Forgive the voters of the 54th House District for feeling a bit of deja vu on Nov. 7.

They have, indeed, done this before.

Two years ago, incumbent state Rep. John Pallone, D-New Kensington, faced Republican challenger Scott Witon, of Murrysville. Mr. Pallone won by a wide margin.

This general election, voters have the same choice.

And while the anger is flaring in some districts about the pay raise that was passed by the Legislature on July 7, 2005, Mr. Pallone voted against the measure and did not take the money. He voted against increasing legislative pensions in 2001 and is still in the system with the lower factor for determining his pension after he leaves office.

Mr. Witon complained that Mr. Pallone has voted in favor of every state budget since he took office. "It's not spending. It's government spending," he said.

Mr. Pallone, 46, is a socially conservative Democrat. He's opposed to gun control and abortion, though he would make exceptions in abortion legislation for rape, incest and to save the life of the mother.

Mr. Witon, 54, also is socially conservative, saying he opposes gun control, but he said that, while he is opposed to abortion, it should not be up to the Legislature to make the decisions about abortion. Instead, women should be persuaded to decide that abortion is the wrong decision.

"Sometimes, I really want to abstain, because I don't think my position should be asked on things they are voting on," he said.

Mr. Witon is a former staff member for three state Senate members. He is an adjunct philosophy professor who has taught at Community College of Allegheny County, Westmoreland County Community College, Butler County Community College and the University of Pittsburgh's Greensburg campus. He said he had taken this semester off to devote himself full time to the campaign.

Mr. Pallone, a lawyer with a general practice, won his seat in 2000. He spearheaded a move to construct a building for Westmoreland County Community College in downtown New Kensington to replace the former elementary school where the satellite campus is now. The new Alle-Kiski Center is scheduled to open in 2008.

He's also working with state Rep. Frank Dermody, D-Oakmont, to reinstate a commuter train to run from Arnold through Oakmont and into the Strip District, which, studies show, would take 600 cars off the roads on slow days and as many as 1,500 cars when the trains were fully used. The cost of the railroad would be about $30 million, including upgrades to existing rail lines and new cars that come with their own engines.

Another initiative he is working on is building a $150 million bridge over the Allegheny River to carry traffic from the New Kensington and Plum side of the river to Lower Burrell and Route 28.

District 54 is in Armstrong and Westmoreland counties, including Bethel, Gilpin, Parks and Cadogan in Armstrong County. In Westmoreland County, it includes Arnold, Export, New Kensington, Lower Burrell, Upper Burrell and parts of Allegheny Township, Murrysville, and Penn Township.