Go Monica '08!

Monica Douglas, a fellow veteran of the trenches of Western Pennsylvania political campaigns, has been drafted to seek the Republican write-in nomination for state representative from PA's 39th Legislative District.

According to an article at Monica's blog, the Republican who filed for the nomination was knocked off the ballot for having an insufficient number of signatures on his nominating petitions.

If she gains the nomination, this would be Monica's second run for the seat. In 2002, she ran a strong race against the district's longtime incumbent, gaining 41.2 percent of the vote despite a large voter party affiliation disadvantage.

The 39th includes small towns, rural areas and economically-depressed former industrial areas in part of the "Mon Valley," a section of southern Allegheny County and eastern Washington County through which the Monongahela River flows.

Monica is now in her fourth year on the borough council in the town of Elizabeth, PA -- and has been council president since 2006. It says a great deal about Monica's leadership abilities and competence that a Republican was chosen to lead the government of a town with a majority Democrat population.

Professionally, Monica is executive director of the Republican Committee of Allegheny County (RCAC). She previously worked for several political campaigns as well as the North Side Leadership Conference.

Monica is a rare breed in politics -- she has been able to keep her soul and self in tact over the course of many campaigns. Her integrity and determination would be tremendous assets in the Pennsylvania House.

For Monica to get the GOP nomination, 300 Republican voters would need to write in (or type in) her name in this Tuesday's primary election in Pennsylvania. She does have some competition -- apparently the Democrat incumbent holder of the seat is also seeking the GOP write-in.

Go Monica!