Democrat Bill Petulla, Republican Jeremy Shaffer chase open seat in 28th State House District

Democrat Bill Petulla and Republican Jeremy Shaffer are striking moderate messages in the race to represent Pennsylvania’s 28th State House District, a right-leaning band of mostly affluent suburbs along Allegheny County’s northern border.

The district includes West Deer, Marshall, Bradford Woods, Pine Township, Richland and Hampton.

Both candidates ran unopposed in the primaries. Incumbent Rob Mercuri, R-Pine, is vacating his seat to focus on his challenge to U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, in the 17th Congressional District.

Shaffer, 47, took on Deluzio in 2022 and fell short, four years after a nail-biter loss in the 38th State Senate District. He has further involved himself in North Hills politics by serving six years as a Ross Township commissioner, including two as board president, before moving to Pine Township.

He also has a combined 12 years of experience on the Northland Public Library Foundation and Northern Tier Regional Library boards.

Shaffer founded InspectTech, a software company focused on infrastructure management that was acquired in 2012 by Bentley Systems, where he now works as an engineer.

Petulla, 50, of Richland Township is making his first run for office, leaning on his more than 15 years of prosecutorial experience for the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office to make his case to voters. His latest role is chief trial deputy.

He also has legal experience working for KidsVoice in Pittsburgh, an agency that provides representation and advocacy for abused and neglected foster care children.

The two candidates are neck and neck on cash at last count, with campaign finance reports from May showing Petulla with $82,000 in contributions this year, compared to $79,000 for Shaffer.

On the issues

Pennsylvania’s current budget includes $11 billion for K-12 education — a record amount — including $100 million for mental health and physical safety resources, but Petulla told TribLive he wants more.

He said the governor and General Assembly should go even further next year to provide for more mental health personnel in schools, like counselors, for students.

Mental health has taken center stage in education post-covid as teachers and researchers report an uptick in social, emotional and behavioral difficulties among students.

“I just think it’s so pivotal to start kids young in receiving these services,” Petulla said.

Petulla also is pushing for additional funding to bolster police wages, benefits and equipment, a plank of his platform that likely has helped to land coveted law enforcement endorsements that seldom go to Democrats.

“When people say they back the blue, it should be on both fronts,” Petulla said. “Not only the respect for the dangerous work that they do, but also quality-of-life issues to make sure they are appropriately compensated and their families have insurance.”

Shaffer has made supporting first responders a part of his campaign, too, while also calling for quality transportation, environmental protection and other “best practice” policies.

In an interview with TribLive, he also took the traditionally conservative line of shrinking government and reducing taxes.

Cutting the size of the state House — the country’s largest full-time Legislature — is one way he sees that happening.

“I am in favor of term limits, downsizing the size of the state Legislature and ending the lifetime perks the members get,” Shaffer said, referring at least to pensions. “Instead of 203 members, have 100 members, and it would cost a lot less.”

He believes the state needs to be doing more with less, becoming more responsive while cutting regulations and taxes to the benefit of small businesses.

“Our state government is not customer-centric,” Shaffer said. “You don’t know if you’re going to get a response from someone in one week or one year. It’s an efficiency issue. It’s a cultural issue.”

Petulla, taking a frequently used Democratic talking point, has made infrastructure spending a key part of his campaign. In the 28th District, he said, it’s high time arterial roadways, such as Route 8, are upgraded to accommodate the population and corresponding traffic growth.

Both candidates have highlighted their belief in bipartisanship as they seek crossover appeal in a district that, while historically Republican, could be within striking distance for Petulla.

Shaffer was selected as board president in Ross Township, he noted, despite the makeup being three Republicans to six Democrats. Without political experience to point to, Petulla instead cited a personal circle of politically diverse friends — more Republican than Democrat, by his count.