Winners & Losers

This week's biggest Winners & Losers

This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

By City & State

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If there was one word to describe this week in Pennsylvania politics, “tension” would be it. From partisan battles over an audit of the state’s 2020 election results to an intra-party fight in the state’s Republican primary for U.S. Senate, there was a whole lot of beef in the Keystone State this week. Oh, and our junior U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey got into a very public back-and-forth with former President Donald Trump over whether Trump should run for president again in 2024. Trump called Toomey a “terrible representative” for Pennsylvania. Pretty normal stuff. 


Scroll down for more of this week’s winners and losers!

WINNERS:

Bill Peduto -

Bill Peduto may be on his way out as mayor of Pittsburgh, but he’s not resting on his laurels as his term inches closer to an end. This week, Peduto’s administration announced a $9 million gun violence intervention plan designed to empower nonprofit workers to intervene when a situation begins to escalate. Say what you want about Peduto, who has made friends and enemies during his tenure, but he’s putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to addressing gun violence.

John Fetterman -

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is largely viewed as the current frontrunner in the state's U.S. Senate Democratic primary. It’s early in the race, so a lot can change, especially now that U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb has entered the contest. This week, though, Fetterman announced he has received more than 300,000 individual contributions to date, including donations from 86% of Pennsylvania zip codes. Right now, things are looking up for him, a trend he hopes he’ll ride into 2022.

Melissa Mann -

The PHMC has a new HBIC. Melissa Mann was appointed to the role of director of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission this week, where she’ll oversee the commonwealth’s 24 state-owned historic sites and museums and their staff. During her time with PHMC, Mann has been an advocate for inclusion and accessibility. We can all agree no one should be barred from learning.

LOSERS:

Mike Kelly -

Members of Congress and insider trading have a long history, and it’s not going away anytime soon. The House Ethics Committee announced this week that it’s investigating four members, including Rep. Mike Kelly. Reportedly, Kelly’s wife bought stock in a Pennsylvania steel company as he was pushing the Trump administration to investigate foreign steel imports threatening domestic companies. They’ve now gone from investing to being investigated.

Frank Scavo -

Another week in Pennsylvania usually means another insurrectionist is arrested. Frank Scavo, who admitted to organizing buses for more than 200 people to travel to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, pleaded guilty this week to taking part in the coup at the Capitol. Court records show that Scavo chanted “Treason!” as he was inside the building. He says he regrets his actions, but he certainly knew exactly what he was doing at the time.

William Hite -

William Hite, the Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, has a trash problem on his hands. A video circulating on social media shows piles of trash outside of the Laura H. Carnell Elementary School in Northeast Philadelphia, offering a not-so-picturesque backdrop as parents bring their children to school. Other schools in the district also were plagued with piles of garbage. Sounds like someone needs to call Ya Fav Trashman.

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