Posted on 01/22/2010 1:03:24 PM PST by smoothsailing
January 22, 2010
By: AMY REVAK - Herald Standard
A Monongahela man with ties to Fayette County is seeking the Democratic nomination for Congress for the seat currently held by 36-year incumbent U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Johnstown.
Ryan Bucchianeri, a seventh-generation Pennsylvanian who was born and raised in the district, has announced he will seek the 12th Congressional District seat, and held his first rally earlier this month in front of supporters in his hometown of Monongahela.
Bucchianeri said he is "running a traditional grass-roots campaign."
That campaign will include a meet-the-candidate event in Fayette County at 7 p.m. today at AMVETS Post 103 in Hopwood. He said he plans to travel to all areas of the district, which includes portions of nine counties, during the next few months.
The primary will be held May 18, and the first day to circulate nomination petitions is Feb. 16.
Bucchianeri, 34, is a former naval officer and Harvard Kennedy School graduate. After graduating from Harvard, Ryan worked in international business development as a manager at Lockheed Martin to enable the responsible trade of American technology and sustain American jobs.
In South America, he worked on a proposal to reduce the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, and in Eastern Europe he worked to strengthen regional security with NATO partners.
His mother, Rosemary (Rich) Bucchianeri, is a native of Uniontown and graduate of Uniontown Area High School. Bucchianeri's grandparents were Dominick and Virginia Rich, and they owned and operated the Fayette Institute of Technology in Uniontown.
"I'm running for Congress to serve people of southwestern Pennsylvania, not the special interests of high-powered lobbyists who continue to maintain their power at our expense. Until we send new representation to Washington, we will continue to suffer the financial and ethical consequences of irresponsible earmarks and a power-structure designed to keep incumbents in office," he said.
Bucchianeri, who wasn't even born when Murtha first took office, said he looks forward to a competitive race and spirited debate this spring.
"I'm not going to be able to outspend (Murtha) but I will outwork him," Bucchianeri said.
"Voters I talk with throughout the district are ready to turn the page and elect new leadership," he said. "I'm running for Congress to bring a new voice to Washington and return responsible leadership to western Pennsylvania."
Bucchianeri said he has a long family lineage of coal miners and educators in Fayette and Greene counties. He said he proudly followed in the footsteps of his maternal grandfather, Dominick Rich, who served in the Navy Seabees in World War II in the Southwest Pacific in the very same waters that he sailed years later as a naval officer.
"Public policy is a true passion of mine because I believe that responsible policy and good governance are the most effective ways to help others and have the greatest impact to improve our world," Bucchianeri said.
The first-time candidate said he decided to run for this office because most of his background is on a national or international level.
He said while Murtha has had a long history of service, he believes people of the area are ready for a change.
"I will work to bring opportunity to a region that has suffered too long from economic decline.
"Most of my contemporaries have long left the district for opportunities elsewhere and our hometown streets and storefronts, once vibrant and bustling centers of commerce, are emptying at an alarming rate. This trend has to be reversed or we will continue to face the dire economic consequences of high unemployment and an aging population with little opportunity," Bucchianeri said.
He said through infrastructure development, a well-trained workforce and innovative marketing, he would work to create and sustain jobs "throughout the district, not solely in a single city or a single industry."
In addition to a better-educated and properly trained workforce, Bucchianeri said he would fight to bring the necessary infrastructure into western Pennsylvania to attract industry and ensure our workforce remains competitive in a global economy.
"With a vibrant economy and new opportunities, young people will stay in the region, energizing it for generations to come, instead of leaving for opportunities elsewhere," Bucchianeri said.
For more information about Bucchianeri's campaign, visit his Web site at www.ryan2010.com.
I remember that this guy was the place kicker for Army and shanked a potential game-winning chipshot in the Army-Navy game! He looked like he was about 12 at the time. Wonder if he graduated from West Point.
Reproductive Rights Women have a fundamental human right to control what happens to their bodies and lives. I strongly support a woman’s right to choose and believe that government should not interfere with this personal decision. At the same time, we must aggressively work to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies through age-appropriate sexual education and open availability and use of contraceptives. Though well-intended, abstinence-only programs are unrealistic, outdated, and may actually contribute to an increased rate of teen pregnancy.
Marriage Equality It’s time for America to truly honor its mantra that “all are created equal” and support full marriage equality for all U.S. citizens. The continued discrimination against the LGBT community is not only unethical, it’s un-American. Yet, only five states in our country recognize marriage by U.S. citizens of the same-sex as legal. This isn’t simply an issue of “civil union” vs. “marriage” nomenclature, nor would it force any church to marry a same-sex couple against its will. It is about basic rights and equality under law as American citizens. On average, it costs LGBT couples tens of thousands of dollars more than heterosexual couples over their lifetime, depending on income. Moreover, same-sex couples do not get equal health insurance, tax, and legal benefits as heterosexual couples. A significant number of the extra costs same-sex couples face would be reduced if the federal government ends its discrimination against same-sex marriage. I fully support adoption of state and federal legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in the United States – and look forward to the day when our children look back at this period in America and genuinely wonder why we didn’t embrace LGBT equality sooner.
It's quite a story, and he was actually the place kicker for the Navy team, but you're right about the rest..
...................................................................................
He repeated, like a litany, the first commandment of placekicking, of which his father, Richard, had reminded him only the night before: "Keep your head down and follow through the ball." Ryan's holder, Tony Solliday, approached him on the field. "I want you to know, whether you make this or not, that you're a great kicker," Solliday said. Given the acute angle to the goalposts and his tendency to hook the ball from the right hash, Bucchianeri made an adjustment. "I aimed slightly right of the nearest goalpost," he says, "thinking it would hook between the two." He took three steps back and 1½ over and bent forward.
Just before the catch of the snap, Bucchianeri stepped forward, locking his knee as he swung his leg like a golf club, driving the outside of his toe into the ball. "It felt like a good hit," he says now, "but something felt a little different. I looked up...."
The kick floated to the right, missing by 18 inches, and Bucchianeri saw the referee wave his arms to the side. "No!" said the kicker.
He turned his back to the goalposts and fell to one knee. Solliday reached out for him. Bucchianeri dropped his head, closed his eyes and raised his left hand to his face mask, his right to Solliday's shoulder. "I can't believe it," he muttered. "This isn't happening...."
Bucchianeri was starting for his locker room when the Army placekicker, Rocco Wicks, put his arm around him. "Don't worry about it," Wicks told him, one toe to another. "One kick doesn't lose a game. Keep your head up."
The excerpt above is from the August 29, 1994 Sports Illustrated.
It's a heck of a story, kinda long, but here's a link...
I'm supporting Bill Russell, the Republican, in the Republican primary and the General Election, but if "Wide Right" Ryan "Booch" Bucchianeri takes down John Murtha in the Democrat primary, it will be a great day, and the voters of the 12th Congressional District will have an honest choice between two honorable men. The curse of Murtha will be gone and buried, once and for all.
Me too, I could never vote for him. But it would be great to see him knock off Murtha in the Democrat primary.
Well said, Smooth. I'll be backing you up on that.
Hey, guys! Why are we saying nice things about a Dem? How is Russell shaping up - against either of these guys?
How do you think he’ll do against Bill Russell?
Who, Bucchianeri or Murtha?
Bucchianeri, if he beats Murtha in the primary.
Not well, in my opinion. Bucchianeri supports both abortion and gay marriage (see post #42), and the voters in the district, both R’s and D’s, oppose those issues.
His advantage would be the fact that registered D’s outnumber registered R’s by 2.2 to 1. But the D’s tend to be more conservative than the D’s in Congress today.
Ultimately I believe Russell will prevail against either Murtha or Bucchianeri.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.