The odds in the race to replace Democratic state Rep. Anita Kulik are being shaken up \u2014 and along with them, perhaps, some of the political alliances in the 45th state House District: Kulik has endorsed Robinson Township attorney Brittany Bloam to be her successor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wholeheartedly endorse Brittany Bloam for state representative for HD-45,\u201d Kulik said in a statement released by the Bloam campaign. \u201cShe understands the people in our district, and I believe she understands what is needed to be an effective state representative.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kulik noted that Bloam, like her, is a mother and an attorney. (Bloam specializes in land-use law.)<\/p>\n
\u201cShe understands what we need in our communities. \u2026 Brittany is not the kind of person who is going to shy away from hard decisions, or from hard votes, or from hard issues,” Kulik said in the statement.<\/p>\n
Kulik\u2019s support of Bloam had been an open secret for some time, but she made it official last Monday with an appearance via Zoom at a campaign kickoff for Bloam in Coraopolis.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is who I will be backing, and I hope all of you are going to get out there and work,\u201d said Kulik, who introduced Bloam for a speech before supporters.<\/p>\n
Bloam already had the support of IBEW Local #5, a union that casts a long shadow in local politics, as well as the progressive Working Families Party and groups that support abortion rights. But Kulik\u2019s support is notable. She\u2019s spent a decade representing the district, which lies to the west and southwest of Pittsburgh and includes Bridgeville, Carnegie, Collier, Kennedy, McKees Rocks and Robinson.<\/p>\n
Kulik has traditionally been seen as an ally of former Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein, who has long been a force to be reckoned with in the area. Weinstein is backing Allegheny County Council President Pat Catena in the race. Party insiders say there was a falling out among those allies over her successor late last year.<\/p>\n
Catena professed to be surprised by Kulik\u2019s decision Sunday night, noting that he was in his third term serving a county council district that covers much of the same territory as HD-45.<\/p>\n
Catena arguably entered the race as a frontrunner: At the time, the only other Democrat in the race was Fred Coleman, and Catena set out with support from Weinstein and a campaign launch attended by a number of his fellow council Democrats<\/a>. He rolled to a widely expected but convincing victory over Bloam in the Allegheny County Democratic Committee endorsement process earlier this month<\/a>.<\/p>\n