The Citizens Voice - News - 08/31/2005 - Skrepenak cancels run for Congress

The Citizens Voice - News - 08/31/2005 - Skrepenak cancels run for Congress: "Skrepenak cancels run for Congress

By Elizabeth Skrapits, Staff Writer 08/31/2005
Greg Skrepenak has opted not to tackle a run for Congress, but hasn't ruled it out as a possible goal down the road.
The Luzerne County commissioner chairman, who previously considered going after the seat of U.S. Rep Don Sherwood in the 10th Congressional District, wrote to the national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Tuesday that he changed his mind.

Michael F. Prociak, Skrepenak's campaign manager, said in early June the DCCC brought him to Washington D.C. to meet with its officers, specifically DCCC chairman U.S. Rep. Rahm Emmanuel (D-Illinois).

"I was honored and thrilled to get that phone call," Skrepenak said. "I was only in politics for a year and a half, and to get called by the DCCC to run for such a position was exciting."
He gave the matter a lot of thought, and ultimately decided to stay a commissioner.
"As a former athlete, and riding on emotions, I wanted to make a logical decision, not an emotional one," he said. "It wasn't in the game plan."
Skrepenak's almost national name recognition, from his days as a National Football League player with the Oakland Raiders and the Carolina Panthers, helped, Prociak said.
"They were very interested in having Greg run. They ran a poll, and the results were extremely favorable for Greg," Prociak said of the DCCC.

"His decision is his, and we wish him all the best," DCCC spokeswoman Sarah Feinberg said.
Skrepenak said he was confident he could have won the seat, but admitted Sherwood, a lifelong resident of Tunkhannock, Wyoming County, would be a tough opponent. The district, which includes parts of Luzerne, Lackawanna and Lycoming and all of Bradford, Northumberland, Pike, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Union, Wayne and Wyoming counties, is heavily Republican.

Still, the DCCC has tagged Sherwood as vulnerable, not just because of his legal problems, but because he does not meet the needs of his district, Feinberg said.
Cynthia Ore, 29, of Rockville, Md., filed a $5.5 million suit against Sherwood, claiming he beat and assaulted her throughout their six-year relationship.
Sherwood has publicly admitted to the affair with Ore, but denied her abuse allegations.
With Skrepenak out of the picture, Chris Carney may have a clear field to be the Democratic nominee next May - although Feinberg said the district is so large a challenger could be off the radar.

Carney, a lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve and associate professor of political science at Penn State, said in a press release he will formally announce his candidacy in Montrose on Sept. 7.
The Dimock Township, Susquehanna County resident was out of the country Tuesday, so could not be reached for comment.

Skrepenak said he would "absolutely" support Carney if he was the Democrats' pick to challenge Sherwood.
"That seat is a very big part of this county," Skrepenak said. "We're definitely going to watch with great interest what happens there."
And he is keeping his options open. He might consider running for another office in the future, "when the time is right," he said.

But for now Skrepenak enjoys being a county commissioner, and said it is a good place to learn about government on the county, state, and federal levels.
"He's young. He has a lot of opportunity," Prociak said of the 34-year-old Skrepenak. "We don't know what the next step will be, but there certainly will be a next step.""