Nov 2, 2019 4 min read

A Republican trying to unseat an incumbent Democratic county commissioner has spent less than half of what a candidate in a similar position reported putting into the race four years ago.

The Friends of Nick Sherman committee, at the close of the period that began in June and ended Oct. 21, had raised $46,875.

The natural gas industry has made contributions to all the candidates in the commissioners’ race.

Contributors to Sherman’s campaign include Equitrans Midstream Corp. Political Action Committee, Canonsburg, $1,000; Secure Energy of America Association PAC of McMurray, $2,500; and RedwingMC PAC of Alexandria, Va., $10,000.

The committee for Sherman, 40, of North Strabane Township, spent $42,016 and ended with a cash balance of of $7,670. The organization also reported $19,675 in debt, in the form of a loan from the candidate to his committee.

In the 2015 campaign, Republican Mike McCormick of Peters Township initially reported spending $91,541 and later amended it with a letter from the state Republican Party that brought his pre-election total to $118,916 through Oct. 19 of that year.

McCormick lost the third seat on Washington County board of commissioners to incumbent Democrat Harlan Shober by 35 votes.

The Shober committee, meanwhile, virtually kept pace with Sherman, spending $39,212 in September and October.

The Shober organization, however, had a cash balance of $64,957 going into the home stretch of the run up to Tuesday’s election. The committee had accepted in-kind contributions worth $12,930 and reported debts totaling $26,071. Contributors to Shober included the NiSource natural gas Inc. Political Action Committee of Columbus, Ohio, $250; Range Resources PAC, Harrisburg, $500; and Jack B. Piatt, chairman of Millcraft Investments, Washington $4,500.

The committee of Shober’s running mate, Larry Maggi, spent $51,091 between June 10 and Oct. 21, ending cash balance of $182,046 and unpaid debts of $9,750. Maggi’s committee reported a $250 contribution form NiSource Inc. PAC; $500 from Range Resources Energy Independence PAC; $1,000 from CNX Resource Corp. PAC; and $1,000 from Premier Washington Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, successor to the Washington County Health Center which was sold to a private entity in 2017.

Maggi and Shober, who are again running as a slate, have this reporting period topped their 2015 combined total by $21,750.

Late contributions that were reported Tuesday included $500 for each of the Democrats from the United Steelworkers of Pittsburgh. Shober’s campaign had a $1,000 donation from Elinor H. Baily of Washington, while Maggi’s committee received $1,000 from Western Pennsylvania Growth PAC.

Shober, 74, of Chartiers Township, is seeking his third term as a commissioner while Maggi, 69, of Buffalo Township, is running for his fifth.

“Friends with Diana,” the committee of incumbent Republican incumbent Commissioner Diana Irey Vaughan, 59, began the reporting period with a balance of $141,712, raised $5,175, including $1,000 apiece from Equitrans Midstream Corp. PAC and Marathon Petroleum Corp. PAC of Findlay, Ohio.

The campaign spent $23,368 in Irey Vaughan’s bid for a seventh, four-year term. Her committee, based at her home in Nottingham Township, reported no debts.

In the Washington County district attorney’s race, “Friends of Jake” Mihalov have raised $19,330 and spent $8,211. The committee also reported $9,020 worth of in-kind contributions.

The Democrat making his first run for public office is challenging Republican incumbent Gene Vittone, who is seeking his third, four-year term.

Vittone’s committee brought $22,290 into the post-primary period, doubled that with additional contributions, and spent $21,272 through Oct. 21.

Vittone also reported debts of $68,500.

In the Washington mayoral race, the “Friends of Scott Putnam” committee raised $4,800 but reported spending not a penny through Oct. 21. Putnam’s organization had accepted $425 worth of in-kind contributions for the incumbent Democrat seeking a second, four-year term. The committee also reported unpaid debts of $250.

The “Mark for Mayor” committee supporting Republican challenger Mark Kennison brought $658 into the fall campaign, raised $1,676 and spent $1,282. The committee had $1,052 available for a final push and unpaid debts of $600.