Many still supportive of DeWeese despite conviction
Share with others:
In Waynesburg, a coal and college town that was home base for state Rep. Bill DeWeese, many people say they'd vote for him again despite his conviction on corruption charges.
"Yes, I would vote for him again," said Bill Whitlatch, a construction company owner from nearby Rogersville. He was supervising work on a downtown Waynesburg building on a day when many shopkeepers took advantage of the surprise February warmth to gussy up their storefronts a bit. The seat of one of Pennsylvania's poorest counties has done its best to resist the decline of many rural main streets, and its citizens have considered Mr. DeWeese, a Democrat, an ally in the effort.
"He's done a lot for Greene County. I don't think that he did any more that was wrong than the rest of them did," Mr. Whitlatch said.
He was working just across from the largest of Mr. DeWeese's four district offices, which has four employees. They were busy assisting an elderly woman who needed help applying for benefits. It was several hours after the verdict but "We've been given no instructions," said Debbie Konosky, a legislative assistant, who elected to just keep doing her job.
"It's strange and it's going to be stranger," she said. "We are just waiting for someone to tell us what the next step is."
Down the street at the Greene County office building, Pam Snyder, chairman of the county commissioners, was giving a firm "no comment" to reporters who suddenly swarmed Waynesburg. A fellow Democrat, she ran against Mr. DeWeese when he was under indictment in 2010, but lost to him by 11 points after he mounted a vigorous door-to-door campaign.
That personal touch, combined with superb speaking skills, makes him popular, said the Rev. Rick Thompson, pastor of St. Ann Catholic Church in the heart of downtown Waynesbsurg. Father Thompson said he disagreed with Mr. DeWeese's politics and world view, yet "he has always made an effort to befriend me, and I do kind of look to him as a friend," he said.
First Published February 7, 2012 12:00 am
