By Tribune-Review

Published: Monday, October 8, 2012, 8:56 p.m.
Updated: Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Driving along Gilkeson Road in Mt. Lebanon, I couldn't help but notice a large number of “Matt Smith for state Senate” signs. I wondered how many of those signs were funded by money that state Rep. Smith didn't have to spend participating in the primary.

Raja won a very contentious and expensive Republican primary in the 37th Senatorial District. In the district's Democrat primary, Greg Parks, a relatively unknown Pleasant Hills councilman, quietly conducted an email write-in campaign and garnered sufficient votes to win the Democrat nomination.

But curiously, nine weeks later, on June 29, Parks withdrew from the Senate race, citing undisclosed “personal reasons.” And two weeks after that, Democrat Smith announced his intention to run for the 37th District Senate seat. Arguably, Smith, Parks and other political insiders have successfully gamed the system to place Smith's name on the ballot.

At a minimum, Smith is complicit in these shenanigans. Do we want another typical political insider to represent us in the Senate? And yes, Smith is still running for re-election to his 42nd District seat in the state House. Unfair? Ultimately, the answer to both of these questions is up to the voters to decide.

Steve Lynch

Upper St. Clair

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