxGrJKjWzF5Ko5UAt8O4S2xm1AvlrUUNbg2dgRczTvNP8D2rqNdbtKFz8wJhUUUsSnboqNMivU4NeNkSew/s1600/1990+club+slate+card+front_Rendell.jpg" height="320" width="132" /></a>Next Sunday, January 26, the club will co-host a forum for eight Democratic gubernatorial candidates at Carnegie Mellon. To mark the event, this blog will take a brief look at some of the club's endorsements for governor, starting with its 1986 backing of then-Philadelphia District Attorney Ed Rendell. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUXgxmy2_1fmz0uE-yujNl2RzWEq2vXsHrqSBPQXpA_fNbmuVyguOywHBEptStTLrIMSa3syU6LAkBfQU7j3GBYvYNj4ke8aZk-J4vTPqfLvsCxOzpWbF_Sd_ezfaFUE6DFIjHP3eP0U/s1600/Bob_Casey_1986.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUXgxmy2_1fmz0uE-yujNl2RzWEq2vXsHrqSBPQXpA_fNbmuVyguOywHBEptStTLrIMSa3syU6LAkBfQU7j3GBYvYNj4ke8aZk-J4vTPqfLvsCxOzpWbF_Sd_ezfaFUE6DFIjHP3eP0U/s1600/Bob_Casey_1986.jpg" height="200" width="135" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob Casey Sr. - 1986</td></tr>
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As the <i>Pittsburgh Press</i> article below reports, the club--"one of the most liberal organizations in the state"--gave Rendell 50 votes at its endorsement meeting versus 16 for his main opponent, Robert P. Casey. Rendell put on a good showing in the primary with 40 percent of the vote, but he lost to Casey, who finally prevailed after three previous Democratic gubernatorial primary losses. (In 1978, Casey lost the primary to former Pittsburgh Mayor Pete Flaherty, who lost the general election to former Western PA's U.S. Attorney, Dick Thornburgh.) <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUXgxmy2_1fmz0uE-yujNl2RzWEq2vXsHrqSBPQXpA_fNbmuVyguOywHBEptStTLrIMSa3syU6LAkBfQU7j3GBYvYNj4ke8aZk-J4vTPqfLvsCxOzpWbF_Sd_ezfaFUE6DFIjHP3eP0U/s1600/Bob_Casey_1986.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<br />
Rendell went on to serve two terms as mayor of Philadephia before
becoming Pennsylvania governor in 2002, again with the club's backing, beating Casey's son and current U.S. Senator, Bob, Jr..
Curiously, Rendell's failed 1986 run for governor goes unmentioned on
his Wikipedia page.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgq9ikLV8o2MhB2DvgGu5dWclyf5Estvw9SsKGup-MTspY-4HvfBL78UIixRR6oENKmuetdOquM4gyJC_XIYGcjaNbyKJdGIJ-R-Qy_KtVyNqt9xonXoW-0-zZ7lh-pBZCuKMj98uq_Q/s1600/Rendell+endorse+Press+1986.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgq9ikLV8o2MhB2DvgGu5dWclyf5Estvw9SsKGup-MTspY-4HvfBL78UIixRR6oENKmuetdOquM4gyJC_XIYGcjaNbyKJdGIJ-R-Qy_KtVyNqt9xonXoW-0-zZ7lh-pBZCuKMj98uq_Q/s1600/Rendell+endorse+Press+1986.JPG" height="380" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgq9ikLV8o2MhB2DvgGu5dWclyf5Estvw9SsKGup-MTspY-4HvfBL78UIixRR6oENKmuetdOquM4gyJC_XIYGcjaNbyKJdGIJ-R-Qy_KtVyNqt9xonXoW-0-zZ7lh-pBZCuKMj98uq_Q/s1600/Rendell+endorse+Press+1986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-89546470222952550692013-05-03T13:04:00.000-07:002013-05-06T10:46:01.035-07:00Mailing the Voter's Guide--A Team EffortWhile much of the club's effort each year focuses on the fundraiser and endorsement weekend, our candidate selections can only have an impact if people know about them. That's where the mailing comes in; the final step in our recipe for electing progressive Democratic public officials:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxh5eTfiIBofAyEIyeFFjOEfQk0QUJhEyVbvnvclto5dzt122eUPHQoqlHoK5LNL_HdHaLmuZj_CWeLRuRM6dK_Tfy0MsvLwyqAlYuNSxsbzdrdfhDcBNYjofMQ10iByoyk6yhfygFBeE/s1600/14WIDC+2013+Endorsement+Day.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxh5eTfiIBofAyEIyeFFjOEfQk0QUJhEyVbvnvclto5dzt122eUPHQoqlHoK5LNL_HdHaLmuZj_CWeLRuRM6dK_Tfy0MsvLwyqAlYuNSxsbzdrdfhDcBNYjofMQ10iByoyk6yhfygFBeE/s1600/14WIDC+2013+Endorsement+Day.JPG" height="200" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">1)</span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Engage with</span> </span>candidates<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> and</span> </span>vot<span style="font-size: small;">e</span> for those <br />who best reflect <span style="font-size: small;"></span>the club's<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>values</span></i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj32Ot4OJN2PJ6y32vXhdNaxtwrRjXHN85Yll1kLRtqj4Yh6Mxo_NUYf6kHSuoe4obZ1WGhQzFz-1eTgRvrRD9TbjW6yQ9zg_P43Lpe0Y00bDLU2z30qJy_ZOARiCLXeDCs71_SI7fpf5g/s1600/Counting+Votes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj32Ot4OJN2PJ6y32vXhdNaxtwrRjXHN85Yll1kLRtqj4Yh6Mxo_NUYf6kHSuoe4obZ1WGhQzFz-1eTgRvrRD9TbjW6yQ9zg_P43Lpe0Y00bDLU2z30qJy_ZOARiCLXeDCs71_SI7fpf5g/s1600/Counting+Votes.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">2)</span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">R</span>eview</span> ballots and tall<span style="font-size: small;">y</span> results</span></i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOZLEkhi7gMosrFPGl51WAbW08iPxuRBFK6AJxKgH4xYlvBQ2F0JMseQgyB99CfBy1bTRkWIb8b-NnahdGe4TXDhm5-RE80sLQ3uIPDEF00oXmUFp-yvSXcexXXDL-HHLXzoHSX07uf0/s1600/14widc+mailing+Oct2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOZLEkhi7gMosrFPGl51WAbW08iPxuRBFK6AJxKgH4xYlvBQ2F0JMseQgyB99CfBy1bTRkWIb8b-NnahdGe4TXDhm5-RE80sLQ3uIPDEF00oXmUFp-yvSXcexXXDL-HHLXzoHSX07uf0/s1600/14widc+mailing+Oct2010.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">3) P</span>rint the club's endorsements in a voter's guide and mail to <br />thousands of registered Democrats in the 14th Ward</span></i></td></tr>
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In preparation for the May 21 primary, the club will do its 2013 Voter's Guide mailing on Saturday, May 11. A number of endorsed candidates have already pledged to send volunteers to help process approximately 9,000 pieces of our signature colored paper. You know, the yellow slate card that so many 14th Warders carry to the polls with them. <br />
<br />
Total cost of the mailing--printing and postage--runs about $3,000 - $4,000, depending on the number mailed and postage rates, which seem to creep up every year. It is by far the club's biggest expense. The club also does a much smaller newsletter mailing or two each year to members only.<br />
<br />
In 2010 the club departed from its traditional do-it-yourself mailing party, instead engaging a professional mailing house to handle the task. As luck would have it, the move bombed. For whatever reason, the mail house (<span class="il">which will remain unnamed)</span>
accidentally used the wrong mailing list and the club's voter's guide was sent to the 20th District of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Don Walko's old seat. State Rep. Jim Ferlo reported to the club that
his office was getting calls from constituents about receiving our mailing, the <i>Post-Gazette's</i> Tim McNulty got it on
the North Side, and reports also came in from Bloomfield, Aspinwall
and Brighton Heights.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, all the contested offices that year were state and federal (the club endorsed Joe Sestak for Senate and Joe Hoeffel for Governor), as opposed to more local races where the club's endorsement can have a major impact, so perhaps not much harm was done by the errant mailing. However, some concerns were raised that a candidate for state Democratic committee who just missed the cut might have gained a few votes if the slate card had made it to the 14th Ward.<br />
<br />
Thus proving the old adage: If you want something done right, do it yourself.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-61387416562551812992013-04-19T13:48:00.003-07:002013-04-20T11:42:29.769-07:00Itkin, Clark Redux<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5CdB059zfY6dnrCaeqKaXQPwyf-zi5Pjfq9m_OKSboZArq-wLxwHFHdal21BuYwSbabO92x_Lun8WhYGNEMiAN0JW_6s_O-4S3R6jZD-5iv1TBBYL5NGhPdSIpKCV8C-0Y4WizW_rOw/s1600/Itkin+palm+card.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5CdB059zfY6dnrCaeqKaXQPwyf-zi5Pjfq9m_OKSboZArq-wLxwHFHdal21BuYwSbabO92x_Lun8WhYGNEMiAN0JW_6s_O-4S3R6jZD-5iv1TBBYL5NGhPdSIpKCV8C-0Y4WizW_rOw/s1600/Itkin+palm+card.jpg" height="204" width="320" /></a></div>
Due to a flurry of interest by some club board members in the recent Ivan and Joyce Itkin and Jeanne Clark posts, I thought I'd provide a few more visuals from the archives. The black and white photo below shows Itkin speaking at a 1970 rally for Milton Shapp for governor. (Itkin used the photo, and specified its historical context, in the club's 20th anniversary fundraiser program.) Also, to update the earlier post, Itkin also quit the club, along with three former club presidents, when his wife Joyce failed to get the club's endorsement in her run for clerk of courts. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__HJGkWADsY3nZAKHZ6e0CKYad-ETJkyvtQhSrRX7HkTgfvvid22D7Hn-SwEqti2zhfKBER9iZhYikLipsCkek6IBAH3mqNIwB5VPw1SwmpIb0U9B1oom49RF1CCM30Aw3E7OR0PxbxA/s1600/Itkin+1970+speech.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__HJGkWADsY3nZAKHZ6e0CKYad-ETJkyvtQhSrRX7HkTgfvvid22D7Hn-SwEqti2zhfKBER9iZhYikLipsCkek6IBAH3mqNIwB5VPw1SwmpIb0U9B1oom49RF1CCM30Aw3E7OR0PxbxA/s1600/Itkin+1970+speech.jpg" height="290" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Is that a young Cyril Wecht seated at speaker Ivan Itkin's far left? <br />If you can identify <span style="font-size: small;">any pictured </span> politicos, please let me know.</span></i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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Club board member Sally Morton reported that her daughter, Susan, was a friend of <span class="il">Jeanne</span> Clark's stepson and attended an event at which <span class="il">Jeanne</span>
was photographed with singer Judy Collins. Sally said that her daughter
remembers that Barbara Solin, a Squirrel Hill resident, was also there.<br />
<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGlMlaPXnKoVL86ZAMWRWCLqMyCtZwTgzYR8MOIbU5zrdxj6dA1bR9CZOW-KkaMmg2c0Mpcl5s0qK21LsXuJI9RMeN-golI7yXFVnAunOXp-RFlCq14GLOuczU9zgYETMReG_0xBISUjs/s1600/Judy+Collins+and+Jeanne+Clark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGlMlaPXnKoVL86ZAMWRWCLqMyCtZwTgzYR8MOIbU5zrdxj6dA1bR9CZOW-KkaMmg2c0Mpcl5s0qK21LsXuJI9RMeN-golI7yXFVnAunOXp-RFlCq14GLOuczU9zgYETMReG_0xBISUjs/s1600/Judy+Collins+and+Jeanne+Clark.jpg" height="400" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">That's current club president Kathie Smith in the lower left corner, Jeanne Clark is seated to Judy Collins' right, and former club president Celeste Behrend is directly behind Clark. Again, any assistance with identifying folks in the photo will be much appreciated. </span></i><span style="font-size: small;">[Click on photo for<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>larger image.]</span></td></tr>
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A brief news item at this <a href="http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19880407&id=FK9RAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9W0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5590,2388716">link</a> indicates that the Clark/Collins "<a href="http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120401013014AAjDF0v">swankenda</a>"(!)--a fundraiser for Clark's 1988 state senate run--was held at Chatham College professor Frank Lackner's house.<br />
<br />
Club
board member Barbara Daly Danko noted that, by coincidence, the night before the Clark post went up she and former board member Claire Staples
were walking home together from a Chatham (now University) event
featuring former Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME). According to Barbara's email:<br />
<br />
"We walked to Chatham from Denniston via the cut through off Shady and walked past a house on Shady which Claire pointed out and said Judy Collins was at an event for Jeanne there a long time ago ... to which Krysia Kubiak (who was walking back with us) replied, 'There should be a historic marker on that house!'"<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-37934490980769302892013-04-18T14:09:00.001-07:002013-04-19T09:48:41.497-07:00When "Nobody's Boy" was Somebody's Boy<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbhJlIBMO8Hi7QX-4f4gHF_ILZ7NYOIlyUm1ck02Bzu9AN4_hCcinDXvv8ppM0q_2MA0FCibPCAQK0EsmqixGKvCHvPsXnQzYfhrkEZwFF0lDnF32Ur6PzpJm5zVLTGFt3vlXKH1e1o2s/s1600/Flaherty+NYT+-+1969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUVVUDgdcsA_YrcIPD65hV1OoVnl7tYe2rgnJX6vYKOsvuvIGtPRqaKSrmQK5Mrbxh4TRAMn7hv7ZNpSp-TO-t4v6QiLVoY83hvRye-hpGaByTM5wWtkHHBKzstoyd3L1avUm9Hke6M1I/s1600/Flaherty+NYT+-+1969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUVVUDgdcsA_YrcIPD65hV1OoVnl7tYe2rgnJX6vYKOsvuvIGtPRqaKSrmQK5Mrbxh4TRAMn7hv7ZNpSp-TO-t4v6QiLVoY83hvRye-hpGaByTM5wWtkHHBKzstoyd3L1avUm9Hke6M1I/s1600/Flaherty+NYT+-+1969.jpg" height="640" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">That's better ... Flaherty <span style="font-size: small;">went</span> rogue in 1969<br /><span style="font-size: small;">and the club<span style="font-size: small;"> got on the ba<span style="font-size: small;">ndwagon</span></span></span>.</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Before Pete Flaherty was “Nobody’s
Boy” he was somebody’s boy, and the 14<sup>th</sup> Ward Democratic Club didn’t
like it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The year was 1965 and the future
two-term Pittsburgh mayor was running for city council. Flaherty, a political
novice, had been handpicked by party bosses to fill a seat being vacated by a
man named Gallagher. In those days ethnic loyalties ran deep (even before St.
Patrick’s “Day” was extended to a week in the city), and they often determined
which candidates filled certain council seats.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The club backed all of the
Democratic Party’s endorsed council candidates that year, except Flaherty.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">As club board member <span class="il">Nat</span> <span class="il">Hershey</span>
diplomatically told the press, "It was felt that [Flaherty’s] chief
virtues were represented by party reliability and ethnic continuity."</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In the end, Flaherty won the council
seat but received the lowest vote total among party endorsed candidates in the
14<sup>th</sup> Ward. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpl1TZnbNdR-38Rn8I03G_B6fSvNKIUHHiRNBFegymnv_oUf9v-7FvUiFylPnjxcqWLqx_4GORri8TgSPlQi4k2CwyvpCll4ZiPnAVBfSxE4sVDIHwEIeo7c7hxtvxgohANa7UHmFOig/s1600/Flaherty+and+club+-+1965.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpl1TZnbNdR-38Rn8I03G_B6fSvNKIUHHiRNBFegymnv_oUf9v-7FvUiFylPnjxcqWLqx_4GORri8TgSPlQi4k2CwyvpCll4ZiPnAVBfSxE4sVDIHwEIeo7c7hxtvxgohANa7UHmFOig/s1600/Flaherty+and+club+-+1965.jpg" height="320" width="269" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Squirrel Hill was the epicenter of local political activity<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>on April 26, 1965, with the club and b<span style="font-size: small;">oth </span>the 14th Ward<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Democratic and Republican<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>committees meeting that night.</span></i> [Click on image for larger version.]</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />In keeping with its mission, the club enthusiastically
backed Flaherty a few years later when he dubbed himself “Nobody’s Boy” and ran
for mayor as a party outsider. <br /><br /><b>Special Squirrel Hill Remembrance: </b>One of the articles above notes that the 14th Ward Democratic Committee would be meeting at Bubbles and Sherman's Restaurant, 5841 Forbes Avenue. Here's a <a href="http://bradystewartphoto.photoshelter.com/image/I0000ma5hF7C2EuQ">link</a> to a picture of the classic eatery (maybe somebody can get Brady Stewart to donate it to this page?)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-88332078274036702312013-04-18T08:53:00.000-07:002013-04-19T09:13:34.885-07:00Jack WagnerBy and large, the club has shown little love for Jack Wagner, one of the top two contenders among four Democrats in this year's Pittsburgh mayoral primary race. <br />
<br />
Wagner, from Beechview, began his political career in 1983 with a city council bid. In a crowded field of 24 candidates (city council members were still selected citywide at this point, rather than by district), the club passed on Wagner and endorsed Jim Ferlo (who briefly challenged Wagner in this year's mayor's race), Jonathan Robison, Helen V. Hull, Michelle Madoff and Jim O'Malley. Despite the snub, Wagner went on to win a seat and served on council for 10 years.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uUJyS1_XIwfrVmYtuZNmNthnocESDB1UwG3rpKyXN5W80udx56lY9x026FnfH8qPdF1Ku-u9eL29pxtHPKsgL4Z45xa0a5t80KmrsfxIHq6fvMCmAGXSrUkZHC1HClvc2pHm5zquB_g/s1600/450px-Jack_Wagner_Veteran_Council.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uUJyS1_XIwfrVmYtuZNmNthnocESDB1UwG3rpKyXN5W80udx56lY9x026FnfH8qPdF1Ku-u9eL29pxtHPKsgL4Z45xa0a5t80KmrsfxIHq6fvMCmAGXSrUkZHC1HClvc2pHm5zquB_g/s1600/450px-Jack_Wagner_Veteran_Council.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Jack Wagner's Wikipedia photo</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The club's archives contains a copy of an 8.5x11, 16-page Voters' Guide for 1983, replete with three and a half pages of advertising, produced by Shadyside's 7th Ward Democratic Committee. The guide includes detailed bios and policy positions for all of the council candidates. Wagner's "principal objective" statement reads: "[To] devote my effort on council to make this legislative body more responsive to the true needs of the residents of Pittsburgh." Feels that Council should provide a greater "check & balance" to the mayor's office."<br />
<br />
He is listed as supporting eight separate initiatives like selecting council by district and freezing tax assessments until a house is sold, but regarding a "lesbian/gay civil rights ordinance", Wagner declared, "no position". <br />
<br />
Conversely, another council candidate from the southern neighborhoods, Brookline resident and Pittsburgh's famous flamboyant traffic cop, Vic Cianca, supported the lesbian/gay ordinance but opposed a by-district council.<br />
<br />
Fast forward to 2010 and Wagner's bid for governor. At a gubernatorial forum hosted by the club at Wightman School, in Squirrel Hill, Wagner said that he
"believes marriage is between a man and a woman" but supports the
anti-discrimination Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. He also asserted that he tolerates abortion but was evasive when asked if he would veto bills further restricting reproductive rights. The club endorsed his opponent and staunch progressive, Joe Hoeffel.
<br />
<br />
Returning to the chronology, the club did a turnabout in 1987, endorsing Wagner in his city council re-election campaign, along with Ferlo, O'Malley, Madoff and Otis Lyons, Jr. In its brief Voter's Guide rationale, the club explained: "As a sitting City Councilman he has displayed a professional, competent approach to city problems, voting independently. (He does his homework.)"<br />
<br />
The club reverted to form however the next time it considered Wagner,
rejecting him in the 1993 mayoral primary with a strong endorsement of
Tom Murphy.<br />
<br />
The club's archives are occasionally spotty, so it's unclear who the club endorsed when Wagner won State Senate races in 1994, 1998 and 2002. However, the club resoundingly backed Alan Kukovich over Wagner and a crowded field in a race for Lieutenant Governor in 2002. Kukovich finished third in the primary, behind Wagner and the eventual winner, Catherine Baker Knoll.<br />
<br />
Wagner's long string of political campaigns continued in 2004 with a stab at Auditor General, but the club was having none of it, opting for "No Endorsement" even though Wagner was running unopposed. Wagner won anyway and in 2008 the club relented, backing him for re-election as Auditor General.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-68961768942293143272013-04-16T11:41:00.002-07:002013-04-19T10:43:42.012-07:00Jeanne ClarkNo other candidate in this year's local races has a deeper history with the club than Jeanne Clark. While the club archives are organized chronologically, with a file folder for each year, Clark's 1988 run for state senate warranted two files labeled with her name and packed with campaign literature and paraphernalia. <br />
<br />
Clark ran that year against the three-term incumbent, James Romanelli, and State Representative Mike Dawida. According to the article below, Clark handily won the club's endorsement, getting 33 of 50 votes cast. (The club's membership has fluctuated over time. The number of potential club voting members this year hovers around 400.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTtqgZhgGZLEOnmNmMaiK9JNYXKqLXm8gqdq3aBbsFJWDd_Um2iyKXptH4pMzhSHFQhZm55qS4C7Gc4WzRDeP03qO41E4iEhqz4Jx9dPQGZP6zcR-U2Rb3vPp8AN4GjJJ3CJghfhgdhg/s1600/Jeanne+1988+state+senate+article.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTtqgZhgGZLEOnmNmMaiK9JNYXKqLXm8gqdq3aBbsFJWDd_Um2iyKXptH4pMzhSHFQhZm55qS4C7Gc4WzRDeP03qO41E4iEhqz4Jx9dPQGZP6zcR-U2Rb3vPp8AN4GjJJ3CJghfhgdhg/s1600/Jeanne+1988+state+senate+article.jpg" height="238" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Club President Celeste Behrend headed Clark's campaign committee--which probably explains the Clark-centric archive folders--but she told the <i>Post-Gazette</i> that she didn't try to sway other club members because that would have been "taking unfair advantage of my position as president."<br />
<br />
(In a January 1988 letter, printed on official state senate stationery, Romanelli asked Behrend both for her support and to speak to her "personally about my candidacy for a Board position with the Club." Apparently, Romanelli figured if board membership was good enough for State Representative Ivan <a href="http://14thwardclubarchives.blogspot.com/2013/04/itkin-vs-coyne-contentious-1995-club.html">Itkin</a>, it would work for him too.)<br />
<br />
Despite the club supporting Clark and the party backing Romanelli, Dawida won the race.<br />
<br />
Similar to the Itkin/Coyne struggle chronicled in the previous post, Clark's experience 25 years ago may illustrate that in larger contests like state and county races, the club's endorsement can have a limited impact, likely due to the 14th Ward's smaller percentage of overall votes. However, in more localized races--city council, district justice and, perhaps, county council and citywide elections--the club's endorsement can tip the balance. In fact, about five year's ago a scientific experiment measuring the
endorsement's impact found that it gave a
candidate a six
percent boost in votes received in the 14th Ward. (A CMU decision sciences professor, who was on the
board at
the time, conducted the test.) <br />
<br />
In stark contrast to the club's interest surrounding Clark's statewide run, the 1989 archive file covering her 8th District city council bid contains only a few items, including a blank club endorsement ballot listing five candidates--Clark, Dan Cohen, Carol DePasquale-Hertz, Leon W. Howard, and Jonathan Robison. Cohen got the club's endorsement and <a href="http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19890517&id=ivJRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Zm4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3984,5612656">won the primary</a>, with Robison finishing a distant second and Clark third.<br />
<br />
This coming Sunday, the club will meet to endorse candidates for Pittsburgh
mayor and for mayoral hopeful Bill Peduto's 8th District council seat. Three candidates are vying to
replace him: Dan Gilman, Peduto's chief of staff; 14th
Ward party chair and club board member Sam Hens-Greco; and 7th Ward party
chair ... Jeanne Clark. <br />
<br />
Along with the interest generated by three such prominent and qualified candidates, the 8th District race adds another chapter to the club's history of contentious endorsements. In a letter circulated to club members this week, the board reported that one candidate appears to have taken "extraordinary means" to win the club's endorsement. (To ensure neutrality until the end of the endorsement meeting, the board has remained circumspect in identifying the candidate.) According to the letter:<br />
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<br />
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<i><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"On February 20 the Club received a check from a city
council candidate’s campaign account, most of which was directed to be used as
dues payments for 30 memberships. Completed membership applications for each
new member accompanied the check....</span></i></div>
<i><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />Concerns about the club’s endorsement have surfaced in
previous elections, perhaps most notably in a 1999 county council race between
two board members in which one candidate was believed to have “packed” the Club
with supporters days before the endorsement." </span></i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
Click on the image below for the full text of the letter.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9g_WifWaZl59D07nzctv8l1XYjxMtM3joXjAbW7zaWZxk2QiQYTSApdILWAEf4rxJ5Juffhm07agBM3Rdho3mOttUxYHsPNepH3BzRD_KQzuo8I-xJfWpyl8rxnfITT3IuC4UTcHY26U/s1600/2013+club+endorsement+letter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9g_WifWaZl59D07nzctv8l1XYjxMtM3joXjAbW7zaWZxk2QiQYTSApdILWAEf4rxJ5Juffhm07agBM3Rdho3mOttUxYHsPNepH3BzRD_KQzuo8I-xJfWpyl8rxnfITT3IuC4UTcHY26U/s1600/2013+club+endorsement+letter.jpg" height="640" width="496" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-60256123599481873102013-04-15T13:10:00.001-07:002013-04-17T06:12:49.790-07:00Itkin Vs. Coyne - The Contentious 1995 Club Endorsement, or "Three Coynes and a' Countin'" (apologies to Sammy Cahn)With the club's endorsement meeting less than a week away, and a controversy bubbling around a candidate paying dues for new club members, I thought I'd detail a fractious club endorsement that occurred 18 years ago in a race for Allegheny County Clerk of Courts involving Joyce Lee Itkin, Jim Ellenbogen, Dennis Coyne, and the incumbent, Carol Coyne (no relation to Dennis). <br />
<br />
Joyce, and particularly her husband, Ivan Itkin, were very active party and club members (see a <a href="http://14thwardclubarchives.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-brief-history-of-club-fundraisers.html">photo</a> of Joyce chairing a club fundraiser around 1984). Joyce ran for city council in 1991, prior to the clerk of courts contest. Ivan was the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania governor in 1998 and served in the state house from 1973 to 1998. (See his Wikipedia <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Itkin">page</a>.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir7lbY_w0NNi_Jrfc-vIQFa1DohMZEClgklTZWQfwyM7Y1jLbYRluIx1pJwAHuED4tX6n6PgSwsazApbVBnnNQq_GqGtlgBOVo4eaaFSMsY538YphBIDtYNEN6bSBsztmjGWeOCIiVmQo/s1600/itkin+clips.jpg" height="400" width="306" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Not even a nuclear scientist could beat the party machine.</span></i> [click on image for larger version]</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
According to the articles above, Itkin ran unsuccessfully for the state senate with the club's endorsement in 1968. In 1970, as club president, he led an effort to unseat the 14th Ward chair by running club-backed candidates for ward committee slots. (The attempted coup was precipitated by Mayor Pete Flaherty losing the ward by one vote to the Republican mayoral candidate that year, even though the ward's Democrats had a 2-1 voter registration edge.)<br />
<br />
Fast forward to 1995. The Associated Press provided some <a href="http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TrsiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TLUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2711,5572018&dq=joyce-lee-itkin+and+14th+ward&hl=en">context</a> for the club's disputed clerk of courts endorsement, reporting that 14th Ward chair and club board member Eric Marchbein accused Dennis Coyne, a truck driver with no political experience, of being a "spoiler" in the race--placed on the ballot to create name confusion with the incumbent Coyne.<br />
<br />
"Marchbein said he was reconsidering his support for Joyce Lee Itkin, a clerk of courts candidate, because he suspects an Itkin supporter was behind Dennis Coyne's recruitment," according to the AP.<br />
<br />
(For further context, William J. "Bill" Coyne was the congressman at the time for the state's 14th Congressional District, which included the 14th Ward. No relation to Carol or Dennis, I'm told.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-icwmbKwTEJj07jN4UOHjPolwTR9Hp7iQ-bG0CE7V7FwJ2BILJs6vv_3EeXI2nbkgi5HmtP5z3evg8Qirbl52z3anV_QwOQ0TtYz4E3Vb8m7gwVqDM-Sae3D42I4KG7tWsXEDn3i2Ok/s1600/Itkins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-icwmbKwTEJj07jN4UOHjPolwTR9Hp7iQ-bG0CE7V7FwJ2BILJs6vv_3EeXI2nbkgi5HmtP5z3evg8Qirbl52z3anV_QwOQ0TtYz4E3Vb8m7gwVqDM-Sae3D42I4KG7tWsXEDn3i2Ok/s1600/Itkins.jpg" height="276" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">An Allegheny County political power couple.</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the club's initial endorsement ballot count, Coyne beat Itkin by three votes. But the matter was far from settled. Itkin supporters charged that three club members were prevented from voting, in contravention of common practice, if not the club's bylaws. At issue was whether the members had paid their dues up to two years prior to the meeting. If not, they had to have paid at least 30 days prior to the meeting to be eligible to vote. While the rule was on the books, it was rarely enforced; members often paid their dues on endorsement day and were permitted to vote.<br />
<br />
Two of Itkin's supporters who were denied the vote subsequently produced canceled checks proving that they had paid their dues within two years. Another Itkin supporter submitted a signed and notarized affidavit saying that she had paid her dues in cash within the two-year period but had not received a receipt.<br />
<br />
The club archives contain numerous letters from Itkin supporters, including one from three past club presidents resigning their club memberships, as well as a statement from then-club president John Burke and lengthy post-endorsement board meeting minutes that included plans for revising the by-laws. <br />
<br />
Despite protestations from Itkin supporters that the vote was actually tied and that the outcome should be nullified, Burke sent a letter to members affirming that two Itkin supporters were improperly prevented from voting and were permitted to vote, but that their votes did not alter the outcome. While the club's slate card was printed and distributed with Coyne listed as the endorsed candidate, Itkin, who had the party's backing, went on to win the primary. Four years later she lost a re-election bid to George Matta, with Carol Coyne finishing third.<br />
<br />
According to the June 11, 1995 board meeting minutes, Kathie Smith, the club's
current president, "said she was concerned about the attempt to
undermine the voters guide that was done at the expense of the other
Club endorsed candidates. Endorsed candidates count on the integrity of
the voters guide and its impact and it is inconsistent with Club policy
to try to minimize it."<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-50678538794137544992013-04-11T14:33:00.003-07:002014-04-11T07:21:04.167-07:00Cyril Wecht Quits the Club - 1977As noted in the previous post, 1977 was a barn-burner year in Pittsburgh politics. Pete Flaherty left the mayor's office early in the year to join the Carter Administration in Washington. He was succeeded by council president Richard Caligiuri, who got the job by agreeing to sit out the May primary. In the primary, the club endorsed Frank Lucchino, but Tom Foerster won the party endorsement. In the November general election, Caligiuri ran as an Independent and beat Foerster.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQN5MSfAvTCpO06ySdA9ssM17M4BqTr7W9pifZ7gucw7-wYlKvhsivJpTYb3IAvSuiMdxTcIXJpygSHQ0c4kHr3bw6Wdfz3_5tqafksdnesxddT-Nn2JvgBZAO96Qxv_p7yd-LM20dUo/s1600/Wecht+quits+club+-+1977.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQN5MSfAvTCpO06ySdA9ssM17M4BqTr7W9pifZ7gucw7-wYlKvhsivJpTYb3IAvSuiMdxTcIXJpygSHQ0c4kHr3bw6Wdfz3_5tqafksdnesxddT-Nn2JvgBZAO96Qxv_p7yd-LM20dUo/s1600/Wecht+quits+club+-+1977.png" height="400" width="350" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Dr. Wecht's diagnosis: " ... political machines distress (the club) almost to the point of an acute psychotic breakdown ..." </span></i><span style="font-size: small;">[Click on image for a larger version.</span>]</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
According to the club's archives, Cyril Wecht had a number of bones to pick with the club through the years. In 1977, he went ballistic over the club's endorsement of Lucchino.<br />
<br />
As reported in the <i>Post-Gazette</i> article above, Wecht told a meeting of Foerster supporters at the Penn Shady Hotel in East Liberty that, "The extremely well-oiled, steamroller push by the Lucchino forces says more than a thousand words about the hypocrisy, intellectual inconsistency and moral dishonesty of the club."<br />
<br />
Wecht told the club to rescind its endorsement of him as coroner and to exclude his name in primary election literature. As the slate card above shows, the club did not honor his request. A <i>Pittsburgh Press</i> article from the same week reported that Wecht withdrew as a club member.<br />
<br />
And just to illustrate the deep roots of Pittsburgh Democratic politics and loyalties, note that Sophie Masloff, a club-endorsed city council candidate in 1977, announced her support this week for Jack Wagner for mayor. (Wagner made his first run for Pittsburgh City Council in 1981.) The club also endorsed Bill Coyne for council in 1977. Reliable sources report that Coyne is backing Jeanne Clark in this year's 8th District city council race. (Jeanne first ran for council in 1989.)<br />
<br />
1977 was 36 years ago; just to put a fine point on it. I was 14 years old that spring, riding my bike around Brentwood, listening to 13Q and "Bohemian Rhapsody"on my red Radio Shack handle bar radio. I got my AARP card in the mail this week. I threw it away.<br />
<br />
Stay tuned for more on Jeanne, Cyril and Pete Flaherty in future posts.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-53206787220355304962013-04-11T07:45:00.001-07:002013-04-17T06:15:02.735-07:00Molly Yard Quits the Club - 1977<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigO1AFf1-dOm01vW5C-9ruOkpoUzzX64KmaGyYfd07xdJn5yK_XnXVOLicAq465Ap-64OB_6IsGXL1sLH_xc8oTX7VKwGFS1qEyl8MmUo_mGhJ_ysCfOn5CRhKQoF9rNp0wEllyNH3htk/s1600/11832523_112782466364.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigO1AFf1-dOm01vW5C-9ruOkpoUzzX64KmaGyYfd07xdJn5yK_XnXVOLicAq465Ap-64OB_6IsGXL1sLH_xc8oTX7VKwGFS1qEyl8MmUo_mGhJ_ysCfOn5CRhKQoF9rNp0wEllyNH3htk/s1600/11832523_112782466364.jpg" /></a></div>
Molly Yard, an assistant to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (!) and the eighth president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), is widely recognized as the club's founder. <br />
<br />
According to her Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Yard), she moved to Pittsburgh in 1953, worked on David L. Lawrence's gubernatorial campaign in 1958, led the Western Pennsylvania presidential campaigns of John F. Kennedy in 1960 and George McGovern in 1972, and led an unsuccessful campaign to get NAACP President Byrd Brown the Democratic nomination to Congress.<br />
<br />
In 1964 she made an unsuccessful run for the state legislature as a candidate from the 14th Ward. The club formed around her campaign.<br />
<br />
Less well-known is that Yard apparently stepped down as president and quit the club in 1977 <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">when she lost a race for ward chair following that year's tumultuous
mayoral election. </span>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In a letter to <span class="il">club</span> members
announcing her resignation, Yard
addressed an ongoing philosophical debate about the club's mission:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvugGPNcVWXGNURGRoJbzYcBt1DFvHJgiAgRs5LXKB1wRZlYQvH3kdCjzhP4p7gz_dvNEXV_SyOszjeREeq3uZuEWKZGCDkPfNsmH08uzrF893Y18IBl0gcRP6Ntnqk3qYUP2B-JLRqk/s1600/Molly+Yard+resignation+letter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvugGPNcVWXGNURGRoJbzYcBt1DFvHJgiAgRs5LXKB1wRZlYQvH3kdCjzhP4p7gz_dvNEXV_SyOszjeREeq3uZuEWKZGCDkPfNsmH08uzrF893Y18IBl0gcRP6Ntnqk3qYUP2B-JLRqk/s1600/Molly+Yard+resignation+letter.jpg" height="320" width="249" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Molly Yard's club resignation letter<span style="font-size: small;">, </span>1977.<br /><span style="font-size: small;">Note the spilled coffee stains.</span><br />(Click on letter for larger version.)</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Some [<span class="il">club</span> members] view it as a
completely “independent” <span class="il">club</span> with no real ties or responsibility to the
Democratic Party, whereas I view the <span class="il">Club</span> as made up of Democrats who want to
influence the development of the Party in the 14<sup>th</sup> Ward and in
Allegheny County, as well as influence the selection of candidates by the Party
for public office.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Perhaps not coincidentally, Yard joined NOW's national staff the year after writing the letter, so she might have taken the occasion to make a dramatic exit. Still, it's good reading and raises an issues that remain relevant for the club today.</span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Molly Yard's New York Times obituary (2005) is at this link http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/22/national/22yard.html</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-54427103471328121472013-04-10T12:10:00.000-07:002013-04-17T06:16:18.681-07:00A Brief History of Club Fundraisers<div class="MsoNormal">
It's that time of year again. The club <span class="il"></span>will host its third annual Progressive Visions video contest and
fundraiser, Saturday, April 20, at Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ Melwood Screening Room. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/358568350930764/" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/<wbr></wbr>events/358568350930764/</a>. The
<span class="il">club</span> finances itself almost exclusively through the fundraiser and membership dues.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The
club's first fundraiser was held in August 1964, at Molly Yard’s house. Upwards of 400
tickets were sold, and some people were turned away. As a storm brewed on party
day, some of the proceeds were eaten up in a last minute tent rental. Of
course, it didn’t rain.<br />
<br />
That event kicked off a long string of barbeques at what was then called the
Schenley Park Athletic Pavilion (now Vietnam Veterans Pavilion). For $2.50
attendees got beer, hot dogs and stump speeches. In 1973 the price went up a
buck.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzssqCv2cYL2RvasJxcmJESPWgbobqf7agBko7hW22_0mCdziIrxeTn7Cuul2k0-xrz9vP0Jrp-ToWBDfgkH4izu1HltL6Xgq8aGXSuWd8pQyg76g834IwHTudQafo0KhcatSIYhBchDA/s1600/Swanky+Ball+_83+or+84.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzssqCv2cYL2RvasJxcmJESPWgbobqf7agBko7hW22_0mCdziIrxeTn7Cuul2k0-xrz9vP0Jrp-ToWBDfgkH4izu1HltL6Xgq8aGXSuWd8pQyg76g834IwHTudQafo0KhcatSIYhBchDA/s1600/Swanky+Ball+_83+or+84.jpg" height="315" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Planning the sixth annual "Swanky Ball" (L to R): Nan Matthews; Beatrice Goldszer (Bicky!); Joyce Lee Itkin; and Barbara Fenton. </i>[Click on picture for larger image.]</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Another popular <span class="il">club</span> function was the Swanky Ball, which was just the opposite
of swanky. It was initially held at the Irene Kaufmann Settlement, later moving to
the YMCA in Oakland. The price for the early balls was $7.50 for dancing and
refreshments (booze was extra).<br />
<br />
One
year the <span class="il">club</span> threw a “Stay at Home” fundraiser. (Stay home and send money!) It
was reportedly a welcome break for some committee people who tired of the
candidate fundraiser merry-go-round.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Another one-time fling was called the Tidal Basin Affair--in honor of
U.S. Rep. Wilbur Mills’ famous watery frolic with stripper Fanne Foxe--and was held at
a <span class="il">club</span> member’s swimming pool.<br />
<br />
<span class="il">Club</span> fundraiser special guests have ranged from Donald Fraser, a liberal
congressman from Minnesota who accepted an invitation to a 1965 barbeque, to
political cartoonist Tom Tomorrow, <i>New
Yorker</i> humorist Andy Borowitz, and <i>The
Daily Show’s</i> Aasif Mandvi.<i> </i><br />
<br />
<i>(Excerpted from "</i>Founding of the 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club<i>", a talk delivered by club board member Nat Hershey at the February 13, 2006 meeting of the Squirrel Hill Historical Society.)</i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-80572041541327078542013-03-14T09:20:00.000-07:002014-02-08T15:59:22.672-08:00A Fond Farewell to Nat MelamedSad news. Nat Melamed, a club founding member, died over the weekend. He was still serving on the club's board just a few years ago. His obituary is <a href="http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/postgazette/obituary.aspx?pid=163599539">here</a> and below. A fairly quick skim through the club's archives shows that Nat was a very active board member, serving as Vice-Chairman in 1968 and Treasurer in 1975, for example. He also chaired the club's fundraiser in 1977, which was held at the Irene Kaufmann Settlement (now the Jewish Community Center), at Forbes and Murray Avenues. There's even a brief letter, typed on onion skin in 1966, from Nat to Robert Wholey, owner of Wholey's Fish Market in the Strip District, thanking him for his "assistance" and extending four complimentary tickets, presumably for a club fundraiser. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2jO0kziloSV1rcKQK_fZ8Mf2jMwGZsGgNMkxuugvQCkJV4cS-izm8RCjzKKW0GOxX39eSVVlVWJm3hIS1-ArznyldXcHKLG9KgbNXuihbyfQ3-y01IS08YXIuLTKP6NbiRqw5yLKS9E/s1600/newpic5a8e450781da63ee87acb1aeabdf1a49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2jO0kziloSV1rcKQK_fZ8Mf2jMwGZsGgNMkxuugvQCkJV4cS-izm8RCjzKKW0GOxX39eSVVlVWJm3hIS1-ArznyldXcHKLG9KgbNXuihbyfQ3-y01IS08YXIuLTKP6NbiRqw5yLKS9E/s1600/newpic5a8e450781da63ee87acb1aeabdf1a49.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dorothy and Nat Melamed - 2005 (I've contacted "Blacktie Pittsburgh" to purchase the photo.)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
At a board meeting last night, club President Kathie Smith reminisced about a vacation that she spent at Nat and his wife Dorothy's home in Spain. Nat had donated a week's stay at the exotic locale for a fundraising auction for Just Harvest.<br />
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<h2>
NATHAN "NAT" MELAMED</h2>
</div>
MELAMED NATHAN "NAT"<br />
Age 89 of Squirrel Hill, passed away peacefully
on Saturday, March 9, 2013. He is survived by his beloved wife,
Dorothy; and his sons, David, Peter, and Paul, whom he loved very much.
He was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1923 and emigrated to New York City in
1929. He attended Townsend Harris High School, City College of New York,
and Brooklyn Polytechnic. After college, he worked on the Manhattan
Project and later worked as a scientist at the Westinghouse research
labs in Churchill, PA. He was a long standing board member of the PA
chapter of the ACLU, a past president of the Pittsburgh Chamber Music
Society, and a founding member of the 14th Ward Independent Democratic
Club. He loved cooking, folk dancing, and travel. A celebration of his
life will be announced. Private memorial. Arrangements by THE RAPP
FUNERAL HOME, 412-241-5415. Contributions may be made to the ACLU or the
Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society.<br />
Send condolences at post-gazette.com/gbUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-77488761676720000802013-03-07T08:05:00.000-08:002013-03-07T08:05:15.018-08:00Newsletters - 1965<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHHs8wWJ1-xXcUfZs_hrkBaXt0Bytjh3w1AWdBEz3cU16q6HqftB8s60t1U9niyhGm3XpEelfSBTb-Cqrq6rperafitPxFLLJDxXqTPv5cyrtad8B3RhqN6YRv3bgGY9pw9NxekjVD2Nc/s1600/Newsletter+Page+1+July+1965.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHHs8wWJ1-xXcUfZs_hrkBaXt0Bytjh3w1AWdBEz3cU16q6HqftB8s60t1U9niyhGm3XpEelfSBTb-Cqrq6rperafitPxFLLJDxXqTPv5cyrtad8B3RhqN6YRv3bgGY9pw9NxekjVD2Nc/s1600/Newsletter+Page+1+July+1965.bmp" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-50915623529450292352013-03-07T07:56:00.001-08:002013-03-07T07:56:12.457-08:00Barbeque Fundraiser - 1966<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyicn29KxVDvjO8QFc6QBWlsMjbHBR5ywlgw7PFu6eKXnL_yNr8feHcycbYP88H4uUHPNiFB9UEzG4np_rx9w677jJ0BQWykamJdpBe3HPyColCZpiBd0MvfA42JoD8cVVtXFQSFuyug/s1600/Fundraiser+flyer+1966.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyicn29KxVDvjO8QFc6QBWlsMjbHBR5ywlgw7PFu6eKXnL_yNr8feHcycbYP88H4uUHPNiFB9UEzG4np_rx9w677jJ0BQWykamJdpBe3HPyColCZpiBd0MvfA42JoD8cVVtXFQSFuyug/s1600/Fundraiser+flyer+1966.bmp" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-74363789606816226932013-03-07T07:54:00.001-08:002013-03-07T07:54:55.339-08:00Barbeque Fundraiser - 1965<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLW7ameElDOSNHCW3mJg9I9suNzG2HIxUttwyIOkj4voNj9_84YiPebycklcWrpomeodH9BEWdHftO2gXnBiO1MRJim3rhBbu3XDhDozm0F8yC4ppoKCofd7dka4CAUgEQgH-HRq8Sp7c/s1600/+Fundraiser+flyer+September+1965.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLW7ameElDOSNHCW3mJg9I9suNzG2HIxUttwyIOkj4voNj9_84YiPebycklcWrpomeodH9BEWdHftO2gXnBiO1MRJim3rhBbu3XDhDozm0F8yC4ppoKCofd7dka4CAUgEQgH-HRq8Sp7c/s1600/+Fundraiser+flyer+September+1965.bmp" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-8049035435207844252013-03-07T07:49:00.000-08:002013-04-10T11:40:50.787-07:00The Club Presents "Death of a Salesman" - 1965<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The classy invite below reads: "The 14th Ward Democratic Club requests the pleasure of your company at a benefit performance of the American Conservatory Theater Production of Mr. Arthur Miller's "Death of as Salesman" ... (click on the image to read more)"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiSRxDvFCvRU76spb-gvUWHZk6ArlpgouniwnAWU90LxMZ5vyxJ5Kr3A-J4Z3E7TTyrdaIyvMCHRGlf2gtj7yVZVQUqGcAWIUNoYhVXnT3kG5Oz6hEpG7Ek0glVQy2eTh6QnVK5fq9Ak8/s1600/Death+of+a+Salesman+fundraiser+invitation+1965.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiSRxDvFCvRU76spb-gvUWHZk6ArlpgouniwnAWU90LxMZ5vyxJ5Kr3A-J4Z3E7TTyrdaIyvMCHRGlf2gtj7yVZVQUqGcAWIUNoYhVXnT3kG5Oz6hEpG7Ek0glVQy2eTh6QnVK5fq9Ak8/s1600/Death+of+a+Salesman+fundraiser+invitation+1965.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">According to Wikipedia:<b> </b>"American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a large non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. <b>A.C.T. was founded in 1965 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Playhouse and Carnegie Mellon University</b> by theatre and opera director William Ball. By invitation from San Francisco philanthropists and officials, Ball relocated the company to San Francisco."<br /><br />Under Ball's Wikipedia entry is says that he "had a falling out with ACT's financial benefactors in Pittsburgh and took the company on the road."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I wonder if the club's event, which was scheduled for late October, actually went off. There are no other records in the archives about it, and the only thing listed at the history page on A.C.T.'s website for 1965 is this:</span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"The first performance of <i>Tartuffe</i> at the Pittsburgh Playhouse
inaugurates A.C.T. as a new resident theater company in Pittsburgh under
the direction of William Ball."</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Actually, maybe it did happen. Actor David Margulies
lists the production among his stage appearances on his website. He's
been in a ton of movies and TV shows, including two <i>Ghostbusters </i>and 8
<i>Sopranos</i>. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GcNGMZNz8uFB1MGSdo3qbCSYiKqo2xS8l_LpSQMhbV-mCzfPr2fEX-qneAy1eRzwHpeyvlmAdyfCTwo8ZlcOyWk9UKBk74ZmiZO3jr8vr4J3XSBdMatIobxr4_DeAOyGBqjjlMe4SOE/s1600/11084-7176.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GcNGMZNz8uFB1MGSdo3qbCSYiKqo2xS8l_LpSQMhbV-mCzfPr2fEX-qneAy1eRzwHpeyvlmAdyfCTwo8ZlcOyWk9UKBk74ZmiZO3jr8vr4J3XSBdMatIobxr4_DeAOyGBqjjlMe4SOE/s1600/11084-7176.gif" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And Lynne Connor wrote a history of Pittsburgh theater that says that the play featured Richard Dysart. He's been in a bunch of movies too, like <i>Being There</i>, and <i>The Day of the Locust</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089196663016644601.post-90760400396782096832013-03-04T12:45:00.000-08:002013-03-04T12:45:28.145-08:00Club co-founders Janet Kreisman and Eugene Sucov<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqWj0H9mMe8Jrd_ECW9-OvhwkXEZvnLoJgXYXZMn-kYpIFK24M3Fu-4FeSGktDOKb8HPDBwE6IAIZofz4HmMQFxULpHDtyj2nS2NGRoqLRALSbvO-_kSFY0xqLn6BtpCcPTdJzorkZCzE/s1600/Sucov+and+Kreisman_1965.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqWj0H9mMe8Jrd_ECW9-OvhwkXEZvnLoJgXYXZMn-kYpIFK24M3Fu-4FeSGktDOKb8HPDBwE6IAIZofz4HmMQFxULpHDtyj2nS2NGRoqLRALSbvO-_kSFY0xqLn6BtpCcPTdJzorkZCzE/s1600/Sucov+and+Kreisman_1965.bmp" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0