Elections 2012: Scappe Seeks Seat in State House

When Mark Scappe spoke last year at his final meeting as president he told members of the public that they “hadn’t seen the last of Mark Scappe.”

So when county officials approached him by to vie for Rep. Mark Mustio's seat in Pennsylvania's 44th legislative district, Scappe said it seemed like the right time to jump back into politics. 

“Right now I’m door-knocking and out talking to people,” Scappe said. “I’m just trying to hear what their concerns are.”

The Allegheny County Democratic Committee has endorsed Scappe, a Democrat, to replace Mustio, a Republican from Moon, who is also seeking election for the state senate seat in the 44th district, which outgoing Sen. John Pippy, R-Moon, will vacate.

Scappe is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination. He is the president of the Moon Township Transportation Authority and vice president and co-founder of the Coraopolis-based firm RBS Consultants. He has earned degrees from the Electronic Institute of Pittsburgh and Point Park University. 

Scappe in November his bid for re-election on the school board after serving a 12-year tenure with the district. He said the recent defeat left him unscathed. 

“Every experience and every election is different,” Scappe said. “Whether you win or you loose you take things from those experiences and you try to improve.”

The Cornell alum said his time as school board president could shape is term as a state legislator in Harrisburg.

“When I was serving on the board, I really saw that a lot of the issues we were dealing with were state issues,” Scappe said. “So I think that experience opens up a new light in that I could really see and feel the pain that the school district and the taxpayers were dealing with.

“A lot of the issues are the same; it’s just much broader,” Scappe said. “I think the airport area is under-utilized. We have wings of the airport that are basically empty, so I want us to focus on that and on growing this region and jobs. And once you grow jobs, you attract families.” 

The Pennsylvania primary will be April 24. Click for more information about local races and candidates. Check back with Patch for coverage of other local races and information on candidates.