Most candidates endorsed by anti-Wal-Mart group don't win primary
The power of incumbency apparently bested opposition to Wal-Mart in the Republican primary races for McCandless council.
Of four candidates endorsed by a political action committee opposed to a Wal-Mart Supercenter planned for McCandless, only Gregory Walkauskas in Ward 5 won on May 19. He defeated Joseph Beierle. No incumbent was running in that ward.
The other candidates supported by the political action committee McCandless 4 Tomorrow — Kim Kaye Zachary in Ward 1, Steve Mertz in Ward 3 and Karen Shaheen in Ward 7 — lost. McCandless 4 Tomorrow is an outgrowth of a group opposed to the Wal-Mart planned for Blazier Drive. Seventeen plaintiffs are appealing the town council's approval of the planned Wal-Mart in Commonwealth Court after losing in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in January.
“My constituents are overwhelmingly pleased with the way the town is run. They've very concerned about a single-agenda group coming in and running on just that alone,” said incumbent Roger Krey, referring to Wal-Mart. The other incumbents who won are Cynthia Potter in Ward 1 and William J. McKim in Ward 7.
Krey was one of three council members endorsed by the McCandless Republican Committee and nominated.
Beierle was the only candidate endorsed by the GOP committee who did not win. No one ran for council seats in the Democratic primary.
Potter and McKim, who voted against the Wal-Mart in July, have said town officials followed the law in hearing and approving the Wal-Mart project, as evidenced by the town prevailing in Common Pleas Court.
Krey said being an incumbent endorsed by the McCandless Republican Committee helped him win the primary.
“It was certainly a positive because I know my constituents,” he said.
“I've been 3rd Ward council member for 10 years, and I've done a lot of good things for the people that needed it. The Republican Committee in the town of McCandless carries a lot of weight, not only locally but across the state.”
Mertz said his opposition to Wal-Mart did not hurt him, but the low turnout did.
“To me, it was stunning that 92 percent of the people I talked to said, ‘We don't want the Wal-Mart,' but 25 percent of the people who could have voted showed up to vote.”
If the county certifies that he has enough write-in votes in the Democratic primary, Mertz said, he will run as a Republican on the Democratic ticket in November.
Walkauskas said his stance against Wal-Mart helped his bid.
“I campaigned not only to oppose Wal-Mart, I felt the way it was handled by the council was getting people up in arms,” he said. He said council needs to get proposals on the town's website sooner.
The incumbency is a great advantage in elections by virtue of the free publicity, opportunity to get one's name out and serve constituents, said Joseph Sabino Mistick, associate professor of law at Duquesne University.
“Voters are generally people of good will,” Mistick said. “They give their public officials a chance and, for the most part, they understand when (officials) make decisions that make voters unhappy. Once they elected you, they have an investment in you, and there's a sense they need to protect that investment the next time you run.”
He said incumbency can even overpower a potentially unpopular decision like the approval of a Wal-Mart. That's especially true in races where turnout is low.
“People who disagree with the decisions of an incumbent may be discouraged from participating,” Mistick said. “You have a different group of decision makers who go to the polls than the general citizenry.”
Bill Zlatos is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-772-6353 or bzlatos@tribweb.com.
