LaVallee

CRANBERRY TWP — Another township man is prepared to challenge U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly later this year.

Dan LaVallee, 26, said that his campaign is in its infancy, but that he’s starting to get the word out about the need for change in the Third District.

The new candidate joins a growing list of Democrats who’ll face off against each other in the May primary for the chance to go against Kelly in the November election.

A North Allegheny graduate who received both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University, LaVallee said he recently moved to Cranberry to help take care of an aging relative.

Before that, he worked in health care policy and management and last served as the deputy director of American Health Insurance Plan, a health care trade association in Washington, D.C. He now is focusing full-time on his campaign.

LaVallee has a significant background in policy and statistics, experience that he said has him primed to understand the economic issues that affect the area.

“If you look at the statistics in our region, you see that Youngstown and Pittsburgh are starting to recover,” he said about the local economy. “But the rest of northwestern Pennsylvania is falling behind, and I see opportunity for growth that we’re missing.”

The candidate also expressed his frustration with what he perceives to be an attitude problem in the nation’s capital, a place where he said politicians would rather shut down the government than find common solutions.

“We need new energy and leadership,” he said.

Despite the fact that he might suffer from a lack of name recognition, LaVallee wouldn’t comment on his chances of taking on Kelly, the two-term Republican incumbent from Butler.

“I’m not a political commentator,” he said. “For me, I’m concerned with getting out to people in the Third District to talk about taking advantage of missed opportunities and creating jobs.” LaVallee added that his campaign team is in place, and they are preparing for the primary.

If he gets on the ballot, LaVallee will face Matt Ryan, 31, of Cranberry Township and Rob Joswiak, 31, of Concord Township.

The Third District covers all of Butler County as well as portions of Armstrong, Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Lawrence and Mercer counties.