Party swaps change face of Rostraver politics

The balance of political power in Rostraver shifted recently when two of the township’s commissioners changed their political affiliations from Democrat to Republican.

In January, board Chairman John Lorenzo, who was elected in November as a Democrat, and Henry Boldyzar Jr., whose current four-year term started last year, switched parties and, in doing so, gave Republicans a 3-2 board majority.

Boldyzar previously served about a year as the elected chairman of Westmoreland County’s Democratic Committee before he resigned the post in 2015.

“They are folks we’ve been courting and they expressed that the Democratic Party as it stands today no longer represents their core values,” said Bob MacPherson, chairman of the county Republican District 4 committee, which includes Rostraver.

MacPherson said he lobbied both to make the switch but neither required major arm twisting to move to the GOP, he said.

Both Lorenzo and Boldyzar officially switched their party registrations on Jan. 27, according to the elections bureau.

Lorenzo, in an interview earlier this week, said his party switch was not based on any issues he has with the county’s Democratic committee but was a move he said is reflective of his evolving political perspective.

“I grew up in a household that was heavily Democratic and never got to chose (my party) for myself. My ideology was that I am a fiscal conservative, pro-life and pro-gun, and the Democratic Party has moved so far to the socialist spectrum,” Lorenzo said.

Boldyzar did not return requests for comment.

Rostraver’s board of commissioners was sworn in on Jan. 6. At that time, Democrats held a 4-to-1 board majority. Commissioner Devin M. DeRienzo was the only Republican.

“Rostraver voters elected the person, not the party. I don’t think it changes the dynamic of the township,” Lorenzo said.

Meanwhile, Democrats still outnumber Republicans by about 500 registered voters in Rostraver. According to the elections bureau, as of the end of February there are 3,663 Democrats and 3,146 Republicans registered to vote in the township.

Annie Briscoe, vice chairwoman of the county’s Democratic Committee, said the defections of Lorenzo and Boldyzar are not indicative of any struggles in the party.

“It’s not representative of the direction the county is going,” Briscoe said. “I see a lot of momentum across the county and a lot of momentum going forward into 2020. I don’t see us slowing down.”

Democrats for decades held sway over politics in the county with control over most local governmental bodies and a substantial edge in voter registration. Republicans, in the last two decades, slowly turned the county from blue to red, taking elected seats throughout the region and, last year, overtaking the Democrats in voter registration numbers.

In the last couple of months, Democratic Party leadership also changed with the resignations of the committee’s two top officials.

Kerry Jobe, chairman of the county Republican Committee, said he expects to see more high ranking Democrats make similar moves to the GOP.

“I think this is indicative that the Democratic Party on the national level has become too socialist. Overall, the JFK Democrats will continue to come over to the Republican Party,” Jobe said.