Congressman Guy, where are you?
Where does Guy Reschenthaler, the congressman, spend the bulk of his time? You would be on pretty solid ground if you answered, “Not in Fayette County.”
In fact, it seems Reschenthaler, in office since 2019, spends little if any time in the county on official business. “I’ve never met him,” the mayor of Masontown, Toni Petrus, told me.
Mayor for the past 13 years, Petrus said she has learned not to expect much from higher-ups like Reschenthaler. A town the size of Masontown, the mayor said, must learn to look out for itself. Petrus added that soon-to-retire state Rep. Pam Snyder is the exception to the rule. Snyder, the mayor said, is around a lot.
“I don’t think most (state or federal elected officials) care about places like Masontown. Maybe there are not enough votes here.”
Masontown’s population topped out at 3,274 in the 2020 census.
Back to Reschenthaler who, to all appearances, treats Fayette and Greene counties like after-thoughts. The congressman’s official website describes “our (14th) district” – in actuality, all of Fayette, Greene, and Washington counties plus a portion of Westmoreland – as a gray blob with map pins denoting Reschenthaler’s two district offices. One is in Greensburg, on Pellis Road, and the other is on South Main Street in Washington.
The congressman posts a staffer to the Fayette County courthouse once a month.
“There’s nothing like a personal connection, but there’s nothing like that with him,” said one local official who spoke off the record in order not to antagonize Reschenthaler or to jeopardize future transactions with the congressman. “We never see him.”
Reschenthaler’s last sighting in Fayette County involved the U.S. Senate campaign of Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee for the post.
In addition, the congressman attended a work-related event at the Hardy Connellsville Airport.
Otherwise – nothing.
Perhaps this wouldn’t be so noticeable, except for the attentions lavished on the county by past congressmen. Anecdotally at least, representatives John Murtha, Frank Mascara, and Austin Murphy were here all the time.
Of course, they weren’t. It only seemed they were here more than frequently, meeting with constituents, talking with elected officials, making inquiries, taking actions.
To make amends, Reschenthaler should think about establishing a third district office – in Masontown, say, close to the border with Greene County, or at the crossroads of Routes 21 and 88 in Greene County, not far from Fayette County (and Masontown).
Now, it wouldn’t be accurate to say that the congressman, a Republican, has ignored Fayette and Greene counties entirely. Earlier this year, he placed orders for federal grant dollars that are available under a newly revised congressional “earmark” program.
Critics contend that wasteful pork barrel spending is back, via the earmarks. More thoughtful observers disagree, pointing out that “pork” is just what’s needed to grease the wheels of bipartisan cooperation and congressional compromise, especially as it relates to the federal budget.
Whatever name it comes under, it appears Reschenthaler without calling undue attention to the fact, wants to take advantage of the program, known in the House as “congressionally directed spending.”
Reschenthaler submitted 10 earmarks for consideration. The 10 included $1.3 million that would allow Greene County to expand county office space and establish a business incubator at the Silveus Building in Waynesburg.
The congressman also asked for a $1.5 million earmark for Hardy Connellsville Airport.
The requests totaling $2.8 million for the two counties are a far cry from the many millions of dollars generated by past congressmen. But, hey, times change.
Besides which, Reschenthaler is a different kind of congressman – one, it seems, up to this point at least, more interested in “owning the libs” and in brandishing his upset-the-cart credentials than in bringing to bear the resources at his disposal as a member of Congress on behalf of his district.
Under the old, better rules of politics, Reschenthaler’s disdain for his district would have already done him in. But, again, times are different. In the upcoming November elections, he is running unopposed.
Richard Robbins lives in Uniontown. He can be reached at dick.l.robbins@gmail.com.