Beth Hafer Will Challenge Tim Murphy in 18th

June 5th, 2007, posted by Stanley

Beth Hafer hopes to follow her well-known mother, Barbara Hafer, onto the region’s ballots.

Ms. Hafer, 35, a former school teacher who now works as a vice president in a government consulting firm owned by her mother, said she plans to run for Congress next year against U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair.

She talked about her ambitions for the seat yesterday, just after listening to Mr. Murphy at a news conference on federal base closing issues in Oakdale. The younger Ms. Hafer was standing with her mother, the former Allegheny County commissioner, state treasurer and state auditor general.

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Don't know anything about

On June 5th, 2007 Anonymous said:

Don’t know anything about the younger Ms. Hafer, but I am glad that the move is on to target and takeover this seat from Tim “Stoneface” Murphy, one of the most unlikable, egotistical and clueless lesgislators in the House. He has been able to maintain his seat simply because he hasn’t had decent, well-funded competition. Clearly, ’08 will be different

Murphy will be dogged by his incompetency and his ethics. In particular, there is no “taking back” his on-camera grab of last year, when he demanded that a KDKA reporter give him back some papers which he claimed were his property. It was a bizarre sight.

Hafer is an interesting idea, but she could have the disadvantage of being a newcomer who actually has a past, in that she will be connected and compared to her mother, for good or ill. The name recognition will be nice, but again, only if you are a Hafer supporter. I’m still pulling for Stan Savran to get back into the mix. He is a bright, articulate, likable guy. Don’t be fooled by his “day job” as a sports talk show host; Savran knows his way around politics and knows the issues…and unlike Hafer, there is no political baggage.

Pilt

Savarn

On June 6th, 2007 Anonymous said:

Well, I like Stan and I know he’s into politics, but while he thought about running last year, my sense is that his heart isn’t in it.

PD - You could be right. At

On June 6th, 2007 Anonymous said:

PD –

You could be right. At his age, it’s a big risk to walk away from a job (he’d certainly risk alienating his bosses at FSN) and take a stab at this seat.

But, I don’t know if it was his heart or his head that kept him out last time around.

Murphy is most certainly even more vulnerable this term than last and I fully expect the broom to continue sweeping in ’08.

It will be interesting to watch, and the Hafer announcement adds an entirely new wrinkle. I think the really good news is that any number of the people interested have both a) money and b) some name recognition. That’s more than the Dems have been able to bring to this seat for some time…

Pilt

Agree and Disagree

On June 6th, 2007 thegentlemanfro... said:

I agree that Murphy has the personality of drywall (crusty drywall, at that), but the man knows how to win elections and his approval has been fairly good. Granted, he hasn’t faced much competition for his congressional seat, but I’m not convinced young Ms. Hafer is the answer. The name may actually work against her (the 18th is a Republican district – she was never extremely well-liked by most Republicans around here), although the Hafer home base is obviously in the district. Plus, going up against a seasoned pol like Murphy in your first political contest may serve as a tall order. Savran would give Murphy a good run, but in the end, especially in a presidential, safe money is with Murphy to hold the seat.

Jesse Walker

On June 9th, 2007 Anonymous said:

I think Beth Hafer running against Tim Murphy is the most viable threat. Barbara Hafer is a widely respected bi-partisan name, and if Beth follows in her footsteps, Murphy will have a serious challenge on hand. Now if we could only get Barbara Hafer to run for US Senate against Arlen Specter. This will be a great race and one I would like to see won by Beth Hafer. I still have Hafer and Onorato on my shortlist for Govonor and US Senate (hopefully). This moderate approach would better reflect the values of the Keystone state on the war and immigration, amongst other topics.

She's Pro Military

On June 12th, 2007 Anonymous said:

I spoke with Ms. Hafer recently at a military event. She seems to be genuinely interested in veterans affairs. I believe that she even said that her brother is a retired Navy SEAL.

Tim Murphy is so awful on military issues—veterans issues especially; it would be nice to get a young, articulate, and pro-military member of congress elected.

Maybe she can take back Washington the way that Tim Murphy took back his memo on KDKA?

meaning?

On June 12th, 2007 Anonymous said:

Agreed on the comments about Murphy (love the memo line), but what exactly is meant by pro-military? I hate “pro/anti” labels, so I always ask what that means.

Tim Murphy did not vote for

On August 9th, 2007 Anonymous said:

Tim Murphy did not vote for equal time at home for troops for every day deployed overseas.

Since this vote has occured subsequent to my conversation with Ms. Hafer it would be rank speculation on my part to say that she would have voted for this important issue. I can only assume that she would have voted for this and it would be an excellent question to ask her should you ever get a chance.

However, when I did speak to her she was very much in favor if the retention and relocation of the CE Kelly Commissary and Exchange in Collier, PA. This is an important issue for retirees all the way to the infant children of the OIF/OEF veterans serving.

Murphy, who is in his third term, has only recently joined this decade long fight to sustain these important military services.

I’d like to think the Mr. Murphy is doing the right thing because it is right the right thing to do, but I am more tempted to believe that because of Rep Jason Altmire’s steady and consistant involvement in this issue (he was involved as a candidate and has remained involved by getting periodic briefings) as well as Ms. Hafer’s attendance to Tim’s most recent press conference (she did not speak; she was only there to listen) has forced Murphy to no longer take the military community for granted.

To be honest, I still think that as a Republican he takes the military vote for granted without really doing much work on our behalf. Think CARES commission, body armor and think about his careless attittude of not wearing a seat belt while driving in a DV convoy in Iraq! Tim Murphy put soldiers and airmens lives in danger because he had to be medivac’d out of a traffic accident (only one who wasn’t wearing his seat belt in the wreck) and tied up resources for those troops that were in contact with insurgents and also needed medical attention.

So, to finally answer your question, what I mean to say is that from my personal conversation with her about military issues (BRAC, Iraq, funding for the troops, body armor, recapitalizing badly needed equipment) and her personal familiy connection to the military as well as seeing her at the Wings Over Pittsburgh Air Show thanking local Guard and Reserve members for their service to their country (where was Tim? Did not see him at the largest local military appreciation event in Pittsburgh this summer), I would like to make the “she’s pro-military” statement.

Hopefully she will get a website up and running soon and can let her positions on the military be known. It could be that I am wrong, but I’m crossing my fingers that I am not.

Thanks for asking for the clarification; I hope this helped!

Hafer

On July 1st, 2007 Anonymous said:

First of all, the candidate, be they R or D, needs to come out of Allegheny county (>60% of district votes) to win. I believe Savran is from Westmoreland. Moreover, if Savran or others had any real guts, they would have run last year. I’m sick of candidates who feel a need to read the political tea leaves before throwing their hat in the ring. Murphy was beatable the past 2 elections, had the D’s had the correct candidate. Beth Hafer IS from Allegheny county, and WILL be able to raise money. Additionally, she deserves a great deal of credit for announcing and starting her campaign now, instead of waiting out polling data or “testing the waters.” Finally, the Hafer name will be of great assistance in landing the key constituency of this district, the conservative D vote, which is he real swing vote of the district.

Independent

On July 1st, 2007 Anonymous said:

We are conditioned to accept the two party system that has dominated our Democracy. It is something that was never envisioned when the constitution was implemented, and some can even find warning signs by the original framers against a two party system. There has been a growing trend of dissatisfaction with party politics; politics are about the people, and loyalty is for your constituents. As distrust for government grows, we may begin to witness a rise in unaffiliated candidates. I would be concerned for both Hafer and Murphy if they were to face another challenger: an Independent.

-Citizen Driven

?

On August 9th, 2007 Anonymous said:

Are there any good independant candidates out there?

Way to go Beth!!!

On July 6th, 2007 Anonymous said:

I’m so proud of you! You’ve got my vote!

Love,
Your cousin Elizabeth