Former Erie County Executive's Endorsement Sparks Controversy

(October 15th, 2012) Controversy is looming over former Democratic County Executive Mark DiVecchio's endorsement of Republican Janet Anderson for PA State Senate in the 49th District.

Some democratic leaders are now asking the question: Is Sean Wiley's Erie, that Anderson criticizes, the same as Mark DiVecchio's Erie?

And if so, why is Janet Anderson accepting the endorsement from the Democrat and Wiley's former boss?

This all came about after Anderson's camp announced that former Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio endorsed the Republican candidate.

Anderson's opponent, Sean Wiley served as DiVecchio's Director of Administration while he was County Executive.

In a recent TV commercial, Anderson's campaign claimed Wiley's spending was out of control resulting in $92 million in debt. The commercial also alleges Wiley gave himself a raise by increasing taxes and he also caused job loss. In actuality, Wiley was still working under DiVecchio.

Over the weekend the Erie County Democratic Party removed DiVecchio from his position on the Democratic Executive Board.

So why did DiVecchio endorse her?

Anderson says the two worked closely together when he served on county council, and he knows her strengths.

She also states that this will show how she is able to reach beyond party lines.

But the chairman of Erie's Democratic Party, Bill Cole, says DiVecchio's choice does not make sense.

We reached out to Mark DiVecchio through Anderson's campaign manager and put out several calls to DiVecchio to ask him personally about his endorsement.

He never returned any of those calls or made himself available for comment.