CLASSIC MATCHUP, CONTINUED FROM PG. 06
“These are completely baseless accusations from a desperate campaign failing to gain traction in this district because of the extreme liberal views and radical tax-andspend policies they champion,” Reschenthaler said via email. But in the face of what Arnet sees as an election heavily influenced by Reshenthaler’s donors, she’s asking voters not to rely on what they see on TV and in their mailboxes. Instead, she’s asking that they look at her opponent’s track record. FOR THE PAST 12 years, Arnet has served as
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 10.21/10.28.2015
the CEO of the Women and Girls Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of women and girls of all ages. “In that role, a significant part of my job is to advocate for legislation at the city, county and state level, mainly in support of different social-justice and economic-justice issues,” Arnet says. “Most recently, those have included things like paid family leave, paid sick leave, efforts to increase the minimum wage, continued efforts around ensuring low-income individuals have access to safe and affordable housing, health care.” It’s this experience working with state representatives on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation that Arnet says has prepared her to make a difference in the senate. “We’ve worked very closely with the Republican leadership,” Arnet says. “Our mission is to support women and girls. It’s not a partisan organization. We’ve built a reputation of being a coalition builder and bringing to the table people that maybe don’t agree on everything.” In a continuation of her professional career, Arnet says she will be a strong proponent for workers’ rights and other economic issues. She says economic stability is a cornerstone of concern for constituents in her district, be they two-parent families or elderly women who have outlived their partners. “As a state legislator, I will continue to be an advocate for increasing the minimum wage,” Arnet says. “Women make up 75 percent of minimum-wage workers and, probably not accidentally … 75 percent of households living in poverty in Pittsburgh are single-women-headed households. It’s not that I’m looking … only at what’s good for women and girls, but my interest is in hoping to eliminate poverty.” Arnet has also served on an advisory board for a 32-county strategic-planning process. Through this experience, she learned about municipal challenges like stormwater management, land-use planning, transportation issues, highway infrastructure and environmental-impact regulations. “What people mainly care about are
their families and their general, everyday quality of life. They care about their jobs, about living wages, about retirement security, and they care about having good schools for their kids to go to,” says Arnet. “I think those are core values I share. Those are not Republican or Democratic values. They’re family values.” Arnet has been endorsed by a number of workers’ unions, including the local Service Employees International Union and Pennsylvania AFL-CIO. But she says workers’ rights are also a personal issue for her. “When I was little, we lived on food stamps until my parents both found union jobs,” says Arnet. “They provided our families with economic security and health care. My mom had paid sick leave, and as a single mom that mattered. So these are not abstract issues to me. I’ve seen why it’s important for workers to have the ability to negotiate and to demand good working conditions and livable wages that you can raise a family on.” SINCE RESCHENTHALER did not agree to an
interview, City Paper turned to his supporters and to publicly available information about the candidate. “Guy is not your grandfather’s crusty Republican,” says Ben Gross, a member of the Allegheny County Republican Party and one of Reschenthaler’s supporters. “What I like about him, is he has a libertarian bent to things.” Gross says Reschenthaler, like most Republicans, is against major tax increases, but “Guy is also someone who sees problems with poverty and mass incarceration.” According to his campaign website, Reschenthaler is a former district magistrate who has also worked in private practice. He also served in the military as a navy prosecutor. “He’s a bright young man, a hardworking man with service to his country,” says Dave Majernick, vice chairman of the Allegheny County Republican Committee. “The committee members felt he had the best chance to win.” Reschenthaler’s website does not include information on where the candidate stands on the issues facing constituents in the 37th District. (Information on where he stands on pension reform, education and the environment were emailed to City Paper and can be found on a chart on page 10.) But City Paper did listen to segments of a 2013 talk show that Reschenthaler hosted called The Sound of Freedom, a conservative podcast where the candidate and his co-host, Carl Higbie, discussed topics like taxes, immigration and gun control. “I laughed out loud in the section of your book when you talk about having to sit next to fat people on the plane,” Reschenthaler