Cavanagh back in campaign mode
It seems fairly clear that former Fayette County Commissioner Sean Cavanagh would very much like to be a commissioner again, though without the hassle of a party primary battle.
Apparently, he figures he’s above the pursuit of a mere party endorsement or maybe even a party label, though he departed the board of commissioners as a Democrat — a defeated Democrat, at that.
It sounds like he waiting for an all-party, write-in draft. It’s fits the messianic image he’s created for himself. He portrays himself as a savior of the county, a-savior-in waiting.
Writing in this newspaper last week, Cavanagh, now nearing 50, recalled his raucous early days when, as a 28-year-old with plenty of nerve, a talent for self-promotion, and a righteously irritating disposition, he took on the county establishment.
Target number one was then-Democratic boss and county commissioner Fred Lebder.
Cavanagh also went after Robert Eberly, the wealthy civic benefactor and Republican who, in tandem with Lebder, took a shot at running the county, though the phrase “running the county” seems a bit overblown: even a place as small as Fayette County can be pretty complex — far beyond the reach of any two individuals to control, not matter how rich or powerful they are.
Cavanagh was himself not above courting the really well-connected. At some point while commissioner he hooked up with the late John Murtha, the congressmen from Johnstown whose reach extended from the halls of Congress to the mountainous battlefields of Afghanistan.
A big man, Rep. Murtha drapped his huge political arm around Cavanagh. As political marriages go, it was an odd one: the mercurial Cavanagh in league with the careful Murtha.
Maybe Cavanagh was hoping to be the annointed one: handpicked by Murtha to succeed him in Congress. What Murtha was after is anyone’s guess. Suffice it to say, he viewed Cavanagh as a political helpmate, for a season at least.
Then Cavanagh lost a party primary. He finished behind former state Sen. Bill Lincoln, in a crowded field of candidates in the Democratic primary for commissioner in 2003.
Twelve long years in the political wilderness. Cavanagh was all ready to go last fall, handing out campaign cards with his intention sketched in black-and-white.
I saw him near Hutchinson ballpark in South Union Township last October. I was walking the dog. He was driving a van. He stopped and handed me his card. And there it was: “Candidate for Fayette County commissioner in May 2015.”
It was a surprise, therefore, when he failed to file to run in the May primary. I assumed he had abandoned the matter. But then came the opinion-piece he wrote for this newspaper that ran on April 26. It was an eye-opener, or an eye-reopener.
It was vintage Cavanagh, full of vinegar, sass, and braggadocio.
It contained a list of complaints without even hinting at solutions, except maybe to put him back in charge.
He complained about “Houdini-type … under-the-table” government, money wasted on a “Taj Mahal” prison (please, candidates, mothball that particular phrase, it has lost all its punch, if it ever had any), and a county budget that has “ballooned” since he left office. (Heck, it has been 12 years.)
“The titanic threat facing Fayette is the loss of a productive working class …,” Cavanagh true enough wrote. He followed with the fact that the county has lost population since he was dismissed by voters. To hear Cavanagh tell it, there’s a correlation.
“… When I was your commissioner Fayette actually grew its population … We were on the right track!” Reprising his formative years, he concluded, “Follow the money!” (Confirmation: Sean’s mind is one big exclamation point).
What does Cavanagh intend to do? After all, you don’t write “This is a wake-up call … we are at a tipping point” without some plan of action in mind Or do you?
I’d be surprised if Cavanagh didn’t run. On the other, he’s fooled me before. Shame on me if I’m wrong a second time.
Richard Robbins lives in Uniontown and is the author of two books: Grand Salute: Stories of the World War II Generation and Our People. He can be reached at grandsalutebook@gmail.com.