Uphill battle faces Ward

By Wally Edge

Westmoreland County Commissioner Kim Ward has announced she will be replacing Senator Bob Regola on the November ballot in Senate District 39. Ward is facing an uphill battle, but Republicans are convinced Ward is not only the best hope, but probably the only hope to maintain the district in the “R” column.

Ward will be facing Dr. Tony Bompiani in November. Bompiani defeated Chris Huffman in this spring’s primary by a 65%-35% vote. Bompiani has the advantage with a voter registration in the district being 56% Democratic (84,035) with only 35% (52,301) being registered Republican. But the one Republican, besides Regola, who has proven they can win is Ward. Ward placed second overall in the last county commissioners race, which is the best a Republican has done in recent memory.

Regola shocked many when he defeated incumbent Senator Allen Kukovich in a heated and negative 2004 campaign. Regola ran what many considered one of the most effective negative campaigns in recent memory when he knocked off the former Democratic State Chairman.

For Ward to run a similar campaign will be difficult as Bompiani doesn’t have the long voting record Kukovich did. Ward has proven she can be a vote getter with her Commissioners race. Ward also has the state contacts to raise money quickly. She is going to need all of that and more to come through if the Republicans hope to retain the seat, but Republicans are lucky she agreed to run or it would have been a long fall. Watch for SD39 to become the most hotly contested race in the state, much like it was in 2004. The only thing that could make this race even more exciting to watch would be for Ward to bring in operative Mike Long to advise her race as he did for Regola in 2004.

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WALLY EDGE can be reached via email at politickerpa@aol.com.

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Comments

Bompiani has a 12 year

posted by 39th resident

Bompiani has a 12 year record of raising taxes on the Hempfield Area School Board. Those votes and the other decisions he had to make will be enough to tie him to the budget crunch that HASD faces currently. He stood by while huge amounts of debt were racked up at Hempfield. He stude by while spending careened out of control. He stood by while the text books there continued to become delipitated. He has a record and its not a good one for the people of Hempfield(the largest township in the district where ward lives and served as a chair of their board of supervisors before being commissioner).

08/13/08 6:24 pm

Hempfield

posted by Bompiani Supporters

Have you looked at the results for Hempfield in the Democratic primary? Bompiani is too well liked in Hempfield to be beaten there. His opponent sent out negative mailers regarding taxes and the teachers campaigned hard against him. It was all for not. Besides, there is more to the current faulty property tax system then simply raising or lowering. How about doing something to fix the system and not simply offer a band aid? I challenge you to check out Bompiani's website for some insight on tax reform. Besides, Dr. Bompiani has lived here all of his life. He talks to 150 people a day and hears the problems they face. Like them, and the rest of the people in the district, he works hard for his money. He certainly wants to pay as little tax as possible.

08/13/08 8:35 pm

simple, simple

posted by Bompiani Supporters

Don't simplify a complicated issue. Of course Senator Regola never voted to raise taxes. Most Senators don't. Why? Because a large portion of their budget is funded by income taxes. Income taxes are directly proportioned to what???????? You guessed it!! INFLATION!! I bet you are unaware, however, that the State's contribution to public education has dropped significantly over the passed 20 years. Where do you think the school districts need to go to make up for that difference? Correct again! Property taxes!! Now, what you probably didn't know is that Senator Regola voted against the bill to increase the State's funding of public education which would have significantly reduced property taxes. That increase could have easily been funded by cutting the state budget. Could that be easy? Maybe...considering we have the second most expensive legislature in the country. It's not simple. You should contact Dr. Bompiani to pick his brain on this issue and others. info@bompianiforsenate.com
You may not agree with all his points of view, but don't let labels get in the way of the issues.

08/13/08 9:44 pm

Teachers, who do tend to

posted by Westmoreland GOP girl

Teachers, who do tend to vote more liberal, campaigned against a Democrat who was on their school board? Bompiani must have ROYALLY screwed up.

08/13/08 9:58 pm

don't think so

posted by Bompiani Supporters

He voted against their contract and fought hard. They did not like that. His opponent was a lot more liberal than him. His opponent got the party endorsement.

08/13/08 10:07 pm

If she only had a brain

posted by Now who do I vote for

I wonder if Kim will be able to stay sober through the debates. I suspect that we need to make sure that her "water" glass is full to keep her attention

08/14/08 12:18 pm

I am a Hempfield Area High

posted by Hempfield High School teacher

I am a Hempfield Area High School teacher for 7 years now. Everybody should know why the teachers union did not support Dr Bompiani. The reason is is because our Union president has his a personal vendetta against Dr. Bompiani. I know more than 75 percent of the teachers at the high school all voted for Dr Bompiani. Being on the school board opens up doors for people to complain or disagree with what you vote for. You will not please everyone. I still support Dr Bompiani even though I, as a teacher, disagreed with our contract. I know that he voted for what was best for the district. Dr. Bompiani was only one member of the board, so to say the reason why Hempfield is struggling is because of him is completely idiotic! I suggest all you ward supporters out there realize that Dr. Bompiani is the best choice for this race. He is from here, works here, and has strong family ties here. Kim Ward is not from our county, she is doing this race to for own political advancement!!!!! The only office Dr Bompiani held was on the School Board! It is not even a paying position!!!!!!!! How bout kim ward? What other positions has she held? I wonder who is the career politician?

One more thing. If Kim Ward is so much better then Dr Bompiani, Then why in the world wont she debate him? Maybe its because she has no grasps on any of the issues and that she would look foolish!

08/16/08 3:08 pm

Obviously each comment to

posted by Fly on wall

Obviously each comment to this point has been made by a person closely connected to each candidate. Take personnel emotion aside. I have never had the experiece of watching Kim Ward in her trade. Her t.v. ads are very fake and do not make me think she has ever been sincere in her words. That's an opinion, not fact. Dr. Bompiani, I have watched at school board meetings and school events. He has impressed me with his ability to listen to all the facts within the issues. He does not seem to be bothered about second guessing people who he sits on the board with in their information. He comes to the meetings educated and prepared. He attends all meetings. He is humble. I have watched him admit he did not make the best decision, but lets find a way to fix the problem. He continues to view the never ending tasks with a quiet positive outlook. He's been anger, but with control. He speaks with education and class. I write this for those who have never taken the time to attend a school board meeting to see Dr. Bompiani for who he is. So many of the school board members are judged by the five word quotes written about them in the papers. It's unfair. The newspaper is a business and they need excitement to sell their press. Reason and sense does not sell, but anger and words taken out of context will make money. Kim Ward has never been were I could give you an opinion of her. But I'm not anything personnel. I'm just me.

09/03/08 9:14 pm