The Next Page: The 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club, Pittsburgh's mavericks
The history of the East End's self-described outpost of progressivism
May 24, 2014 11:52 PM
Showing posts with label Celeste Behrend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Celeste Behrend. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Publishes Club 50th Anniversary History
As good a place as any to put a cap on the blog, although guest posting will always be welcomed ...
Friday, February 7, 2014
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
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:
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.
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."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)