Mahoney deserves Democratic nomination
In the Democratic primary for the 51st District, the Herald-Standard editorial board unanimously endorses state Rep. Timothy S. Mahoney over former state Rep. Larry Roberts. It’s the board’s collective opinion that Mahoney has done a good job so far and deserves a second term in Harrisburg.
Mahoney went to Harrisburg as a freshman reformer and got a seat on the House Speaker’s Reform Commission, which was an accomplishment in itself.
From there Mahoney was able to help several reforms get passed, probably the biggest one being the prohibition against bills being passed after midnight in the manner of the controversial pay raise back in 2005.
Mahoney introduced the House version of the open records bill, openly fought like heck for its passage and ultimately succeeded in having 80 percent of his bill included in the Senate version that became law.
Mahoney was also very instrumental in persuading House Speaker H. William DeWeese to change his position on open records. DeWeese admitted as much on many occasions. And without DeWeese’s support, the bill wouldn’t have passed.
Mahoney’s work drew support from many fellow legislators, including state Rep. Peter J. Daley II, D-California, who in his own editorial board session said, “Tim Mahoney was the quarterback of the team” as concerns open records.
While it’s not a perfect bill and there could be problems with it down the road, Mahoney has vowed to do whatever is necessary to make any necessary improvements to the bill if problems do develop. That’s something we’ll take at his word, given his work for open records so far. But we’ll hold Mahoney accountable to lead the charge if any changes are needed.
Roberts, who voted for the pay raise in 2005, says he introduced open records legislation in 2003 but it didn’t go anywhere. Roberts said he can’t provide us with a copy of that bill, he doesn’t remember what it contained and admits that it wasn’t one of his priorities. When you add those things up, it doesn’t seem like Roberts made too serious of an effort.
The biggest difference between Mahoney and Roberts is leadership. And on that count, we believe that despite his 14 years in Harrisburg, Roberts never took the baton and charged forward. Overall, his record was lackluster, particularly as he now touts the importance of seniority in getting things done.
Mahoney’s next major initiative is school funding, and he’s already shared with us his desire to have Fayette County used as a pilot program for consolidated school administration, something he thinks will result in lower school property taxes. Such an initiative represents bold, new thinking – and goes against the grain of not wanting to ruffle anyone’s feathers.
While we acknowledge that Mahoney has been an effective fighter in rough-and-tumble Harrisburg, and we like what we’ve seen in a short time, we also see him in need of additional polish. We hope his potent street smarts are augmented with growth and development in the etiquette of being a statesman.
Democratic voters in the 51st District, which includes a large part of Fayette County, should cast a ballot for Mahoney on April 22 if they want any hope of real change.