Election Coverage: Meet the Congressional Candidates 

As part of its continuing election coverage, the GRC blog is providing profiles of all the candidates on the ballot this November in Pittsburgh.  This week, we will look at our current congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives and the contender for that position.

Representative Mike Doyle, D-PA 14^th District:

Michael Doyle is a native of Pittsburgh and a current resident of the suburb of Forest Hills.  He comes from a family of steelworkers and worked briefly in the industry while attending Penn State University, where he received a B.S. in Community Development in 1975.  He was a small business owner, insurance agent, a member of a borough council, and a staffer for state Sen. Frank Pecora from 1978-1994.  He was elected to the U.S. House in 1994 and has served there since.

On the current issue of the economy, Doyle favors a system of combined stimulus and tax reform, reducing taxes on the middle and lower class while increasing them for the upper class.  He voted in favor of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009.  He voted against a deficit reduction plan in 2011 which he claimed would hurt payroll growth while leaving tax breaks for companies and the upper class untouched.  He has advocated strongly for alternative fuel source research, citing the nation’s current dependence on oil.  He has also voted against granting permanent normal trade status to China.

On social and domestic issues, Doyle plays a variety of roles.  He serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and on two subcommittees on Energy and Power and on Communications and Technology.  He is co-founder and chair of various caucuses to promote a fuel-efficient model of decentralized power generation, promote development in the field of robotics, promote research and education on autism, and various other caucuses on steel, human rights, and the Internet.  He voted in favor of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare.  He is in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage by repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and granting full legal protection to same-sex couples.  He voted in favor of requiring gun show dealers to conduct criminal background checks and in favor of banning partial-birth abortions.

U.S. House profile: http://doyle.house.gov/

Campaign website: http://mikedoyleforcongress.com/

Washington Times profile: http://www.washingtontimes.com/campaign-2012/candidates/michael-mike-f-doyle-255/

Dr. Hans Lessman, Republican challenger for PA 14^th District

Dr. Hans Lessman is a native of Braddock, a suburb of Pittsburgh to the southeast of Swissvale.  He is a current resident of Forest Hills.  He is a graduate of Perdue University and the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, where he received his doctorate.  He is a practicing optometrist, president of the Society for the Education of Physicians and Patients, and the 2003 Pennsylvania Optometrist of the Year.  He also has a passion for rowing, history, and the outdoors.

The staple issue of Lessman’s campaign is that of health care, on which he draws on his years of experience as a medical professional.  He opposes Obamacare on the grounds that it will dramatically increase the number of people getting health care, but won’t create new job positions for physicians to provide that care.  He states that he would prefer to eliminate job-benefit healthcare and instead give out tax breaks so people could create their own plan.  He also would prefer a voucher system for health care that allowed for low-income citizens to more directly control their health care plan.

He would like to end the current tiered system of income taxation and replace it with a flat income tax or even create a national sales tax in its place, which he claims would be more efficient and reduce the size of the IRS.  Other staples of his platform are job creation and energy, though it is unclear exactly how he would advance this.

Lessman’s campaign website: http://lessmannforcongress.org/issues

Wall Street Journal Profile: http://projects.wsj.com/campaign2012/candidates/view/hans-lessmann--PA-H

Washington Times Profile: http://www.washingtontimes.com/campaign-2012/candidates/hans-f-lessmann-61623/

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article on campaign: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/politics-local/grass-roots-newcomer-hans-lessmann-takes-on-us-rep-mike-doyle-656528/