It is hard to say one is not making footprints when you spend $1-million and only get votes at $70 or so per tick. The footprints are up and down Diven's front and back sides. Diven did a deer-in-the-headlights campaign for PA Senate -- and wasted $1-million. And, he is still doing the PSAs, as mentioned in the article.
If Diven was christened by Harrisburg's elite -- we only have to remember that it was those devils who bailed out Pittsburgh, gave us gambling, can't understand schools and took the big pay raise. To me, a christening from them is more like darnation!
Even the savior had 12 others to loaf with.
I hope to see Michael Lamb running, not for Diven's seat in the state house, but for Fontana's seat in the Senate -- in the D's primary. Lamb should not have run in the race in 2001 for Mayor. And, Lamb should have switched out of the Mayor's race to enter the State Senate race, even as an Indie. Even late in the game.
My curb talk says that the present city councilman, Motznik, runs for City Controller if Tom Flaherty gets the win in his quest for a seat on the bench as a judge. Motznik can't run against Diven. No way.
The classic line of the entire article however is this: Affable, hard-working and focused, Coghill's only black mark may be a lack of knowledge of the issues.
His only black mark is a lack of knowledge of the issues. Jeepers. Seems to me that the knowledge thing is way over-blown, or not.
Then there is this typo. Nerone isn't on city council. Was that to be Motznik?
Nerone ascended to his City Council seat the easy way: It was vacated. He borders on bland and would be the weakest candidate of the lot. Aggressive door-knocking, a solid base and drive-by visits to neighborhoods are needed to win House seats like this; none is Nerone's strength.
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By Salena Zito
Sunday, October 9, 2005
There is no grid to follow in politics but there are parameters. Beyond those boundaries is where normal ends and chaos begins.
Michael Diven is the perfect example of a man who colors outside the political lines.
Diven earned his badge as a pot-stirrer early in his career and never looked back. From Pittsburgh City Council to the state Legislature, he left big footprints.
Much ado was made last spring when he traded his blue jacket for a red one. Christened by Harrisburg's elite as the savior who could bring the GOP back within Pittsburgh's city limits, he ran for Jack Wagner's vacated 42nd District state Senate seat. An aggressive campaign was born and died; Diven lost to Wayne Fontana.
That loss opened a Pandora's Box on a cast of Democrats who personify Pittsburgh's backyard politics.
Diven's 22nd District state rep seat is up in one year. But the real intrigue starts with next spring's primary. Poised to step up in no particular order are Allegheny County Prothonotary Michael Lamb, businessman Anthony Coghill, and County Councilmen Rich Nerone and Jim Motznik.
For Democrats, Lamb would be the simple solution. A former mayoral candidate and an elected county official, he is popular among Democrat leaders and other locals.
Curb talk once suggested a clear field for Lamb. Yet, as in all things in life, nothing is simple. Take Lamb out of the picture and a catfight will erupt among Coghill, Nerone and Motznik to take on Diven.
Coghill, a South Hills roofer, leaped from political novice to sage campaigner in a relatively short time. Originally slated to run against Diven in the last primary, Coghill stepped aside for the peculiar pick of Nerone. But Coghill gained citywide recognition in this spring's primary when he narrowly lost a Pittsburgh City Council vote to Diven collaborator Jim Motznik.
Affable, hard-working and focused, Coghill's only black mark may be a lack of knowledge of the issues.
Nerone ascended to his City Council seat the easy way: It was vacated. He borders on bland and would be the weakest candidate of the lot. Aggressive door-knocking, a solid base and drive-by visits to neighborhoods are needed to win House seats like this; none is Nerone's strength.
Motznik's bid to take on Diven easily would be the most intriguing. A former Diven council staffer, he captured that seat for himself when Diven moved to the Legislature.
Then a funny thing happened when Diven switched to the GOP: Motznik pledged loyalty to his friend. We're not talking friendly handshakes here; he coordinated a Democrats-for-Diven coalition and appeared in campaign commercials -- an in-your-face insult to local Democrat insiders -- while entangled in his own City Council primary campaign, which he barely won.
Motznik has fractured many ties within his party; Democrat leaders in Harrisburg hold his loyalty in contempt and local power-brokers consider his alliance with Diven suspect.
So, with all that he put on the line for Diven, would Motznik really do a 180 and run against his friend?
Skeptics say no, but it is hard for local party leaders to ignore his base. Another consideration is that his candidacy would open up a seat on City Council.
Meanwhile, Diven is not asleep.
Although there was speculation he was considering a switch back to the Democrats, it appears to be just that - speculation. Diven did not accept the legislative pay raise and even co-signed a bill to repeal it.
But he has taken advantage of the House multimedia ATM machine, better known as "public-service announcements." He enjoys constant, well-produced media hits without spending a penny of his own. It's a nice gift compliments of John Perzel.
With Lamb more than likely out and Motznik, Coghill and Nerone in, the coming primary has the potential to do party damage. Diven could further capitalize from that in a particularly brutal contest. You just can't make up plot lines like this.
Issues aside, the real challenge of this backyard brawl may be to maintain the politics of character.
Salena Zito is a political consultant who has worked for both Democrats and Republicans. She lives in Mt. Lebanon.
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