Jul 31, 2018 3 min read

Libertarian candidates have filed to run statewide in the Nov. 6 general election, including a lieutenant gubernatorial hopeful from Canonsburg.

Kathleen S. Smith, who on her Facebook page lists herself as managing the Libertarian Party in Washington County and the Canonsburg Business and Professional Women’s organization, is a former inventory manager at Borders Books.

She studied special education at Duquesne University. Attempts to reach Smith Monday for comment were unsuccessful.

A story in the Observer-Reporter last summer noted the then-65-year-old Smith was going to rappel 26 stories from the top of the Henry W. Oliver Building onto Smithfield Street in downtown Pittsburgh during the “Over the Edge” fundraiser to benefit Our Clubhouse, a nonprofit that provides free emotional and social support to those touched by cancer in Western Pennsylvania.

Smith is a member of the elections board for her Canonsburg ward, but she notified the Washington County elections office prior to the May primary she would not serve so as not to create the appearance of conflict of interest, according to Melanie Ostrander, assistant director of elections. Canonsburg includes the 48th Legislative District, which was the subject of a special election.

She could have served in that capacity in May, but she is prohibited from working on the board in the general election because her name will be on the ballot.

At the top of the ticket is Kenneth V. Krawchuk of Elkins Park, Montgomery County. He ran for governor in 1998 and 2002, and attempted to file for the state’s top executive office in 2014. He and a Green Party candidate could not meet the stringent rules for number of signatures on nomination papers.

The Pennsylvania Libertarian website states Krawchuk, who has a degree in physics, is the president and founder of Kenneth Krawchuk and Associates Ltd., a information technology consulting firm. He is the author of the novel, “Atlas Snubbed,” a parody of Any Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged.”‘

The Libertarians will be facing incumbent Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and his running mate, Braddock Mayor John Fetterman, and Republican nominee State Sen. Scott Wagner of York County and Jeff Bartos.

County elections offices were also notified Monday that a Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate had filed Friday. Dale R. Kerns of Swarthmore, Delaware County, will be facing incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. and Republican Lou Barletta, former congressman and mayor of Hazleton, Luzerne County.

Pennsylvania’s filing deadline for third-party candidates and independents is the close of business Thursday at the Department of State in Harrisburg.