Democratic candidate for the 17th congressional district Chris Deluzio came to an event hosted by the Political Science club to talk about running for office and some issues that Pittsburgh is facing.

The Pittsburgh native spoke on his passion for defending and upholding the Constitution of the United States. He also said that watching 9/11 occur during his senior year gave him the strength to join the Navy and attend the United States Naval Academy. That strength continued during his deployment to Iraq, studying law at Georgetown University and becoming a Policy Director for the University of Pittsburgh, Pitt Cyber.

“I love this country,” Deluzio said during the panel. “And I believe deeply in public service. I still think this is a country worth fighting for— For all of us.” His dedication to the public has been the gold star on his record.

When asked about infrastructure, Deluzio said, “You don’t have to be a civil engineer or an expert to drive around and see that we got crumbling bridges and bad roads.” This was a nod to the recent collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge that collapsed back in January of this year.

Fixing infrastructure wasn’t the only thing on Deluzio’s mind. While talking about the War in Ukraine and Energy sources, Deluzio said that “Russia has a choke hold on Europe with their energy supply,” and so the U.S. needs to start making their own energy at home.

However, to be independent, the candidate stated that jobs need to come back to the U.S. Deluzio said, “After World War Two, we were the leading manufacture in the world.” Then came “the movement of manufacturing in right-to-work- states that weakened unions and manufacturing here [in Pittsburgh].”

It is no surprise that Deluzio is a supporter of Unions as he was a part of the Pitt Faculty Organizing Committee with the United Steelworkers. According to his website, he is supported by several unions which include Amalgamated transit union local 85, boilermakers local 154, Iron Workers Local 3, Laborers’ District Council of Western PA, United Steelworkers District 10 and United Steelworkers Local 1088.

The students who came to the meeting of Deluzio came from a range of majors from Political Science to Nursing. Several of the students were eager to learn about running for office, how to get involved with campaigns and what was occurring in our political climate both in Pittsburgh and Washington D.C.

Junior Melanie Andrew mentioned how great of an opportunity it was to listen in on Deluzio. Andrew said, “it is a great way to see points of view and a good experience to learn from as a Political Science student.”

Needless to say, students were engaged with Deluzio as he talked about issues here in Pittsburgh and what ways students can get involved to help.