November 2 was mid-term election time and the Republicans won big so we asked Pittsburghers their reactions and this is what you said:

“I’m not too happy because it didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. At least I tried to do something by voting. I’m not the type to complain without doing something about it.”
Kevin White
Pitcarin
Unemployed

Despite the brief appearance of snow flurries Nov. 6, south Pittsburgh children took to the streets of their community as part of the “Dare to Dream” Youth Summit. The march hosted by the South Pittsburgh Coalition for Peace wound around Pittsburgh’s Mt. Oliver, Beltzhoover, Allentown and Knoxville neighborhoods, drawing more youth to its ranks as it went.

DARE TO DREAM—Children, joined by parents and community leaders, brave the cold to march for their dreams. (Photo by J.L. Martello)

“We want you to be the most wonderful adults you can be,” said Stacey Randolph, project manager for SPCP, in her opening remarks to the children. “We want you to be prosperous.”

Dressed in the attire of their aspired profession, the children participated in a day-long summit that also included inspiring and shocking speeches, musical performances and spiritual upliftment. The goal of the program, put on at Lighthouse Cathedral, was to guide the children away from a life involved in street violence.

The past few elections for the Pittsburgh Branch of the NAACP have been relatively quiet. The key reason for this is that members of the executive committee frequently run unopposed, but another major contributing factor is that members are only made aware of election candidates at a nominating meeting and do not receive a list of candidates by mail.

REV. REGINA RAGIN

However, adding a spark of excitement to this year’s election Nov. 9, NAACP President M. Gayle Moss is being opposed by Rev. Regina Ragin, an NAACP committee member. Ironically, if elected president, Ragin said one of the most important changes she would make is improving the organization’s communication.

“We need to open up better communications with the powers that be. Right now they kind of see us negatively,” Ragin said. “We need to talk to the agencies that are funding services that are servicing our communities to make sure they do what they say they’re going to do in our community.”

Though Republican gains in the U.S. House of Representatives were the largest since 1938, GOP gains made Nov. 2 in state legislatures were even more dramatic. Winning 680 seats across the country, Republicans took control of 14 state Houses, giving them control of both legislative chambers in 26 states. Pennsylvania’s was one of them.

REP. JAKE WHEATLEY

Statewide, though still poor, Black voter turnout actually rose to 9 percent from 8 percent in the 2006 mid-term, however it was still extremely low compared to the 40 percent overall turnout throughout the state.

For state Reps. Joseph Preston, D-East Liberty, and Jake Wheatley, D-Hill District, it means a loss of authority, and legislative initiatives when the new House members are seated in January.