GOP invites public to witness candidate selection for 48th Legislative District
Washington County Republican Party committee members representing voting precincts in the 48th Legislative District will gather locally during the morning of Jan. 27, to select a candidate for the May 15 special election to fill an unexpired term.
Registration of conferees will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Golf Club of Washington, 599 Country Club Road, in advance of the 9 a.m. meeting.
Seventy-eight Republican committee members are eligible to choose the candidate whose name will appear on the ballot to fill the term for the remainder of the year.
A vacancy occurred when Brandon Neuman resigned Dec. 31 to become a Washington County judge. He had held the seat since 2011.
The 48th Legislative District includes Washington, East Washington, Canonsburg, Houston, North and South Strabane, Chartiers and North Franklin townships.
The meeting is open to the public, but only committee members will participate in the selection of a candidate.
Three men – Jerad Cypher, Joseph DeThomas and Timothy O’Neal – have announced their intention to seek the nomination.
In candidacy announcements submitted to the Observer-Reporter, Jerad Cypher, former president of East Washington Borough Council, which, during his tenure, had a balanced budget with no tax increases while facing an anticipated 20 percent decrease in revenue.
He said he intends to focus on an overhaul of state pensions and educating youth about the danger of opioids.
He also called for reform of the political culture in the state capital. “We have a self-serving political system,” he said in a news release. “I want to go to Harrisburg to serve the people. That’s why I’m declining the taxpayer-funded pension and unaccounted-for per diems and perks.”
A graduate of Chartiers-Houston High School and California University of Pennsylvania, Cypher is part of a family-owned business, the Cypher Group of Washington, which specializes in talent acquisition and business brokering.
“I believe this district needs a strong, unwavering, pro-business voice, specifically as it relates to coal and natural gas,” he added. “I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and I am Pro-Life. I have a proven track record of being financially conservative.”
DeThomas, a Washington resident, is a graduate of Canon-McMillan High School and was among the first students to attend Western Area Vo-Tech School, where he trained as a welder.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving for three years at Fort Benning, Ga., as a combat engineer. After his discharge, he used the GI Bill to receive the equivalent of an associate’s degree in welding.
He has been employed by Joy Mining Machinery, now Komatsu Mining, where he has worked the past 27 years in various positions, including welder, fabricator, small mechanical and warehousing. He is a 27-year member of Teamsters Union Local 585. Previously, he was a member of United Steel Workers and Boilermakers Union.
“I have felt the sting of the war on coal first hand as I have had to take a nearly one-third pay cut to keep my job,” he said in a statement. “Protecting jobs in the region will be a top priority for me.”
DeThomas has served for nearly 30 years as a volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America and with the Scout Reach units in the West End of Washington as well as Mel Blount Youth Home. He has been a Pony league baseball coach, and now serves on the board of the Whiskey Rebellion Festival. He is a Mason, having just concluded his term as worshipful master of F&AM Lodge 623, Washington.
Rounding out the field is Tim O’Neal of South Strabane Township, who holds a master of business administration degree from the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business.
After completing a ROTC program and U.S. Army Ranger course, he served in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade as a rifle platoon leader and, later, as a company commander of F Company, 1/19 Infantry. He earned a Bronze Star with V decoration for valor in his leadership role while under direct fire.
Since his return to the United States, he has worked as a manager for Consol Energy and Aqua Transfer and Oilfield Solutions Corp. He is now a manager with Mascaro Construction in Pittsburgh.
O’Neal describes himself as a staunch fiscal conservative who is an advocate of personal liberty and supporter of both the Second Amendment and protection of the unborn. He pledged to support the region’s oil and gas industry, has promised to oppose increases in the state income and sales taxes and pledged action on the growing opioid addiction crisis.
“The 48th House District is quintessential western Pennsylvania, with its strong, traditional values, and Whiskey Rebellion spirit of personal independence,” O’Neal said. “My goal is to take those values with me to Harrisburg to make certain that our region is not only represented, but respected.”