Primary Election 2020: Dickinson challenges Doyle in 18th District
By ERIC SEIVERLING
eseiverling@yourmvi.com
An incumbent Democrat and a newcomer will face off in the 18th Congressional District primary election June 2.
Either Mike Doyle, a 25-year Congressional veteran, or Jerry Dickinson, a University of Pittsburgh law professor, will run against Republican Luke Negron during the Nov. 3 general election.
Negron, 27, is running unopposed in the primary.
Doyle was first elected in the 18th District in 1995, then was elected to represent the 14th District in 2002 following redistricting. He returned to the 18th District in the 2018 election.
“As the son of a steelworker, seeing Mon Valley communities suffer as friends and neighbors of mine lost their jobs in the mills and not be able to find new ones is what motivated me to run for Congress in the first place,” Doyle responded in a Mon Valley Independent questionnaire sent to him and Dickinson. “I provided the funding to build the flyover ramps into the former Duquesne and McKeesport industrial sites to facilitate their development.
“I have maintained a Mon Valley office in McKeesport for my entirety in Congress to provide easy access and services to Mon Valley residents.”
But Dickinson believes his upbringing in the Allegheny County foster care system in a multi-racial home with 10 other foster kids will inject new blood in Congress.
“My opponent has been there for 25 years and it’s time for new leadership,” he said. “I’m a community and human rights activist. My personal upbringing and coming out of the foster home system is important because I know many of the pains and struggles of disadvantaged people. I personally experienced those things.
“I’ve been working with groups like the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other community groups to provide affordable land and property.”
For many residents of the Mon Valley, the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting shutdowns of stores, businesses and factories is a stark reminder of the 1980s, when the region lost its coal and steel industries to new, more efficient technologies.
Both candidates say they’re prepared to help the Mon Valley recover from the economic crisis resulting from COVID-19.
“We need to address climate change because Pittsburgh has one of the worst air qualities in the U.S., which means a higher rate of respiratory deaths,” Dickinson said. “Medicare is extremely important because of the health crisis caused by coronavirus. And I won’t accept money from big businesses and fossil fuels. We need to get rid of politicians who are influenced by these businesses and who do the bidding for these industries. I’m a strong supporter of the Green New Deal.
“Many of the industries who have left are fossil fuels. Solar and wind industries are the best option. We know from New York and other states that these will work. They’ll provide thousands of jobs, and not just temporary jobs.”
Doyle feels the path to post-coronavirus recovery is to use the resources already available in the region.
“Once the COVID-19 virus is under control, I will be pushing for Congress to enact stimulus legislation to help get our economy back on track by tackling the backlog in maintenance on existing infrastructure and investing in new infrastructure construction,” Doyle said. “I have been working with local community leaders to bring new businesses and jobs to the former LTV Coke Works in Hazelwood, and I will continue to work on the development of the Carrie Furnace site. The key to reviving these communities is bringing in new businesses that create jobs, and if you can do that, it creates demand for the retail stores and restaurants that used to line the streets of all these towns.”
Whoever is on the ballot on Nov. 3, each candidate is looking forward to representing the district.
“I have a lengthy record of votes taken, bills introduced, and public statements I’ve made as well as securing hundreds of millions of federal dollars for my district,” Doyle said. “I’m very proud of the fact that I’ve been successful in introducing a number of bipartisan bills and getting them enacted during my service in Congress. I believe in compromise but not at the expense of my principles.”
“We need to get corporate money out of politics,” Dickinson countered. “We need to start moving toward a pathway to Medicare for all and we need an aggressive approach to a carbon-free economy by 2030. Those actions drive how I govern. We’re not running a race; we’re aspiring for greatness.”
The 18th Congressional District is located in southwestern Pennsylvania and consists of 54 municipalities in Allegheny County, including the City of Pittsburgh.
Mon Valley communities in the district are Clairton, Dravosburg, Duquesne, East McKeesport, Elizabeth Borough, Elizabeth Township, Forward Township, Glassport, Homestead, Jefferson Hills, Liberty, Lincoln, McKeesport, North Versailles, Pleasant Hills, Port Vue, Versailles, West Elizabeth, West Mifflin and White Oak.
