State Sen. Matt Smith is leaving office this week to take a position at the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, State Sen. Jay Costa announced Wednesday.
Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon, will become the president at the chamber, which is the advocacy arm of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, according to Costa' announcement congratulating him on the appointment.
“I would like to thank my constituents for entrusting me to be their advocate in the district and at the state level, and want them to know that even as I leave public office I will continue to work to make our region stronger and prepare our workforce to compete in the 21st century economy,” Smith said in a statement.
Smith's resignation will take effect by the end of June. No decision has been made on plans to fill his seat.
Read more: State Sen. Matt Smith resigning to become chamber president
32 comments:
Perhaps Dan Miller will be our next State Senator. Too bad that Mt. Lebanon has nobody to fill Dan's seat. Well, he has a big district. There must be a qualified candidate from somewhere outside Mt. Lebanon.
Oh God, not Brumfield or Bendel, please!
Based on what I have been observing in local politics, I bet Kelly Fraasch would want that job.
Elaine
Weren't there rumors that Jo Posti threatened to run against Dan Miller for State Rep initially?
Elaine
If it is Jo Posti, 6:49 PM, Bendel or Brumfield are looking better and better.
Elaine
KELLY FRAASCH??????? That's a joke, isn't it? What about another Real Democrat?
I would vote for Nita Fandrey in a heartbeat. She can't be bought, traded or sold.
It is going to be someone from outside the bubble. The City is already at work on this one.
Is Matt Smith the guy who said Stephen Colbert would take his place?
Fraasch would be like a lamb to the slaughter. She wouldn't win her own Ward in a statewide race.
It's all about Pgh becoming and sustaining itself as an energy hub. $$$
If Smith's move is about making Pittsburgh an energy center the headlines and Gov. Wolf's tax increases on energy companies don't seem to be a good mix.
http://marcellusdrilling.com/2015/04/consol-energy-lays-off-workers-in-cnx-gas-division-in-wvpa/
"
Chevron laying off 162 as activity slows in Western Pennsylvania
January 22, 2015 11:47 PM"
http://triblive.com/mobile/7610880-96/gas-cut-prices
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2015/02/12/Shale-industry-irked-by-Pennsylvania-tax-proposal/3731423745431/
7:26
What does Pittsburgh becoming an energy hub have to do with Matt Smith?
President of the Chamber of Commerce? It doesn't get any more Republican than that, Matt.
8:08: I don't see a connection between Matt Smith and energy. Did Smith say that?
The Pittsburgh Chamber is hugely interested in marcellus shale development and there is absolutely no dwindling business in this area. For example, there will be a huge marcellus shale pipeline going across PA, impacting Allegheny Co and all surrounding counties and headed over to NJ. The industry supporters are deeply involved with the chamber and its affiliates. The president of Philadelphia's Chamber followed very similar career path (resigning from Senator position, etc) and the Pittsburgh Chamber operates in a parallel manner. Both chambers are seeking to make their cities “energy hubs”.
Locally, Washington County has the third highest rate of growth for jobs in the country due to energy development. Smith was the Senator for Allegheny and Washington Counties. **Babst Calland is the major** player in energy/environmental law in PA and Smith is a lawyer there (http://www.babstcalland.com/Bios/Matthew-H-Smith.pdf). As marcellus shale continues to grow, Babst Calland is poised to profit big time.
http://www.greaterphilachamber.com/energy
http://www.greaterpittsburghchamberofcommerce.com/PDFs/NETL/FriendsOfNETLPledgesSignees.pdf
http://www.babstcalland.com/Presentations/MARCELLUS%20SHALE%20INDUSTRY%20LEGAL%20ISSUES%20OVERVIEW.pdf
http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/policy-powersource/2015/05/27/Wolf-to-take-applications-for-natural-gas-pipeline-task-force-Pennsylvania-Marcellus-shale/stories/201505270248
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/15/05/26/pipeline/
Thank you, 8:08 and 9:56 PM. I didn't understand that either.
Elaine
OK, 10:37 PM. I understand now. I had no idea. Thanks!
Elaine
Elaine--all the commishes are going nowhere. THEY'RE A JOKE. It is well known all over Pittsburgh.
pj--it is also well known all over Allegheny County.
I agree. Matt will, in essence, be a lobbyist for the shale companies. OR, he will be to Pittsburgh what Julie was to The Love Boat. The latter might suit him better.
Smith will be working to promote Pittsburgh, ultimately enticing more spending in the area. And he'll be enhancing relationships with a sector of the economy that is still creating jobs and generating tax revenue. Man, what a horrible endeavor. I can see how the criticism is totally justified...
I'm confused about that too, 8:46 AM. 10:37 PM, are you saying that there is more to this behind the scenes with the law firm?
Elaine
Elaine--- The law firm, at which Matt is associated or is a partner, represents companies that dig for shale.
Here's Babst Calland's blog on shale: http://www.shaleenergylawblog.com
Matt Smith never recused himself from voting for legislation favoring the shale energy industry. Not once.
Matt Smith is "of counsel" to Babst Calland. Here is info on what "of counsel" means:
"Formal Opinion 90-357 of the American Bar Association provides four acceptable definitions of the term:
A part-time practitioner who practices law in association with a firm, but on a basis different from that of the mainstream lawyers in the firm. Such part-time practitioners are sometimes lawyers who have decided to change from a full-time practice, either with that firm or with another, to a part-time one, or sometimes lawyers who have changed careers entirely, as for example former judges or government officials, or attorneys who transition from corporate/in-house practice to law firm practice.
A retired partner of the firm who, although not actively practicing law, nonetheless remains associated with the firm and available for occasional consultation.
A lawyer who is, in effect, a probationary partner-to-be: usually a lawyer brought into the firm laterally with the expectation of becoming partner after a relatively short period of time.
A permanent status in between those of partner and associate, having the quality of tenure, or something close to it, and lacking that of an expectation of likely promotion to full partner status
Serving in a position "of counsel" to a law firm carries with it ethical obligations not to interfere with the financial growth of the law firm. Being a public official carries with it the ethical obligation to disclose conflicts of interest.
10:49: You have raised some large and I think insightful concerns. Hmmm.
Call me crazy, but shouldn't the leader of the Chamber of Commerce actually have an extensive resume in commerce?
Being a politician or a lawyer doesn't quite fit what I perceive to be experienced in commerce.
8:58: I think the chamber prez is required only to speak Republican.
So is Democrat Smith bilingual?
Not necessarily, 9:33. He may only speak the one required language.
Gotta get those energy companies in here, because the Wolf needs to fulfill his promises to the teachers' union.
So, Wolf gets his way and gets his gas extraction tax. Where do you imagine those energy companies will get the money to pay for those new taxes?
Duh, from charging you more for the natural gas to heat your homes and industry to power their factories.
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2015/05/28/More-than90-percent-of-school-districts-submit-plans-to-state-funding-pennsylvania/stories/201505280189
"Mr. Wolf's 2015-16 budget proposal calls for raising $1 billion for education at all levels through a natural gas extraction tax -- a proposal that has not been approved by the Legislature."
I thought Matt was on the politician career track. However, I guess he's on the fast track and jumped ahead to the retire and then take a high paid lobbyist position to influence his fellow politicians. I guess Range Resources and the Chamber were looking for a Democrat lap dog to try to influence Tom Wolf. The only difference between the Wolf and Corbett administration is that Wolf wants to make the oil and gas companies pay for the opportunity to destroy Pa's ground water and environment. Rich Fitzgerald, Allegheny County Executive, is an arrogant fracking whore himself, and I will never vote for him again - and I'm a Democrat.
Check out http://marcellusmoney.org
The shale industry has paid 46.8 million to date lobbying PA officials.
11:20 great detective work since it's all public. Maybe now you can dazzle us with how much the unions have slid to politicians.
This whole thread is just dumb. So Smith is going to work for the agency that promotes Pittsburgh. So what? It's a bad thing? Some of you really do need to get a life.
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