Democrats express interest in Tony DeLuca’s state House seat

Penn Hills Mayor Pauline Calabrese and school board president Erin Vecchio have put their names in the hat for the Democratic nomination for the state House District 32 seat.

The 32nd District has been represented by Tony DeLuca, D-Penn Hills, for nearly 40 years. He died Oct. 9, 2022, at home of lymphoma. He was 85.

DeLuca’s name still appeared on the November ballot, and he was reelected by more than a 6-to-1 margin.

The 32nd Legislative District includes Oakmont, Verona, Plum and most of Penn Hills. Democrats hold a more than 2-to-1 voter registration advantage over Republicans in the district.

A special election is set for Feb. 7.

Allegheny County Democratic Committee accepted letters of interest for the candidacy through 5 p.m. Tuesday.

ACDC executive director Emily Marburger released the names of the other candidates that evening: Nicholas Futules, Joe McAndrew, Frank Pecora, Tracy Holst, Louis Leon and Lois Vitti.

The committee is scheduled to meet Sunday afternoon at Riverview Community Action Corp. in Oakmont to vote for the nominee.

Both Calabrese and Vecchio confirmed their interest in the seat Monday.

Vecchio, 63, is a Penn Hills graduate who is in her third stint on the school board. She previously served from 1998 to 2009 before being reelected in 2016 and again in 2020. She has been its president for six years.

She ran against DeLuca in the primaries twice in the last six years and was his only challenger since 2014.

Despite having been soundly defeated, Vecchio said the third time can be the charm.

“I’m the only one that’s been out here for the last 20 years fighting for this area and everybody knows it,” Vecchio said. “I have a track record (of getting things done). Anybody else who has put their name out there hasn’t done anything for this community or this area.”

Vecchio said she believes she can do a lot more for Penn Hills and the entire district in part due to her relationship with state Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, who has helped the Penn Hills School District receive more than $10 million in state grants and aid the past several years.

Calabrese, 60, is in her first term as mayor. She replaced Sara Kuhn, who served two back-to-back terms after serving on council since 2004 and did not seek reelection.

Calabrese also served on the Penn Hills School Board 2014-2017 and ran unsuccessfully to be a judge on the Allegheny Court of Common Pleas in 2015 and 2017. She is an attorney who specializes in family law.

Calabrese said she was running again for state office to continue her work to better her municipality and surrounding communities, and declined to comment about other potential candidates.

“My husband (Nick) and I have raised our five children in this community,” Calabrese said. “My goal now is the same as when I first entered public service, and that is that every family in the greater Penn Hills area have the opportunities they deserve. I have the proven experience to perform these legislative duties and I think I am in the best position to meet a Republican challenger.”

Republican challengers

Meanwhile, the Republican Committee of Allegheny County had no official candidates as of Monday afternoon.

A few people have shown interest in becoming the GOP nominee, but have yet to submit something formal, according to committee executive director John Schnaedter.

“There have been a few candidates here or there,” he said. “They are pretty much feeling out the process. They’re on the fence I would say.”

There is no deadline for Republicans to submit letters of interest.

A nomination meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 17 at the committee’s Monroeville Victory Center, 339 Haymaker Road.

Schnaedter said those who wish to be considered for the nomination must be at that meeting.

One person that GOP committee members are pulling for is Carrie Lewis DelRosso, who is spending some time with family after campaigning for lieutenant governor.

She ran with Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano, who lost to Democratic candidate Josh Shapiro and his running mate Austin Davis in November.

DelRosso said many within her party have asked her to run for the 32nd District seat.

“I told everyone I’m still thinking,” she said. “I just came off a statewide race. The district needs someone to serve and represent the community, and and represent them in Harrisburg whether they’re a Democrat or a Republican. I think DeLuca did a good job. They’re big shoes to fill. They need someone that’s qualified and has the experience.”

DelRosso’s rise to candidate for lieutenant governor started with her election to Oakmont Council in 2017. She then unseated incumbent 33rd House District Rep. Frank Dermody by 938 votes in 2020, when Dermody held the Democrats’ top post in the state House, minority leader.

She also worked in public relations for Riverview and Penn Hills school districts as well as Verona and Plum boroughs.

Steve Schlauch, Plum Republican Committee chair, is one of DelRosso’s supporters.

“She’s far and away the best candidate,” he said. “She’s a rising superstar in the Republican party. She has the full support here in Plum and Plum has the most committee members of all the municipalities in the District.”

Schlauch, a former Plum School Board president, also highlighted what it would mean for the GOP to flip another Pennsylvania legislative seat.

“It would mean a lot to our party,” he said. “We haven’t really had much representation out here in the eastern suburbs of Allegheny County.”

DelRosso, 47, said she plans to make her decision whether to run for the House seat sometime in mid-December. She hopes whoever the two candidates are run on their policies and record instead of personal attacks.

“I think I bring a positive influence to politics,” she said. “I think the demonizing needs to stop and I think we need to communicate across the aisle for the people and what they want.”