Democrat opens campaign office in downtown Butler
The Democrat who will try to unseat U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-3rd) in November has opened an office on Main Street.
Ron DiNicola of Erie held a grand opening Sunday afternoon at 306 N. Main Street during the Butler Italian Festival.
DiNicola, a former Marine who will vie with Kelly in November for the seat in the new 16th Congressional District, is running on a platform to clean up corruption, protect Social Security and Medicare, create more good-paying jobs, invest in education and bring down health care and pharmaceutical costs.
The newly drawn district includes all of Erie, Crawford, Mercer, and Lawrence counties and most of western Butler County.
“We wanted to have a presence in Butler County because Butler County is so important,” DiNicola said. “It's a very significant part of the district from a population standpoint and a standpoint of economic growth and development.”
He plans on being at the Butler office at least once per week, and his canvassers will use the office as needed, too.
DiNicola, whose father was a bricklayer who emigrated from Italy and built the family home in Erie, was pleased to open his new satellite office during the Italian festival.
“I had St. Michael's pepperoni rolls,” DeNicola said with a smile.
The candidate said he wants to attract new businesses to the district.
“As I've moved around the district, I hear that Congress is not working for Western Pennsylvania,” DiNicola said. “Big money is dominating the political process in favor to special interests and as a consequence has squeezed out the middle class and working families from their voices being heard,” DiNicola said.
When Washington isn't working, he said, the tough issues of economic opportunity, affordable health care, education and infrastructure cannot be tackled.
“(Kelly) has not measured up over the past eight years,” DiNicola said. “I fully expect that a goodly number of moderate Republicans are going to support me and I feel certain that many of them voted for Donald Trump.”
Lynn Spadine-Taylor of Zelienople came to the grand opening after canvassing about 30 houses on Butler's South Side.
“I had a very positive response,” she said. “They were very interested.”
She said DiNicola is working hard to get his name and message to the voters of the district.
“He understands his constituents and is willing to represent them and we need that,” Spadine-Taylor said.
Catherine Lalond, chairman of the Butler County Democratic Committee, said she has met with DiNicola on many occasions.
“He is sincerely concerned about the people in the district,” she said.
She said DiNicola has seen district residents go into debt over health care costs or decide not to open a business because they could not afford health care, and he wants to change that.
“He is definitely concerned about citizens,” she said.
DiNicola's canvassers will be out and about in the coming weeks.
