Dec 21, 2013 2 min read

As the 2014 race for Pennsylvania governor begins to heat up, the Democratic field is crowded, with a vulnerable Republican governor facing an uphill climb to remain in office. One of the candidates expected to have a chance of emerging as a leader of the pack is Katie McGinity, the former secretary of the Department of Environmental Services.

I was stunned to learn that McGinty’s campaign chairman is former state representative and Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman T. J. Rooney.

To those of us that closely follow state politics, Rooney is infamous for comments he made at a Democratic State Committee dinner in Harrisburg in 2010, in which he demonstrated to the public watching the event on the Pennsylvania Cable Network that he is an apologist for Mike Veon, former state House leader, one of the greatest crooks ever to infest the Keystone State, who is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence.

The dinner took place on the night that Veon was sentenced as a multiple felon. Rooney’s outrage over what pal Veon had endured was palpable as he spoke with indignation, telling the group that Veon “had a tough day today,” that he is “a friend of mine and a friend

of Democrats,” and that he “really got the shaft.”

Unbelievable. There was not a word from Rooney about Veon’s betrayal of the public or his crime spree and none of the speakers that followed Rooney on the dais sought to distance themselves from his extraordinary remarks.

I must conclude that McGinty has no concern about corruption in state government and that we will hear nothing about it from her during the campaign.

We are known by the company we keep. I could not vote for someone whose right-hand man is so closely linked to corruption.

Oren Spiegler

Upper St. Clair