Editorial: Dilemma in the 20th / On balance, Rep. Walko is best for the House
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Still mad about the pay raise? Want to punish the incumbents who voted for it in the early-morning hours of that infamous July night more than a year ago? That's what we want too.
But here's the problem. What if the public votes out a pay-grabber only to find that his replacement has unhelpful views on most of the issues?
That is the dilemma for voters in the 20th House District, which includes city neighborhoods Troy Hill, Lawrenceville, the Strip District, Spring Hill, Observatory Hill, Brighton Heights and the borough of West View and parts of Ross and Reserve.
The incumbent, Don Walko, 53, of the North Side, is seeking a seventh term. A Democrat, he voted for the pay raise and took it, but later voted to repeal it and has paid it back. He now calls the initial vote "a terrible mistake in my political career."
Yet many of the positions Mr. Walko takes are sensible and enlightened. Indeed, he wants another term to continue pushing for environmental improvements in his district, among other things. With Medicare overburdened, he also has been an advocate for greater availability of health coverage and reducing the cost of prescription drugs.
Mr. Walko realizes that it is unrealistic to abolish property taxes but has supported a raise in the personal income tax and sales tax to relieve the burden. He supports a dedicated source of funding for mass transit, perhaps through an increase in the tire tax. He would not vote to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade were overturned. He supports a statewide ban on smoking in indoor workplaces.
Most of this is in sharp contrast to his opponents. The Constitution Party candidate, Jim Barr, 53, of West View, who works for a nonprofit that provides support to mentally challenged adults, believes all elected officials need to do only what the Constitution says. This leads him to oppose any sort of gun control and state funding for public transit. He also would eliminate property taxes (and fund everything with sales taxes) and he would vote to ban abortion -- with no exceptions.
These extreme positions leave the Republican, Bill Stalter, 55, of Reserve, as the only plausible challenger to Mr. Walko. As the owner of a wholesale lumber brokerage company, he'd be a part-time legislator who would limit representatives to just two terms.
Mr. Stalter's agenda is from the standard conservative playbook; it doesn't go much beyond reining in the Legislature and cutting taxes, which is his all-purpose remedy for most ills. Asked what he could do to help Pittsburgh, for example, his answer is to cut taxes. He added that he would have voted against replacing the $10 occupation tax with a $52 municipal services tax, part of the package that saved Pittsburgh from bankruptcy.
Mr. Stalter would eliminate property taxes and make up the difference in sales taxes (which he would extend to food and clothing). He believes mass transit should be supported with a dedicated source of funding, but is vague as to how. He would outlaw abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or health of the mother. And for those bothered by secondhand smoke in public places, don't look to Mr. Stalter for relief; he opposes statewide action to limit smoking.
So should the voters overlook the incumbent's flaw on the pay raise or embrace the obvious flaws of his opponents? Though we backed one of Mr. Walko's challengers in the Democratic primary, this mix of candidates is different. We endorse Don Walko in the 20th District, and urge him to listen closely to his constituents and become a champion of reform.
First Published October 11, 2006 12:00 am
