The single largest donor to Allegheny County candidates this year is a 90-year-old Upper St. Clair widow who hasn't voted for seven years and says she never agreed to give $10,000 each to four Republican candidates, including one for Superior Court and three for Allegheny County Council.

In an interview this week, Mrs. Jordan insisted she never approved any political donations and only learned of one when she received a telephone call thanking her for her support. She said she had no idea the donation had been given and expressed shock when a reporter told her the amount.

"My God, that's terrible. I would never give $10,000 to politics. I can tell you that," she said.

She blamed the donation on her attorney, Charles McCullough, himself a candidate for County Council. Mr. McCullough took control of Mrs. Jordan's affairs following a court dispute that began after she was taken in 2005 to St. Clair Hospital, where a doctor diagnosed her with moderate dementia. A Common Pleas Court judge later declared her incapacitated.