Could Cernic get the nod?

pCould Ed Cernic Jr. end up winning Monday?/p
pIt’s not as crazy it sounds. The Cambria County controller, who was seen by many as little more than a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2010/03/cernic-says-hes-no-spoiler/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fcernic-says-hes-no-spoiler%2F','a+spoiler+candidate')" target="_blank">a spoiler candidate, could emerge as a something of a compromise candidate for state Democratic Party leaders flummoxed by how best to hold the late John Murtha’s seat in the 12th Congressional District. One high-level party insider said Sunday that it was a distinct possibility Cernic might end up with the executive committee’s endorsement when it votes Monday.

“Barbara’s f—-d this up to the point that we’re looking hard at Cernic now,” he said. “He…

March 7, 2010 at 11:23 pm | Comments (8)

How Hafer hurt herself

DELMONT—When Barbara Hafer addressed local Democratic insiders to seek their support here Saturday, John Lingnelli had something to say that he thought warranted an interruption.

“Let the congressman rest in peace!” Lignelli, the small-town mayor of Donora, shouted over her.

In a non-binding vote shortly after, full story

March 7, 2010 at 11:03 pm | Comments (24)

High-level Dem: ‘Incredibly unlikely’ Critz gets nominated

Mark Critz may have pSerious enough, perhaps, to deny him the nomination when the executive committee votes Monday./p
pCalling it “very unlikely, incredibly unlikely” that Critz will win Monday, the party insider signaled that the stakes are too high for a candidate who hasn’t been vetted over any remotely long period of time./p
p“The things is,” he said, “this is going to be a national election, it’s going to be turned into a bellwether, it’s going to be exhaustively analyzed./p
p“This is very fluid and nothing has been decided,” he added in an interview just 24 hours before the executive committee is set to make its pick./p
pIt’s clear that Critz is more popular locally than he is elsewhere; state committee members voting Saturday in the straw-vote in Delmont mostly split their votes between him and Barbara Hafer, making it so that the delegates appointed by local county chairs effectively handed Critz the win, albeit a non-binding one./p
pBut that such a high-level party hand would make the comment underscores how much some of the attacks on Critz have stuck. It has been disclosed a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2010/03/critz-was-bookkeeper-for-company-with-multiple-tax-violations/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fcritz-was-bookkeeper-for-company-with-multiple-tax-violations%2F','that+a+company+he+helped+run+had+multiple+federal+and+state+tax+violations')" target="_blank"that a company he helped run had multiple federal and state tax violations/a. An opponent has tried, though without offering evidence, a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2010/03/hafer-swipes-at-critz-selection-process/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fhafer-swipes-at-critz-selection-process%2F','to+paint+him+as+ethically+suspect')" target="_blank">to paint him as ethically suspect. And the liberal blog

For Critz, being a ‘legacy’ candidate is a double-edge sword

From the moment Mark Critz got into the Democratic contest to follow his late boss, his staunchest supporters have described him as the natural successor to John Murtha, someone in the best position to carry on the longtime congressman’s work in the 12th District. One person endorsing him even described Critz, Murtha’s former district director, as “the best legacy candidate.”

In a climate hostile to anything resembling political establishment, that could be a perilous message…

full story

March 7, 2010 at 9:11 pm | Comments (0)

From the Blogs

Texas? Really?

by Tammy Alonso

We learned last week that Texas attorney Ron Mackell Jr., apparently also a former resident of Johnstown,

Hafer aide: ‘This guy is not electable’

DELMONT—A top adviser to Barbara Hafer said Saturday that Mark Critz simply cannot hold the 12th Congressional District for Democrats, in the most direct comments yet from a campaign which is making electability a key part of its argument.

“The reality is this guy is not electable,” Josh Morrow, who is running the early stages of Hafer’s campaign, told pa2010.com. His comments came shortly before

Local Dems back Critz for 12th District special

DELMONT—Longtime congressional staffer Mark Critz won the support of local Democratic Party insiders in the 12th Congressional District Saturday, officially becoming their preferred candidate for a special election before the state party’s executive committee makes a final nomination.

Critz, who was district director for the late Congressman John Murtha, won 55 percent of the votes cast by delegates at a morning meeting here—a significant show of support but not the overwhelming win that some had…

full story

March 6, 2010 at 2:30 pm | Comments (12)

Cernic says he’s no spoiler

Cambria County Controller Ed Cernic Jr. talks to 12 District Democratic insiders Saturday in Delmont. He finished third in the non-binding vote.

DELMONT—In the race for the 12th Congressional District, political analysts and watchers have already framed Cambria County Controller Ed Cernic Jr. as the “spoiler” candidate in a high-powered contest between Mark Critz and Barbara Hafer.

Not so fast, Cernic says.

“I frame the rest of them as spoilers,” Cernic said with a smile after he finished third in

full story

March 6, 2010 at 2:28 pm | Comments (1)

Rooney: We’ll think about it

State Democratic Party chairman T.J. Rooney on Saturday thanked the 12th District party faithful for

Critz says he’ll have a quarter-million soon

DELMONT—Congressional hopeful Mark Critz said Saturday that he’s raised $130,000 so far, has secured $90,000 in commitments and will soon have more than $250,000 in campaign cash.

His comments came as he addressed local Democrats in the 12th District before they voted to recommend him as their candidate in the special election to finish out John Murtha’s term. The state party’s executive committee will make the final nomination Monday.

The fundraising haul would seem to…