May 5, 2002 By Paul Sunyak 6 min read

U.S. Rep. Frank Mascara believes he has more than a fighting chance in his May 21 runoff against fellow U.S. Rep. John Murtha for the Democratic nomination in the newly configured and 150-mile-wide 12th Congressional District. Drawing an analogy from his political past, Mascara told the Herald-Standard editorial board recently that he knocked off a 28-year incumbent when elected Washington County controller in 1973.

Mascara also came close to toppling longtime incumbent U.S. Rep. Austin J. Murphy in 1992

before winning the 20th District seat in 1994 after Murphy’s retirement.

“I sort of like that ‘David and Goliath’ kind of thing,” said Mascara, a Charleroi resident who served 14 years as Washington County commission chairman starting in 1980.

After his 20th District was abolished during a Republican-crafted reapportionment, Mascara said he decided to run for re-election in the 12th District against Murtha, a powerful Johnstown Democrat, after “extensive polling” showed he was stronger there than in the newly created 18th District.

Mascara said that 52 percent of his old district was relocated into the new 12th District, a territory that’s yielded 75 percent to 85 percent of the aggregate votes he’s gotten in previous campaigns.

The 18th District is essentially an Allegheny County district crafted for a Republican candidate, said Mascara, who noted that a Democrat will have a tough time winning that seat. Many political observers, including Mascara, say the seat was tailored for GOP state Sen. Tim Murphy of Allegheny County.

Mascara said he is keenly interested in economic growth, and that he will continuing using his position on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to steer federal aid to much-needed projects in the district.

Saying that risk-taking is a requirement for visionaries, Mascara noted the key role he played as a county commissioner in developing the Southpointe Business Park, a 588-acre plot of state surplus land that filled up within nine years and provided 5,000 jobs.

“The Southpointe project is my legacy,” said Mascara, noting that he’s hopeful of a similar success story unfolding at the Fayette County Business Park along Route 40, which Fayette County Commission Chairman Vincent A. Vicites has brought to his attention.

Recent opposition in Allegheny County to completion of the Mon/Fayette Expressway is nothing new to Mascara, who said he remains firmly committed to that project as a growth tool. Pointing out the indisputable direct correlation between infrastructure development and economic growth, Mascara said he specifically inserted a stipulation into the federal transportation bill that $20 million be earmarked for completion of the Uniontown-to-Brownsville stretch of the expressway. “That highway, I’ve always believed, is our way out (of decline),” said Mascara. “Jobs, jobs, jobs – that’s what that highway is all about.”

Mascara also said he thinks Fayette County would benefit from joining the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, a regional planning consortium that wields great clout on setting transportation priorities. Noting that he served on that commission for 15 years, including three as chairman, Mascara said SPC was able to put the expressway on the national list of priority projects.

“You have a seat at the table for all transportation projects in southwestern Pennsylvania,” said Mascara. “I don’t want to second guess the Fayette County commissioners, but if they asked me for my recommendation … my answer is yes (they should join).”

Asked to delineate the biggest differences between him and Murtha, Mascara said he is more of a “hands on guy” than his opponent and also shuns the spotlight a lot more than Murtha. “You never see me standing with some bogus (big) check (for a photo opportunity),” said Mascara. “(It’s) all taxpayers’ money (anyway) … I’m sort of quiet. I just do it and move on.”

Mascara said that he played a key role in creating 12,000 jobs. He said he had the foresight to borrow $5 million as a county commissioner and then blended that money with $1 million obtained from former U.S. Sen. John Heinz and another $1 million obtained from former Gov. Robert P. Casey to develop Southpointe.

Mascara said he personally negotiated with the Pittsburgh Penguins to get them to build a training facility at Southpointe. He said his political and negotiating skills have yielded similar success in obtaining money for water and sewer projects in Redstone and Menallen townships, among others.

In other areas of difference, Mascara said he believes that “money is the scourge of politics,” and he voted for campaign finance reform. He said he also voted in favor of a “lock box” for Social Security funds and in favor of term limits, both of which Murtha opposed.

Additionally, Mascara said he consistently votes against free trade with China, while Murtha votes in favor of that concept. Mascara said he’s for free trade but against trade that’s “not fair,” such as the type that has decimated the nation’s steel industry.

On other topics, Mascara said he:

– Does not think the United States should scale back its financial support of Israel unless that nation withdraws its military from Palestinian-occupied territories. He said the Israelis “should have the right to go after terrorists” and they are within their rights to defend themselves. As a related issue, Mascara said the U.S. needs a comprehensive energy policy and that he voted in favor of drilling for oil in Alaska’s ANWAR area as a way to increase domestic oil supplies.

– Opposes opening up Social Security money to private investment accounts. If that’s such a good idea, he said, the federal government should guarantee repayment of any funds lost from economic downturn. He said he voted for the “lock box” concept that would keep Social Security surpluses from being spent for other purposes. However, he noted that he’s alarmed that the federal government is getting back into the habit of using those funds for other purposes.

As a side issue, he said he voted against President Bush’s budget, which contained a tax cut, a move that has whittled a projected surplus of several trillion dollars down to $1 trillion over a 10-year period.

– Agrees that Bush is doing a “good job” in the war on terrorism, noting, “(He) has our support to go after these perpetrators” of terrorist acts, such as those that occurred Sept. 11.

– Favors making prescription drug coverage part of Medicare. He added that Bush’s plan for solving this problem “doesn’t scratch the surface” of what’s needed financially. He said certain drugs cost half as much in Canada as they do in the U.S., and the administration should meet with the drug manufacturers to lobby for price reductions.