As a public service, Tube City Community Media Inc. again will make available this space as a free, public outlet for local political candidates — although there are rules attached.
CANDIDATES: Please do not depend on Facebook messages or posts. Facebook does not always deliver messages or posts.
Please send candidate announcements to us at tubecitytiger@gmail.com, or Tube City Almanac, 409 Walnut St., Suite 200, McKeesport, PA 15132; we will publish candidate announcements as they are received at our office.
Deadline is May 1; announcements will be published at Tube City Almanac in the order they arrive.
Any candidate for a municipal (city, borough or township) or school board office in the Duquesne City, East Allegheny, McKeesport Area, South Allegheny or West Mifflin Area school districts* may submit a candidate announcement or statement for publication at Tube City Almanac.
Profiles received after the deadline will be published at the editor’s option, time permitting.
(Please do not send them as a text message, or as a Facebook message. Handwritten entries and phone calls are not acceptable.)
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was retracted and rewritten after publication. We learned after posting it that Joe Pero had also announced his candidacy on Facebook. We apologize to Pero for the omission.
Those are the only two candidates for this office of which we are presently aware.
CANDIDATES: Please do not depend on Facebook messages or posts.
Please send candidate announcements to us at tubecitytiger@gmail.com, or Tube City Almanac, 409 Walnut St., Suite 200, McKeesport, PA 15132; we will publish candidate announcements as they are received at our office. —JT
McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko speaks at a Veteran’s Day ceremony. He has announced plans to run for magisterial district judge. (City of McKeesport photo by Jennifer R. Vertullo)
Retired McKeesport police Chief Joe Pero also is seeking the office. Pero is a Marine Corps veteran and graduate of the FBI Academy. (Submitted photo via Facebook)
Two candidates widely known to city residents have announced their plans to run for magisterial district judge.
Saying that he looks forward to stepping out of the limelight — but continuing community service — McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko announced his plans on Thursday.
Earlier in the week, former McKeesport police Chief Joe Pero also announced his candidacy, via Facebook. Pero retired from the police department in 2010 after a 30-year career.
Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi, who has served in that role since 2007, confirmed Friday that he is not seeking re-election. Riazzi, who previously served as a McKeesport police officer, chief of detectives, and as an Allegheny County sheriff’s deputy, is eligible for retirement under state law.
From top left, in alphabetical order, Tim Eads of Munhall, Rikell Ford of Clairton, Dan Goughnour of McKeesport, Mary Nesby of Homestead, Lou Ransom Jr. of Munhall and Dexel Tolliver of Clairton. (Submitted photos)
The six Democrats vying for the nomination to run for the 35th Legislative District seat in a special election share a common focus on jobs, public safety, education and blight removal.
And the candidates also share a common goal of working with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to advance his legislative agenda, they said during a closed-circuit conference call on Thursday night.
The Allegheny County Democratic Committee will meet Saturday in McKeesport to choose a candidate to run in the special election being held March 25 to fill the remainder of State Rep. Matthew Gergely’s two-year term in office.
A memorial wreath is visible through the window at State Rep. Matt Gergely’s office as it reflects scenes of Lysle Boulevard. The office was closed this week following his death Sunday. (Almanac photo)
A special election will be held March 25 to fill the 35th Legislative District seat left vacant by the death of State Rep. Matt Gergely of McKeesport.
The Pennsylvania Department of State said official papers were filed this week by Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton and nomination certificates will be accepted through Feb. 5 from both the Democratic and Republican parties, as well as minor parties.
Objections to any candidate’s nomination must be filed by Feb. 6. Persons who want to vote in the special election must register by March 10.
Amid concerns of election denialism, a report from a nonpartisan watchdog organization highlights the robust protections in place to help safeguard Pennsylvania’s election process.
More than 8 million registered voters in the commonwealth are expected to cast a ballot in today's presidential election. Polls are open in Pennsylvania until 8 p.m.
Jenny Gimian, director of legal research and senior policy counsel for the nonprofit Informing Democracy, said counties in Pennsylvania have significant authority to interpret and implement state laws, while the Secretary of State has limited oversight powers. It comes into play if defective ballots need a “cure.”
“Pennsylvania doesn’t have a cure law,” Gimian said. “The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently issued a decision confirming that counties can decide whether or not they are going to notify voters if they discover a defect with their ballot before election day. Some counties go out of their way to notify voters and allow them to cast a provisional ballot to fix the issue, others do not.”
In Allegheny County, nine ballot return sites will remain open through Nov. 4.
Voters had until Oct. 29 to request a mail-in or absentee ballot in Pennsylvania.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, more than 257,000 Allegheny County voters requested mail-in ballots for the Nov. 5 election. Of those, about 201,000 have already been returned.
“We strongly encourage voters who are still holding on to their mail-in ballots to use one of our 10 ballot return sites across the county,” Allegheny County Elections Division Manager Dave Voye said. “If we receive a ballot after 8 p.m. on Election Day, even if it is postmarked Election Day or earlier, we cannot accept it.”
In addition to the South Park ice rink, locations include:
• Duquesne: Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank • Avalon: Public Library • Dormont: Pool • Homewood: Community College of Allegheny County • Moon Twp.: Allegheny County Emergency Services Building • Pine Twp.: North Park ice rink • Plum: Boyce Park Four Seasons Lodge • Squirrel Hill: Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
The hours of the above locations are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.
Voters who send or drop-off an absentee ballot may not vote in person at their neighborhood polling place, state officials have warned.
However, Allegheny County officials said voters who requested an absentee ballot, but did not return it, should bring it to their poling place and ask to vote in person instead. This process is known as “spoiling a ballot.”
Voters who are not in possession of their mail-in ballot and have not had confirmation that their mail-in ballot was received by the Elections Division should ask to cast a provisional ballot, the county said.
The United States Postal Service earlier this week suggested that all ballots be in the mail back to the County Elections Division by Oct. 29.
The County Office Building on Ross Street in downtown Pittsburgh also will be open for voters returning their mail-in ballots, a spokesperson said. The lane on Ross Street closest to the building is available for people to temporarily park and return their ballot.
The County Office Building hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Allegheny County elections officials have issued this video explaining how absentee and mail-in ballots are counted. (Courtesy Allegheny County via YouTube)
Ahead of Tuesday’s election, Pennsylvania has become ground-zero for election conspiracy theories, experts warned this week, and they are cautioning the public not to be fooled.
Officials with the Allegheny County Elections Bureau have already attempted to debunk social media rumors after a video circulated of an absentee ballot drop-off location in South Park.
County officials said no illegal activity occured at the South Park drop-off facility, located at the county-owned ice rink on Corrigan Drive. The county elections bureau has opened temporary satellite offices at nine locations, including in Duquesne, Squirrel Hill and six other neighborhoods, where voters may deliver their own absentee ballots to elections workers.
One of the hot issues for younger voters — the year-long Israeli bombing campaign on Palestine, following an October 2023 surprise attack by Hamas — was barely mentioned Tuesday during a get-out-the-vote rally in McKeesport’s Renziehausen Park.
The closest anyone came was when former President Bill Clinton was listing a variety of problems the country was facing. The issue received less attention than questions about artificial intelligence.
Earlier in the day, an appearance by Clinton at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg was briefly interrupted when a 20-year-old protestor who identified herself only as “Faith” interrupted the former president’s remarks to ask why the United States is still supplying weapons to Israel.
Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for president, speaks during a 2016 campaign stop in Omaha, Neb. (Matt A.J. photo via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons license CC BY 2.0)
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein will attend a candidate forum in Renziehausen Park tonight (Wednesday) sponsored by Mon Valley-based Take Action Advocacy Group and Pittsburgh’s 412 Justice.
The Environmental Justice Candidate Forum begins at 5 p.m. at Jacob Woll Pavilion in McKeesport. The event is free, but online registration is requested.
In addition to Stein, other candidates who are scheduled to attend include Leila Hazou, Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate; U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, Democrat of Swissvale, who is seeking her second term in Congress, and challenger James Hayes (Republican Party); state attorney general candidates Eugene DePasquale (Democratic Party) and Richard L. Weiss (Green Party); Malcolm Kenyatta, Democratic candidate for state auditor general; Erin McClelland, Democratic candidate for state treasurer; State Sen. Jay Costa, Forest Hills Democrat, seeking re-election in the 43rd District; and John Ritter, Republican candidate for state General Assembly in the 25th District.
Former President Bill Clinton, who visited McKeesport in 1992 while running for president, helped lead a “get-out-the-vote” rally for local Democrats at Renziehausen Park on Tuesday. (Yousuf Lachhab Ibrahim photo for Tube City Almanac)
Former President Bill Clinton came to McKeesport on Tuesday for a Get Out the Vote rally in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign for president.
With early voting underway and Election Day less than a week away, Democrats, Republicans, and the Green Party are trying to secure votes with the little time they have left in Pennsylvania, which is considered the key swing state this year.
On the same day that Clinton came to McKeesport, Trump held a rally in Allentown. Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential candidate, will be coming to McKeesport tonight (Wednesday) for an environmental justice forum in Renziehausen Park from 5 to 8 p.m.
