Gruitza says he won't run again

The veteran legislator said he's tired of making the weekly drive to Harrisburg.
By HAROLD GWIN
Vindicator STAFF writer
SHARON, Pa. -- State Rep. Michael Gruitza, D-7th, says 26 years is enough.
The longtime state assemblyman from Hermitage has decided not to seek election to a 14th term in office this year.
"I just decided it was time to get off the road," Gruitza, 54, said after a press conference Wednesday at the Sharon Municipal Building during which he announced he won't be running again.
The road, specifically the travel to Harrisburg every week, was one of the factors in his decision, Gruitza said, estimating that he's driven around 700,000 miles back and forth from this Ohio border community to the state capital during his career. It's a drive he said he is tired of making.
"I'm not going to retire," he said, noting that he has one year left in office and plenty of time to decide on his next career move. He's a licensed attorney and once ran for a judicial seat in Mercer County.
'Hard decision'
"It was a very, very hard decision," he said, adding that he reached his conclusion late last week, after wrestling with the issue for some time.
He was being challenged this year for the Democratic Party nomination by party stalwart Atty. Mark Longietti of Farrell, a challenge that some saw as his toughest election yet.
But Gruitza said that wasn't a factor in his decision. He is confident he would have won re-election had he decided to run again, although he expressed surprise that Longietti, as chairman of the northwest Pennsylvania delegation of the Democrat State Committee, would choose to challenge an incumbent who is the senior ranking Democrat or Republican in the General Assembly from northwestern Pennsylvania.
Pay raise support
Gruitza has come under recent criticism for his support of a pay raise for Pennsylvania legislators, but said that also wasn't a factor in his decision.
"I'll take the criticism," he said, adding that he knew when he voted for the pay raise that it would draw some heat.
He thanked the voters of the 7th District for allowing him to represent them for 26 years and reflected on those years and the local projects for which he was able to secure state funding.
The list is extensive, from the $40 million spent on the Pa. Route 18 widening projects in Hermitage to millions that came in to help with various economic development efforts.
Gruitza said he was the second sponsor on the state Keystone Opportunity Zone economic development legislation, and he recently spoke before the Federal Trade Commission on behalf of local tube mills seeking relief from the dumping of Chinese products on the American market.
gwin@vindy.com