Paul McKrell, pictured here with Hillary Clinton before she found her voice in New Hampshire, has returned to Pittsburgh to run for Lisa Bennington's seat in Harrisburg.The question is, did he find his voice? There is an interesting backstory or two to this campaign.
McKrell had been executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Young Democrats (PAYD), beloved by most, despised a few. When he decided late last year to begin contemplating a run for Lisa Bennington's seat, he was muscled out of PAYD -- for having committed the cardinal sin of running against (or thinking about running against) an incumbent Democrat.
We don't know how the head of PAYD can get muscled out of his position, but we assume it works something like how Ken Wolfe was muscled out of the Young Democrats of Allegheny County (YDAC) for having reported improper electioneering among city workers.
McKrell was content to continue his plans for the seat anyway, until former city councilman Len Bodack got in the race. Apparently there were no party strictures against his challenging the incumbent. Bodack in fact offered McKrell a very pretty penny to join the Bodack campaign (and to drop his own bid).
McKrell turned the offer down, but despairing of his chances of beating a well-financed former councilman and an incumbent officeholder, and perhaps feeling a bit ill-used by the local political apparatus, he went off to political purgatory in Iowa.
Fast forward a little over a month. Bennington surprises everyone by dropping out, McKrell's friends rally to his side, and he returns to Pittsburgh triumphantly to compete for the nomination.
McKrell is an interesting political commodity. An ACDC committeeman, he supported Bill Peduto in the primary (he worked for him in 05) and he never downplayed that support.
However, in the general election he supported the nominee enthusiastically like any good party operative, and by Election Day was considered useful and loyal enough to cruise around with Ravenstahl and Zober, getting into all sorts of trouble.
When asked what his priorities would be in Harrisburg, Paul went right for perks, bonuses, and kickbacks -- cleaning up the system. When pressed for policy, his wonkish side seemed to gravitate towards health care and education.
One challenge as a candidate will be the degree to which McKrell looks and sounds exactly like a politician. This problem will not be fixed -- yet might still be overcome.
We remember McKrell waiting outside the special public hearing of the School Board on Schenley. The hearing was just getting started, the anti-Schenley consultants were starting to offer testimony, yet the extra rooms were conveniently not yet open. Most of the crowd was gathered around the front door, blocked by officers. No one was rioting, but everyone was jockeying for position; people were upset to be missing out.
That's when Paul McKrell, clad in his suit and his hair and looking every bit the important official, started yelling, "This is a public meeting, let us in!" Then ten seconds later, "This is a PUBLIC meeting, LET US IN!" This for about five minutes. Eventually we were let in.
Admirably, Paul maintained his control the whole time, despite the force from behind.
The Comet certainly can not yet endorse Paul McKrell for District 21. However, we absolutely endorse the idea of Paul McKrell in Harrisburg.
Some credentials -- chanting outside a meeting to let us in. Got to do better than that.
ReplyDeleteSorry, should have provided a link to this Trib article for the legitimate news:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/election/s_547668.html
For those who don't know, double-click on the line of text to highlight the WHOLE LINE, then copy and paste it into your address bar.
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DeleteDarren - the Trib stopped supporting its pre- 1999? catalogue online in some changeover.
DeleteLike every race, you really should look at all the candidates before you jump on a bandwagon. I really have a problem with people who's goal in life is to get elected to public office. What other non-political jobs has McKrell had? Where did he go to school, what did he study? What other organizations does he actively participate in that shows he's got a real life? Does he own property, has he ever had to pay taxes? Being the President of the Young Dems just doesn't do it for this voter.
ReplyDeleteTrue.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you might be a friend or family member of his opponent.
Either way, That pic is interesting.
I agree with anonymous - these are questions McKrell has to answer. But I think anonymous is asking for Bram to do the impossible - and that is to answer all those questions in one article. The Jehovah Witnesses have a similar ploy when they go door-to-door in an attempt to gain converts: throw so many questions at once at the potential convert that can't possibly be answered. To me the questioner sounds disingenuous and most likely is simply masking his support for another candidate.
ReplyDeleteI have no special knowledge of Paul McKrell (and neither does anonymous, unless he's heard McKrell say that his "goal in life is to get elected to public office")- but I have experience with the other candidates. Frank Pistella took the people's trust and voted himself a payraise. Len Bodack Jr played his last name into a council seat and just sat it out. Brenda Frazier is a nice woman with no interest in or understanding of public policy.
McKrell has questions to answer, but the other candidates have already answered them.
"...We don't know how the head of PAYD can get muscled out of his position,"
ReplyDeleteMaybe Y. Zober, PAYD's immediate past president, had something to do with it?
didn't we go to school with paul? oh, and thanks for adding me to your entourage- i feel the love.
ReplyDeleteJas -
ReplyDeleteNah, Paul was a Schenley grad. It's very possible you might know him from Banksville, Linden, McKelvy, Woolslair et cetera.
Hey Jason!
ReplyDeleteYou know what I just found out? Brenda Frazier, who is also running for this seat, is also YOUR AUNT! Are my sources mistaken?
he's a baby...
ReplyDeleteJason -- yes, you went to school with him, but it was Frick.
ReplyDeleteI went to Sterrett Classical Academy 6-8.
ReplyDeleteSterrett's method of enrollment was fantastic. Parents and guardians seeking to apply must get in line. For a weekend. They camp out like they are at a Grateful Dead concert. They do roll call regularly and bump people not present.
I think the term "muscled out" is a bit dramatic with respect to Paul's job at the PAYD; he was the employee of the organization, which is designed to support Democrats and get younger Democrats involved in the process.
ReplyDeleteIf Paul was planning to be a candidate himself, he would have an obvious conflict of interest - how can he fulfill his job requirements of supporting youth involvement state-wide while running in his own campaign?
Anyone in that executive director position would be expected to (at the very least) take a leave of absence during the primary season, if not resign outright.
Maybe it makes him look like a martyr to the party-haters out there, but the reality is that Paul was not a victim of any inappropriate behavior by Burn, Chelsa (PAYD Vice Pres), Darth Zober, et al.
I never heard Burn, Chelsa or DarthZober were involved at all? I'm a member of PAYD and have talked about this with others. I was told that PAYD's president was contacted by the state party since they were getting pressure from house leadership: apparently the incumbent was asking for Paul to be "fired."
ReplyDeleteI think it's clear that Paul was forced to resign before he had even made a decision to run, or the incumbent decided to not run again. I agree that he should have resigned when the decision was made, but he was never given the chance.
I don't think that makes Paul a martyr, but I do think it shows a lot about Harrisburg.
I saw Paul speak last night to a group of students at the Pitt Young Dems meeting, and was quite impressed. He seemed to have a genuine passion for youth engagement. It should be interesting to see how this race plays out.
ReplyDeleteThrough various avenues of political involvement, I met Paul some years ago and have had a strong working relationship with him ever since. His dedication to the party and to fighting the fight for the "little guy" are second to none. While I am sure that his contender is a viable candidate, I know of few young progressives (or people in general, for that matter) who are more deserving of and fit to being elected to the PA House than McKrell. He would be both a blessing on and a breath of fresh air to Harrisburg.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Paul is still drawing a city paycheck as he roves around contemplating his future?
ReplyDeleteNo
DeleteSo when did he resign?
ReplyDeleteIn actuality, Paul was on the city payroll until January 7, 2014. Paul was frequently...very frequently absent from his job for long stretches, even before his boss quit his campaign. This is exactly the sort of political payback employment situation that this city really needs to avoid. Paul's position accounted for around 70k in the 2013 budget. In terms of an expenditure, Pittsburgh citizens might have gotten more value had Luke taken that money and tossed it out of the window - at least that way a few folks would have gotten a few bucks to spend at Subway. As for a future in public service...personally, I'd ask a lot more dedication and hard-working endeavor of an elected official, to put it mildly.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand, that position has a lot to do with strategic planning. If something hoity-toity like strategic planning is to be demonstrated, it requires a ton of transparency. Mayor Ravenstahl was never a big one for huge, patronizing shows of transparency. We cringe to see this type of thread now exhumed by our readership for these kinds of reasons, but se la vi.
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