PENNSYLVANIA Official to run for lieutenant governor

Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll has a solid record and may be tough to beat.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Valerie McDonald Roberts hopes to become Pennsylvania's next lieutenant governor.
The 50-year-old Roberts, Allegheny County's recorder of deeds, said she will announce her candidacy on Monday, making her the first official challenger to Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll.
The Democrats would face off in the May primary.
"I've been in public service for 16 years," Roberts said. "This is just about taking it up a notch and bringing a fresh face and perspective to Harrisburg."
She plans to announce her candidacy in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, where she needs to build name recognition among voters.
"On this side of the state, she has a great story to tell, and they'll begin to hear it on Monday," said A. Bruce Crawley, a spokesman for Roberts in Philadelphia.
If she wins the job, Roberts would be the first black person elected to a nonjudicial statewide office.
Well established
A Knoll spokeswoman, however, said Gov. Ed Rendell has made it clear that he and Knoll will be running as a team.
"I don't think there is a credible challenger to Lt. Gov. Knoll," said Johnna Pro, communications director for the lieutenant governor's office. "She has a high record of achievement. She has campaigned statewide 11 times. The voters know her personally."
Knoll, 75, who is a native of McKees Rocks on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, is the first woman to serve as the state's lieutenant governor.
Pro said Knoll's age isn't an issue. "The lieutenant governor is no older than many people in high-power positions who run corporations or sit on the Supreme Court," Pro said.
Roberts became Allegheny County's recorder of deeds in January 2002. But her office will be eliminated in 2008 and replaced by a real estate manager as part of the county government's restructuring plan.