Gina Cerilli ends bid for Congress: 'The timing just wasn't right'
Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli said Wednesday that she won't run for Congress this year.
Cerilli, a Democrat from Hempfield who is serving her first term as a commissioner, had been mulling a run to represent the newly created 14th District, which includes the western half of Westmoreland County as well as Fayette, Washington and Greene counties.
“The timing just wasn't right for me,” Cerilli said.
Congressional candidates in Pennsylvania have until March 20 to file nominating petitions to declare their bid for office. Cerilli has been circulating petitions and gathering signatures for several. She decided to put the brakes on a campaign, saying the uncertainty of the new congressional map crafted by the state Supreme Court gave her pause.
The new map cuts through the center of Westmoreland, carving the eastern portion into a newly formed 13th District that stretches for 150 miles, nearly to Gettysburg.
“I want to represent all of Westmoreland County. I will wait until all of Westmoreland County is in one district,” Cerilli said.
The Supreme Court crafted the new map after ruling the previous congressional districts were illegally created to favor Republicans. The court-drawn map is being appealed in the federal courts.
Last fall, Cerilli made an unsuccessful bid to win the Democratic nomination to represent the 18th Congressional District left vacant by Rep. Tim Murphy, an Upper St. Clair Republican who resigned following a domestic scandal.
Cerilli lost the nomination in a vote of Democratic committee delegates, who chose Mt. Lebanon lawyer Conor Lamb as the party's candidate in Tuesday's special election. Unofficial election results indicate Lamb defeated Republican Rick Saccone and will complete the remaining months of Murphy's term.
“I'm very excited to run for county commissioner again,” Cerilli said.
Her current term as a commissioner runs through December 2019.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.
