Apr 17, 2016 4 min read

For the first time in 34 years, voters in the 49th District of the state House of Representatives won’t find Pete Daley’s name on the ballot.

Daley announced earlier this year that he was retiring from office at the end of 2016, after serving in the state Legislature since 1982.

Including much of the Mon Valley and portions of northern Fayette County, the 49th District stretches to New Eagle in the north and Franklin Township in the south. It extends westward to Bentleyville and eastward to the banks of the Monongahela River.

While many residents in the district are sad to see Daley leave office, they can take comfort that a number of well-qualified candidates are running to replace him. Seeking their party’s nomination in the April 26 primary are two Republicans, Bud Cook and Melanie Patterson, and six Democrats, Mark Alterici, Randy Barli, Alan Benyak, Donn Henderson, Robert Kepics and Brendan Garay. The job pays $84,000 a year.

Here’s a brief rundown of the candidates:

n Alterici, the former interim mayor of Charleroi Borough and two decade borough councilman, owns and operates three Cricket cellular phone stores throughout the region.

n Barli has served two terms as a Coal Center borough councilman. He has owned an electrical contracting business for many years.

n Benyak, an attorney, has a private practice based in Charleroi. He serves as solicitor for Charleroi Borough and the Municipal Authority of Belle Vernon.

n Henderson is a two-term Fallowfield Township supervisor and former Charleroi Borough manager, Charleroi Main Street program manager and Irwin Main Street manager. He also owns and operates a disc jockey business.

n Kepics is the mayor of of Monongahela and has served as a member of city council, the fire department and fire police. He is a retired U.S. Steel electrician.

n Garay of California is serving his second term as student government president at California University of Pennsylvania.

n Cook of Coal Center is an e-marketing and promotions consultant for financial service professionals, attorneys, insurance companies and others.

n Patterson of Belle Vernon is owner and operator of Broad Innovations, a vacation house rental business. She also is the inventor of the PIBS disposable bibs and changing pads products.

Of the Democratic candidates, we were least impressed with Garay and Barli. Garay was apparently unable to attend a forum with our editorial board, but he never responded to emails asking him for his views on the issues. Barli did attend the forum, but his answers were generally lacking in specifics and substance.

Kepics has apparently done a good job as mayor of Monongahela, but the board thought he went overboard with his call to eliminate the state Department of Environmental Protection and the federal Environmental Protection Agency in light of the closing of the Mitchell Power Plant in New Eagle.

Benyak appeared knowledgeable of the issues facing local residents, but his promise to fully back a private developer’s plans at the former Wheeling-Pittsburgh steel mill site in Allenport caused some concerns among board members.

Henderson made some excellent comments at the forum, and the board was further impressed with his abilities as a township supervisor and main street manager.

However, the board endorsed Alterici noting he demonstrated a deep understanding of the issues and has both a background in government and business which should serve him well in the state House of Representatives.

On the Republican ticket, the board thought that Cook portrayed himself too much as an outsider. District residents are looking for someone who will try and cooperate with other lawmakers and state officials instead of confronting them at every opportunity.

The board was impressed with Patterson’s background as an entrepreneur and her solid relationship with the Belle Vernon community. Those attributes led to our board endorsing her for the GOP nomination.