Oct 30, 2012 3 min read

In the 37th Senatorial District, which includes Peters Township and portions of Allegheny County that encircle Pittsburgh, voters are facing a rare and pleasant conundrum.They have to choose between two excellent candidates in the form of state Rep. Matt Smith and D. Raja, a former Mt. Lebanon commissioner who came to America from India 26 years ago and became successful as the co-founder of a software engineering company.This isn’t a choice between the lesser of two evils, but the greater of two goods. Whoever succeeds state Sen. John Pippy, who stepped down for a job in the private sector, we are confident they would provide smart and energetic representation for district residents in Harrisburg.And, for the sake of full disclosure, the Observer-Reporter editorial board went back and forth on which of the two candidates to endorse. It was a tough decision, but we feel that Smith’s experience as a state representative gives him an edge.A lawyer by training, Smith has represented Pennsylvania’s 42nd House District since 2007 and has supported measures to ban texting and handheld cellphone use while driving, a moratorium on property tax reassessments, protecting children with food allergies and introduced a bill making it easier for military spouses to transfer professional licenses once they relocate to Pennsylvania. Smith has a solid grasp on both the issues facing this region and how Harrisburg functions.And for all the rancor this campaign has generated – Smith and Raja have been keeping the creators of attack ads very busy – they agree on several points that are of particular importance to Washington County: both support the natural gas industry, as long as drilling is done responsibly; both also believe that Act 13, the statewide oil and gas drilling law signed earlier this year by Gov. Tom Corbett, gave communities too little say-so on where drilling can be conducted. Smith has pushed for disclosure of chemicals used in the fracking process and worries that the state’s Department of Environmental Protection is being trimmed at a time when it is needed more than ever due to the growth of the Marcellus Shale industry.It should be noted that Smith is a latecomer to this battle. He was drafted this summer by Democrats after Raja won a hard-fought spring primary against state Rep. Mark Mustio and Bethel Park resident Sue Means and appeared to be on a glide path to the state capitol. And if Raja does, in fact, end up winning next Tuesday, we have little doubt that he would do a fine job. He was a Mt. Lebanon commissioner for five years and gained additional political experience in a failed 2011 bid to become Allegheny County’s chief executive. By journeying to this country as a young man to get an education and launching a successful business career, he has fulfilled America’s promise. Rather than being pilloried as an “outsourcer” -charges that we believe are, at best, dubious – he should be respected for his entrepreneurial acumen.In a conversation with our editorial board, Raja was a little vague and pat on a couple of points, most notably on whether the state should still require public notices to appear in newspapers of general circulation, an issue that is of importance to us.We have no doubt that if Raja went to Harrisburg, he would hit the ground running. But Smith would hit the ground running a little faster. For that reason, we believe he should have the edge in this race.