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#6– White and Solobay lose election
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Voters in Washington County gave the boot to two incumbent Democratic legislators in November, showing the door to state Rep. Jesse White of Cecil, who was elected to the 46th District seat in 2006, and state Sen. Tim Solobay of Canonsburg, who was seeking a second, four-year term in the Senate after two decades in the state House.
A full year before the 2014 primary election, White was confronted with information that he had assumed false, online personas, for which he eventually apologized. And, in the closing weeks of the campaign, Republicans received, via email, a blog post by an anonymous author writing under the title, “Concerned Citizens of the 46th,” who asked questions about an unsolved 2011 homicide in Morris Township and linked Solobay to the investigation.
In what some people have called an “October surprise,” nine search warrants in the death of James LeRoy Durbin were unsealed. The documents showed police asserting Solobay was involved with in an “ongoing relationship” with Amy Durbin, the wife of the victim. Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone said Solobay is neither a suspect nor a person of interest in the homicide.
Cheesecake baker Jason Ortitay of South Fayette Township handily defeated White Nov. 4, and Camera Bartolotta of Monongahela, Duke of Oil franchise owner and sometime actress, declared victory over Solobay.
The two freshmen Republicans are scheduled to take their oaths of office Tuesday, Jan. 6, in Harrisburg, joining an increasingly “red” delegation of local Republican incumbents Jim Christiana of Beaver, John Maher of Upper St. Clair and Rick Saccone of Elizabeth. Democrats holding onto their seats were Brandon Neuman of North Strabane Township, Pete Daley of California and Pam Snyder of Jefferson. Snyder was unopposed.