Barbara Daly Danko -- "Competition makes for better candidates"

Barbara at the Schenley Park Skating Rink,
working the club's April 2005 endorsement meeting.

Next Monday marks two months since Barbara died. (Her obituary is here.) High time that this blog made some effort, however inadequate, to celebrate her political life and dedication to the club.

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!”

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.

Here’s a March 2007 Post-Gazette letter to the editor in which Barbara makes the case for competitive elections:

Unfair to Peduto

Your March 22 editorial "Peduto's Exit: Pittsburgh Loses in a Case of No Guts, No Glory" 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.
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.

As someone who knows something about running for political office, let me say emphatically that being a candidate is very difficult -- 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.

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.

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.

I believe the Post-Gazette editorial board owes Bill Peduto an apology.

BARBARA DALY DANKO
Regent Square

And here is an op-ed from Barbara that the Post-Gazette 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 ...

Why We Like Luke
By Barbara Daly Danko

            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.  I confess to being a policy wonk, and I am constantly telling my students to look at the issues when looking at the candidates.  I have also long believed that competition makes for better candidates and ultimately, better government.  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.  I think I’ve finally figured out why, and to explain, I need to tell you a story from almost 30 years ago.

            November 2, 1978 had to be the darkest day of my life.  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.  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.  He was a much-loved man who left us much too soon.

            We had no extended family living in D.C., so at first we were on our own.  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.  We didn’t sleep, we didn’t eat – we couldn’t, because all we really felt like doing was crying. 

            Finally, we were forced to go to the funeral home – it was time to have our friends, and eventually the relatives, pay their respects.  And so we drove there, mostly in silence.  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.  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.  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.

            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.  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.  And we all watched as Luke took the oath in a simple ceremony just hours later.  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.  He did it; and he did it with class and dignity.  He stepped forward when we needed him most, to get us through this moment in our City’s history.   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.”

            Has Luke made mistakes? Yes.  Have I agreed with Luke on every issue?  No.  Did I vote for Bill Peduto in the Democratic Committee endorsement to keep the conversation about issues going forward?  Yes.  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.  In the minds of most of the public, Luke’s name is the only one on the ballot.  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.  We Like Luke.

The author is an Adjunct Faculty member at CCAC, and Chair of the 14^th Ward Democratic Committee.

20th Anniversary Celebration - 1984

Two 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.

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.

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 here.

Two More 1964 Club-backed Committee Candidates

Talk 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.

 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).

Running 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.

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.

According to a 1964 Pittsburgh Press article 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 headshot of Nat in 1964.)

Also seeking a committee seat was another club founder, Celeste Behrend, who died in 2009-- Obituary: Celeste S. Behrend / Liberal political activist in city's 14th Ward.


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.

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.

Not a bad level of interest for an unpaid, under-appreciated, bottom-rung position on the Democratic Party ladder!

 

"Be Picky Elect Bicky"

Beatrice "Bicky" Goldszer was one committed committee person, as evidenced by her wide-ranging constituent services and multi-point community action plan listed in the campaign flier below. No date is indicated on the literature, but the mid- to late-1980s would be a good guess, judging by the font style and the fact that National Night Out started in 1984--Bicky was a prime mover in expanding the public safety event in the 14th Ward. Bicky was an active club board member and helped to organize a number of club fundraisers, including the sixth annual "Swanky Ball" (see photo in this post).

CLARIFICATION: Long-time club board member and former Pittsburgh Public Schools board member Liz Healy reports that this flier was circulated in 1990, when she and Bicky squared off in a school board race.

"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.

 

 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 here. 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.

 

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 February 18, with petitions due to be filed with the Allegheny County Division of Elections by March 11.

Better Luck This Year

Following on the club's dynamite gubernatorial forum at Carnegie Mellon yesterday (here's some good coverage from PoliticsPA), here's a recap of the club's last gubernatorial forum and endorsement, in 2010.

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 Post-Gazette's story is here.)

Joe Hoeffel speaking in 2010
(photo from 2 Political Junkies blog)

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.

Dan Onorato speaking at the club's
2010 endorsement meeting at the
Schenley Park Skating Rink Lodge

Anybody but Casey, Apparently

Philip J. Berg on the campaign trail, 1990

 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.

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 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_J._Berg).

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 Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a major case that upheld almost all of the abortion prohibitions that Casey signed into law.

Berg on Obama's trail, 2010, from the Birther Report website.

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:

Rendell Got Early Club Endorsement for Governor

21st District Attorney of Philadelphia - Ed Rendell meets with
newspaper staff in Philadelphia Evening Bulletin conference room.
(Photo from https://www.facebook.com/oldimagesofphiladelphia)

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.

Bob Casey Sr. - 1986

As the Pittsburgh Press 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.)

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.

Mailing the Voter's Guide--A Team Effort

While 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:

1) Engage with candidates and vote for those
who best reflect the club's values

2) Review ballots and tally results

3) Print the club's endorsements in a voter's guide and mail to
thousands of registered Democrats in the 14th Ward

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.

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.

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 (which will remain unnamed) 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 Post-Gazette's Tim McNulty got it on the North Side, and reports also came in from Bloomfield, Aspinwall and Brighton Heights.

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.

Thus proving the old adage: If you want something done right, do it yourself.

Itkin, Clark Redux

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.

Is that a young Cyril Wecht seated at speaker Ivan Itkin's far left?
If you can identify any pictured  politicos, please let me know.

Club board member Sally Morton reported that her daughter, Susan, was a friend of Jeanne Clark's stepson and attended an event at which Jeanne was photographed with singer Judy Collins. Sally said that her daughter remembers that Barbara Solin, a Squirrel Hill resident, was also there.

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. [Click on photo for larger image.]

A brief news item at this link indicates that the Clark/Collins "swankenda"(!)--a fundraiser for Clark's 1988 state senate run--was held at Chatham College professor Frank Lackner's house.

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:

"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!'"

When "Nobody's Boy" was Somebody's Boy

That's better ... Flaherty went rogue in 1969
and the club got on the bandwagon.

Before Pete Flaherty was “Nobody’s Boy” he was somebody’s boy, and the 14^th Ward Democratic Club didn’t like it.

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.

The club backed all of the Democratic Party’s endorsed council candidates that year, except Flaherty.

As club board member Nat Hershey diplomatically told the press, "It was felt that [Flaherty’s] chief virtues were represented by party reliability and ethnic continuity."

In the end, Flaherty won the council seat but received the lowest vote total among party endorsed candidates in the 14^th Ward.

Squirrel Hill was the epicenter of local political activity on April 26, 1965, with the club and both the 14th Ward Democratic and Republican committees meeting that night. [Click on image for larger version.]

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.

Special Squirrel Hill Remembrance: 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 link to a picture of the classic eatery (maybe somebody can get Brady Stewart to donate it to this page?)

Jack Wagner

By 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.

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.

Jack Wagner's Wikipedia photo

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."

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".

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.

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.

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.)"

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.

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.

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.

Jeanne Clark

No 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.

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.)

Club President Celeste Behrend headed Clark's campaign committee--which probably explains the Clark-centric archive folders--but she told the Post-Gazette that she didn't try to sway other club members because that would have been "taking unfair advantage of my position as president."

(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 Itkin, it would work for him too.)

Despite the club supporting Clark and the party backing Romanelli, Dawida won the race.

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.)

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 won the primary, with Robison finishing a distant second and Clark third.

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.

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:

"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....

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."

Click on the image below for the full text of the letter.