May 11, 2025 |
By Leslie Savisky | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, Politics & Elections
* — CORRECTION: This story was corrected after publication. We regret the error.
(File photo by Adam Reinherz for Tube City Almanac)
Four seats are open on the McKeesport Area School Board and nine candidates — including two incumbents — are running in the May 20 primary election.
In Pennsylvania, school board races are officially non-partisan, and all candidates have qualified to run as both as Democrats and Republicans.
Candidates who finish in the top four positions in each party’s primary will be candidates for the general election, to be held Nov. 4.
Incumbents David Donato and Matthew Holtzman are running for re-election. School Director LaToya Wright, whose term expires this year, is not running again, while Dan Goughnour resigned after being elected state representative for the 35th Legislative District.
In addition to Donato and Holtzman, other announced candidates include Bob Boyle, Tom Filotei, Kevin Kovach, Arla Payne, Mike Shelly, Julian Thomas, and Tiffany Wampler.
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March 26, 2025 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Politics & Elections
Republican candidate Chuck Davis congratulated his Democratic rival and expressed his hopes for the future of the 35th District.
Unofficial results from the Allegheny County Elections Division on Wednesday showed Davis trailing Dan Goughnour by 6,797 to 3,751 votes in Tuesday’s special election, with one precinct in Duquesne still untabulated. Davis ran strong in his native White Oak, where he serves as borough council president, with 1,054 votes to Goughnour’s 1,082.
Returns elsewhere showed Goughnour with sizable margins in most of the rest of the district, which includes Clairton, Duquesne, McKeesport, Munhall and Port Vue.
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March 26, 2025 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Politics & Elections
Related Story: Davis concedes race, congratulates opponent
(Submitted photo)
Dan Goughnour will be the next state representative for the 35th District.
With all but one precinct reporting, unofficial results from the Allegheny County Elections Division on Wednesday showed the McKeesport Democrat with a commanding 63 to 35 percent lead over his rival, Republican Chuck Davis, in Tuesday’s special election.
Libertarian candidate Adam Kitta received around 1.5 percent of the vote.
Goughnour said he expects to be sworn into office sometime in April, following the completion of the vote count and certification of the ballot, but wants to hit the ground running.
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March 10, 2025 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Politics & Elections
CORRECTION: This story was corrected after publication to fix Squires’ job title. We apologize for the error.
Kevin Squires has announced plans to run for re-election to the West Mifflin Area School Board. Squires, 32, is seeking his second four-year term.
A graduate of Point Park University, Squires is a laboratory manager at the University of Pittsburgh. He holds a master’s degree in secondary education and currently serves as president of the West Mifflin board.
Squires said in a statement: “Four years ago, I campaigned on advancing education, fiscal responsibility, hearing the community, informing the public, and pushing for transparency.
“Since being elected, the district has changed considerably. I have supported investing millions in new technology, including new laptops for all students and touchscreen TVs for all classrooms, and curriculum materials (some of which had not been updated in over 20 years).
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March 10, 2025 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, Politics & Elections
(Submitted photo courtesy of the candidate)
A longtime McKeesport police officer has announced his candidacy for the McKeesport Area School Board in the May primary election.
Julian Thomas is running on both the Republican and Democratic tickets. School director positions are officially non-partisan and cross-filing is common.
A graduate of Community College of Allegheny County, Thomas is married and a father of four children, including two attending McKeesport Senior High School.
Thomas, a member of Ebenezer Christian Worship Center in Clairton, described himself as “a passionate community organizer focusing on improving our communities rapport with the local government and school district as well as getting the services and resources to the communities most in need of them.”
He has been a police officer for 15 years.
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March 07, 2025 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, Politics & Elections
(Submitted photo)
White Oak resident Adam Kitta has announced his candidacy for the 35th Legislative District and is running on the Libertarian Party ticket.
Kitta, a lifelong resident of the Mon Valley, said the driving force of his candidacy has been his “passion to make a difference and determination to bring people together.”
A special election is being held March 25 to fill the vacancy left by the Jan. 19 death of State Rep. Matt Gergely of McKeesport.
The 35th District includes McKeesport, Clairton, Duquesne, Homestead, Liberty Borough, Lincoln Borough, Munhall, Port Vue, South Versailles Twp., Versailles, West Homestead, Whitaker, White Oak and portions of West Mifflin.
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February 19, 2025 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Politics & Elections
State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, vice chair of the Democratic National Committee; Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin; state legislative candidate Dan Goughnour; and Sam Hens-Greco, Allegheny County Democratic Committee chair during a Tuesday event in McKeesport. (Kyle Nelson photo, submitted by McKeesport Democratic Committee)
The national chair of the Democratic Party visited the city on Tuesday afternoon to rally local candidates and urge them to compete at every level.
Ken Martin, a longtime political activist in his home state of Minnesota, visited with Dan Goughnour and other local Democrats during a visit to a new campaign headquarters in the Executive Building, Downtown.
“It was almost overwhelming,” Goughnour said. “He told us they don’t want to take any election for granted. We need to work hard, knock on doors, win the little races before we take on the large races.”
Goughnour, a McKeesport police officer and member of the McKeesport Area School Board, is the Democratic candidate to replace the late state Rep. Matt Gergely in a special election March 25. Goughnour is being challenged by Republican candidate Chuck Davis, a White Oak council member and volunteer firefighter.
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February 12, 2025 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Politics & Elections
The Allegheny County Elections Division today announced that nomination petitions are available online and in the office for candidates seeking to run in the May 20 municipal primary elections.
Voters throughout the county will go to the polls this fall to elect offices — depending on the communities — such as mayors, city and borough council members, Allegheny County council members, school directors, township commissioners, judges, and district justices.
Petitions, along with instructions, are available online. The nomination petitions must be printed or copied as duplex (double-sided, front-to-back, head-to-head) on plain white 8.5” x 11” (letter size) paper.
This requirement cannot be satisfied by printing each side of the nomination petition on a separate sheet of paper and affixing the sheets together.
Candidates for any of the court offices (Common Pleas, Commonwealth, Superior and Supreme) may obtain nomination petitions by contacting the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Commissions, Elections & Legislation via phone at 1-877-868-3772, or online at the state’s Running for Office webpage.
Candidates may begin to circulate petitions and file nomination papers on Feb. 18. The last day to file these nomination petitions is March 11.
February 05, 2025 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Politics & Elections
(Submitted photo)
West Mifflin Council Member Dan Davis has announced his plans to seek the Democratic nomination for Allegheny County Council District 9.
Davis, a graduate of Ohio State University, is an environmental engineer who currently works as a department manager at DLZ Corp. in Bridgeville.
“With eight years of experience as a councilman for West Mifflin Borough and 35 years as an environmental manager, I am confident in my ability to address the concerns of the 17 municipalities within Allegheny County District 9,” Davis said.
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February 05, 2025 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Politics & Elections
(Submitted photo)
McKeesport police Capt. Dan Goughnour has officially announced his candidacy for state legislator from the 35th Legislative District.
A 16-year veteran of the city police and a member of the McKeesport Area School Board, Goughnour received the nomination from the Allegheny County Democratic Committee following a meeting Saturday at the Palisades.
Separately, the Republican Committee of Allegheny County has nominated White Oak Council Member Chuck Davis.
Candidates were chosen by parties, rather than in a primary election, because state law requires a special election to be held to fill the empty seat with 60 days of a vacancy. State Rep. Matt Gergely, 45, died unexpectedly Jan. 19 after a brief illness.
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