Wecht trial could be a political headache for Buchanan

In January 2006, then-U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan charged former Allegheny County Croner Cyril Wecht with 84 counts of fraud and theft, alleging that he used his public office for private gain. The legal saga lasted more than three years, during which Wecht’s lawyers claimed the charges were politically motivated, and much of the prosecution’s evidence was eventually thrown out due full story

February 8, 2010 at 2:15 pm | Comments (3)

Waiting for Mary Beth Buchanan

By almost every account, pSo where is former U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan?/p
pApparently, taking her time before getting into a 4th Congressional District race where she will immediately be the Republican front-runner to take on sophomore Democrat Jason Altmire. One party leader who spoke with her a few days ago said Buchanan will finally take the plunge within a couple weeks./p
p“Ms. Buchanan has given me a time frame of two weeks in which she will make her announcement,” Allegheny County GOP chairman Jim Roddey said. “She has been going around to all the Republican committees, making presentations about her campaign, but as far as I know she hasn’t been more specific about her announcement.”/p
pBut Buchanan is “definitely committed,” Roddey added./p
pCourting the media can apparently wait. About half-a-dozen e-mail messages have gone unanswered, a href="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_664411.html" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pittsburghlive.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pittsburghlive.com%2Fx%2Fpittsburghtrib%2Fnews%2Fpittsburgh%2Fs_664411.html','though+she+did+speak+to+The+Tribune-Review+once+last+week.')" target="_blank">though she did speak to The Tribune-Review once last week.

Edgeworth lawyer Keith Rothfus is already seeking the party’s nomination, but Roddey said he wouldn’t pose much of a challenge to the well-known Buchanan. Rothfus finished 2009 with about $37,000 on hand, including $25,000 he loaned the campaign, according to

February 2, 2010 at 3:00 pm | Comments (2)

Altmire has almost $1M

Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) has raised more than $1.2 million in campaign cash since winning a second term in 2008, and has spent lightly, leaving him with almost $980,000 in cash on hand at the end of 2009, according to

January 29, 2010 at 7:15 pm | Comments (0)

Dem says Altmire will ‘steamroll’ Buchanan

As the likelihood of a Democratic primary in the 4th Congressional District appears to dwindle, Allegheny County party chairman Jim Burn has a strong prediction about how Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) will fare against his likely GOP opponent, former U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan.

“Altmire would steamroll Buchanan,” Burn told pa2010.com Friday night. “She doesn’t have anything to her name except a bunch of high profile court cases, which she lost. Altmire is going to…

January 23, 2010 at 9:23 am | Comments (12)

Buchanan’s in for 4th District race, Republican says

Former U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan has decided to challenge Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4), and is may announce her candidacy as early as this week, according to a Republican who has spoken with her.

Lawrence County GOP chairman William Schafer said Monday afternoon that Buchanan, who has not returned e-mails seeking comment, told him numerous times recently that she’s decided to run. He said her work as a prosecutor would aid her candidacy.

“Mary Beth…

January 18, 2010 at 6:30 pm | Comments (4)

Altmire says he has almost $1M on hand

Congressman Jason Altmire’s (D-4) campaign said Tuesday that it has raised $1.2 million during the election cycle, finishing 2009 with $979,000 in cash on hand.

Altmire’s fundraising figures, released ahead of federal campaign finance reports to be published at the end of the month, came as former U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, a Republican, is increasingly

January 12, 2010 at 6:40 pm | Comments (2)

Former U.S. Attorney inching toward run against Altmire

Despite being mostly quiet about her intentions since

January 4, 2010 at 7:58 am | Comments (9)

Voting against health care won’t spare Dems from GOP attacks

If Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) was hoping his recent vote against health care reform legislation would make it less likely that Republicans will come after him hard in 2010, he should think again.

“It won’t change it at all,” state GOP chairman Robert Gleason said of the party’s political calculus going into next year’s midterm elections. “A congressman is not responsible for just a single vote, he’s responsible for all his votes.”

Gleason’s comments came…

November 23, 2009 at 1:52 pm | Comments (4)

Democrats ignore voters at their peril

Interesting item

November 9, 2009 at 10:55 am | Comments (1)

Two Pa. Dems vote against health care bill

Two House Democrats from Pennsylvania bucked their party late Friday night to vote against the party’s health care reform bill, which

November 8, 2009 at 1:25 am | Comments (16)