logo
  • News
    • Northside Community Meetings
    • Community Calendar
    • Elected Officials
    • Features
    • Local Business
    • Public Safety
    • Sports
  • Arts + Culture
  • Real Estate
  • Classifieds
  • Marketplace
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • News
      • Northside Community Meetings
      • Community Calendar
      • Elected Officials
      • Features
      • Local Business
      • Public Safety
      • Sports
    • Arts + Culture
    • Real Estate
    • Classifieds
    • Marketplace
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
Brighton Heights, Features
admin, on
November 16, 2009
Brighton Heights native Dan Keller becomes first official candidate in District 20 race

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE

MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-style-parent:””;
font-size:11.0pt;”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-fareast-“Times New Roman”;
mso-bidi-“Times New Roman”;}

Daniel Keller of Brighton Heights announced his candidacy for the District 20 representative seat in the state legislature.

The race to represent the 20th District in the state legislature has officially begun.

Brighton Heights resident Daniel Keller officially announced his candidacy last Friday after filing paperwork with the State Elections Board to enter the contest as a democrat.

After winning a spot on Common Pleas Court, current Rep. Don Walko will be vacating the seat — which represents the upper and eastern section of the Northside, Lawrenceville, Bloomfield and parts of Ross and Reserve townships — on Jan. 3.

A special election to fill the remainder of Walko’s term cannot be held until 60 days after his departure, but Keller and others say the election might coincide with the May primary.

At the very least Keller will be joined by Paul McKrell of Stanton Heights and Tim Tuinstra of Observatory Hill, both of whom have not officially announced their runs but confirmed their intent to The Northside Chronicle.

Keller said he has been considering a run for the seat since January, when Walko announced his campaign for Common Pleas Court.

Keller was president of the Brighton Heights Citizens Federation from 1989 to 1994. Former Mayor Murphy appointed him to the Pittsburgh Planning Commission in 1999, where he served for four years. He has since served on the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, or Alcosan, since he was appointed late last year by Mayor Ravenstahl.

Keller cites his time on the Planning Commission as a formative experience where he “learned to interact with neighborhood groups and build consensus.”

And Keller doesn’t view the fact that he’s never held elective office as a barrier.

“One of the big points I want to make in the campaign is that I’ve never run for a public office, and I’ve never worked for a public entity. I’m a business person,” Keller said. “Not to minimize government service, but I think that can compartmentalize someone. If that’s all you’ve done, that puts you at a disadvantage.”

With 26 years of business and entrepreneurial experience, Keller said his skill set will complement his relationship with district members.

“As a state representative, you’ve got to deliver bread-and-butter, constituent services on a daily basis,” Keller said. “If you haven’t built a payroll, if you haven’t had to make a profit and you haven’t been in the business of making customers happy,” then you won’t deliver services “in a high quality manner.”

One failure he’s seen on the local level was the demolition of the Davis Avenue Bridge, which he argues could have been saved if state and local politicians had focused on the matter.

“To the mayor and [City Councilwoman] Harris’ s credit, they said we have to get this done. But somebody failed in government, on some level, when that bridge fell. The missing Davis Avenue Bridge is a metaphor for failed government.”

Mayor Ravenstahl ordered the bridge, already closed to traffic for eight years, immediately demolished after an inspection determined it was in dire shape this spring.

Keller said he will also push continued funding for special needs education in public schools. His son, J.D., was a recipient of special needs education from the Pittsburgh public school system. Now that J.D. has made a successful transition to a job at UPMC, Keller said he wants to ensure that special education stays a priority and is easier to access.

“What that said to me is that government can improve lives when money is spent on successful programs.”

The candidate has worked in sales for Owens-Corning Fiberglass and Steelcase, both Fortune 1000 companies, and was general manager at UFT Mortgage for 10 years.

He ran his own sales business in the first half of the 1990s called Keller Architectural Specialties. Presently, he is director of business development for Overton and Associates in Bridgeville.

Keller’s campaign, “Right Now!!,” is currently all-volunteer, and he said he will begin fundraising shortly.

Though it was rumored that Dave Schuilenburg of Summer Hill would enter the race, Schuilenburg said he is not planning to enter.

Schuilenburg, who has run for city council in two earlier elections, said though he has been prompted by friends to run for the office, he is instead mulling a run for Darlene Harris’s District 1 city council seat in 2011.

Corrections: An earlier version of this article stated that Paul McKrell lives in Bloomfield. Though he grew up there, McKrell now lives in Stanton Heights. Also, Dave Schuilenburg did not run for mayor.

Check back in the coming weeks to read interviews with more District 20 candidates.

 
 

 

Donate today to help support the Northside community newspaper's mission to provide hyperlocal coverage for our neighborhoods, neighbors, and their future.

Related Posts
e-Edition
Northside Neighborhoods
Northside Guides
FORMS + SUBMISSIONS
Events Letters to the Editor News Tips
POLL
MOST READ
Real Estate Transfers Feb. 26 to March 4
Features, News...
Real Estate Transfers Feb. 26 to March 4
March 20, 2023
Allegheny City Central Coast Properties LLC to Thomas Weinlandt and Kendall Post at 1219 Veto St. for $368,600. Brighton Heights FOF Properties LLC to...
this is a test
Real Estate Transfers Feb. 19 to Feb. 25
News, Real Estate...
Real Estate Transfers Feb. 19 to Feb. 25
March 20, 2023
Allegheny City Central Mark Fleischer to James and Amie Sparks Ball at 1202 Sherman Ave. for $400,000. Edward Villella to Louis Kroeck and Sarah Chath...
this is a test
Town Talk: Pizza! Pizza! Not your typical pizza chains
Allegheny City Central, Business...
Town Talk: Pizza! Pizza! Not your typical pizza chains
March 20, 2023
Most Northsiders are likely familiar with the phrase “Pizza! Pizza!” from the TV commercial promoting a national pizza chain. Yet (and to our benefit)...
this is a test
February poll results
Editor Picks, Features...
February poll results
March 18, 2023
February saw the launch of an exciting new feature on The Northside Chronicle’s website: polls! We asked our visitors to cast their votes on a variety...
this is a test
PREVIEW: Northside company launches program to promote robotics startups
Allegheny City Central, Business...
PREVIEW: Northside company launches program to promote robotics startups
March 17, 2023
Robots are perhaps one of the most common ideas people think about when they envision the future. And one Northside company is seeking to bring the fu...
this is a test
Neighborhood Community Development Fund
Northside Leadership Conference
Donate

The Northside Chronicle

thenorthsidechronicle.com
Phone: (412) 321-3919
Email: [email protected]

About Us

Stay tuned with us

Copyright ©2022 Northside Chronicle. All rights reserved.