District 18 race pits ‘fresh voice’ against ‘experience’

PITTSBURGH — One of the biggest races on the ballot Tuesday pits a longtime congressman against a progressive challenger.

Jerry Dickinson is a Pitt law professor, and in his first run for political office, he’s going up against Mike Doyle, a man who’s served in Congress for a quarter of a century.

Dickinson said he’s not intimidated by his opponent.

“It isn’t whether he’s done something. The question is whether he’s done enough, and the answer is no,” Dickinson said.

Doyle, who lives in Forest Hills, is touting his record and millions of dollars in economic development projects and jobs to the Pittsburgh area. That includes $22 million for the Lower Hill development project and the recently awarded $100 million for the rapid transit bus line from downtown to Oakland.

“I’ve worked hard for my district,” Doyle said. “It’s an area I love. I want to see it do well. I consider it a tremendous privilege to serve the people of Pittsburgh and I leave it up to them. I do my job the best I can, and on Election Day, it usually takes care of itself.”

Dickinson believes this region is one of the worst for African Americans. He said his own experience, one of 11 adopted children raised by a family in Shaler, gives him a unique perspective.

“We have the least livable region for African American women,” he said. “We have some of the highest rates of pollution, worst air quality in the United States, a lot of major issues are happening right here in our backyard.”

Doyle said he’s been endorsed by the Sierra Club for his work on climate change and the environment, and he’s worked with the African American community on inequalities.

“I’ve worked with many groups in the city of Pittsburgh to, you know, to try to chip away at that, but we still got a lot of work to do. So I don’t disagree with him on that and I’ve been part of the solution, not the problem,” Doyle said.

It’s a battle of a “fresh voice” versus “experience” and it will be decided at the polls.

Channel 11 will have complete Election Day coverage on television and at www.wpxi.com including updated results once polls close.

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