Dravosburg Native to Run For U.S. Senate Seat

State Representative Bill Kortz of Dravosburg is announcing his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in the 2010 race in Pennsylvania. The 54-year-old Democrat is in only his second term as a Western Pennsylvania representative, but he is confident in his ability to run a successful grassroots campaign.

Kortz says the state of the economy was a major factor in deciding to run. “The working class guy is getting trampled on, and yet the CEOs are walking away with these million dollar packages. It’s unbelievable… and it’s time to do something about it,” says Kortz.

Kortz says that his "underdog" status and his working-class background are two of his main selling points to Pennsylvania voters. He maintains that his background in the steel industry and the economic misfortunes he encountered there will help him with making important fiscal decisions in the U.S. Senate. “If you recall back in the early 80s, we had the terrible downturn in the steel industry. I lived through all that. I witnessed those Black Fridays, the massive layoffs, the plant closing, the devastation to the workers, their families, and their communities all around the Mon Valley. I was at the epicenter of all that and I saw how terrible that was,” says Kortz.

The Democrat says Barack Obama’s successful grassroots campaign inspired him, and will change the face of politics in the future. “He’s the forebear of what’s to come. Normal people are going to rise up and start to run for office, and do you know what? They’re going to start to win,” says Kortz. When running against an incumbent with over 27 years of experience, Kortz can only hope that he is right.