CITY HALL SAM: Seen At The Swearings-In

Philadelphian Democrats were prominently featured in the swearing in of KATHLEEN KANE, ROB McCORD and EUGENE DePASQUALE. Kane became the first woman and Democrat elected Attorney General. Her swearing in featured many Kennedyesque Irish Americans. The majority of her supporters seemed to be women.

However, the master of ceremonies was none other than Philadelphian DAN McCAFFERY. McCaffery originally sought the job of Attorney General – in his words, for the “duration of a cup of coffee”. After failing to garner enough support to put together a winning campaign, he threw his support to Kane. He worked diligently on her behalf statewide. Obviously Kane appreciated it and remembered it by giving him the face time that is so important in politics. Now, McCaffery is rumored to be seeking a judgeship. He has a number of chits to call in. Interestingly, Kane called on former Rendell ace senior staff member ADRIAN KING to be her top deputy. King joined Kane for her swearing-in, which took place at the Capitol rotunda. It was filled to capacity.

Earlier in the day, DePasquale was sworn in as Auditor General at the State Museum. The master of ceremonies at this event was former City Controller and mayoral candidate JONATHAN SAIDEL. Saidel had the crowd in stitches with his inappropriate and homey sense of humor. Also on hand for his swearing-in were GOV. TOM CORBETT and US SEN. BOB CASEY. Among DePasquale’s Philadelphia supporters on hand were several members of IBEW Local 98, STATE REP. JOHN SABATINA and STATE SEN. MIKE STACK. At the Keystone Building, State Treasurer McCord raised his hand for another four years. The master of ceremonies for his event was former Speaker of the House BOB O’DONNELL. City Hall Sam is very curious about all of these connections.

Another interesting twist was REV. JOE WATKINS’ offering the invocation at McCord’s swearing-in. Watkins is a true believer and advocate for school choice. He is also very close to JOEL GREENBERG and StudentsFirst. This group donated $4 million to STATE SEN. TONY WILLIAMS’ gubernatorial bid. Could McCord be seeking support from the same group? If so, he would likely lose the support of the PSEA and PFT teachers unions.

Also on hand at all three swearing-ins was JERRY LAWRENCE, the insurance executive. Jerry is the grandson of the famous political icon and former Pittsburgh Mayor and GOV. DAVID LAWRENCE. Jerry would make a tremendous judge if he ever chose to pursue that career.