Bar welcomes Onorato

Tom Barnes | November 27, 2009

HARRISBURG -- The hard-working scribes who write for Early Returns (at least the ones based at the Capitol) have never quaffed a brew in the Oak Room at the Great American Pub in Conshohocken, just outside Philadelphia, but it sounds like a nice place for a political shindig.

And that's exactly what's going to happen Monday evening , when two up-and-coming state legislators from suburban Philadelphia will attend a political event to boost the gubernatorial campaign of Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato.

Rep. Michael Gerber, a Democrat from populous Montgomery County, will officially endorse Mr. Onorato, who is seen by many officials as the front-runner to win the Democratic gubernatorial primary in May. Another Onorato backer, Sen. Daylin Leach, also a Democratic from "Montco,'' as some locals call it, will also attend.

Philadelphia and its four closest suburban counties, Delaware, Chester, Bucks and Montgomery, are the most densely populated part of the state, and whoever becomes governor in November 2010 will have to pick up a lot of votes in that area. So the backing of Mr. Gerber and Mr. Leach should be important for a western Pennsylvanian.

If Mr. Onorato wins, it's not much of a stretch to think that Mr. Gerber and/or Mr. Leach might figure in some prominent administration post.

Meanwhile fellow Democrat (and Pittsburgher and former Pittsburgh City Council member) Jack Wagner has also been picking up endorsements lately, including a few from Lebanon County.