POLS ON THE STREET: 3 Local Elections Liven Up Philly Summer Politics

by Joe Shaheeli

Philadelphia played host to over 600 of the top national Republican leaders, making the 2015 Northeast Republican Leadership Conference a huge success! Attendees came from over 20 states.

MARKING 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF Americans with Disability Act is art display at City Hall. Seen here are Councilmen Dennis Obrien, Curtis Jones, Jr., and Charles W. Horton, Jr., of Mayor’s Commission People With Disabilities. Photo by Bill Myers

We did some culling of all the busy events and figured our readers would appreciate this information from a straw poll taken of the delegates as to Presidential preferences.

Scott Walker won with 25.3% of the vote, followed in the top five by Chris Christie – 11.6%, Marco Rubio – 11.0%, Rick Santorum – 9.6% and Jeb Bush – 9.6%.

On The Local Scene, Three Districts Vote

On the local scene, election notices appear in this issue notifying those in the 174th, 191st and 195th Legislative Dists., their polling places open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11.

Look for a free for all in the 191st. Joanna McClinton, an attorney on State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams’ (D-W. Phila.) staff, has the Democratic endorsement. Charles Wilkins, Jr., from Yeadon, is the GOP nominee.

Now enters Tracey Gordon, formerly of the Registration Commission and a highly motivated activist.

She proved that on Monday when she filed her nominating petitions for the 191st. She reported, “I filed close to 1,000 signatures in just under three days. The grassroots community strongly endorses me for this seat. I had to file as an ‘Independent’ under the Tracey Gordon Party.

“I did not expect to be handed the nomination, I have to fight hard for a voice in my community and my work speaks for itself.

“On the top of my list, of course, is education reform in Pennsylvania. If our children are not educated, our future is dim, period. The number-one thing everyone asks is looking for gainful employment, so economic development and opportunity is also key in the 191st Legislative Dist.

“The 191st Dist. is full of promise. It covers working-class and middle-class constituents, many of whom have owned their homes for over 30 years. The area covers Philadelphia County (parts of the 40th Ward, 3rd Ward, 60th Ward and the 51st Ward) and Delaware County (Darby and Yeadon).

“I grew up in the 3rd Ward (58th & Baltimore Avenue), I currently live in the 40th Ward, and my house borders Yeadon and Darby. I literally sit directly in the middle of the district.”

COUNCILMANIC candidate Derek Green thanked his supporters at funder in Time Restaurant in Center City, among them Donna Clement, Laverne Jackson and Kelly Bauer.

So the pot boils in this district. Maybe Gordon catches the voter’s eye rather than the Democrat or Republican. If she can man the polls she could win, but that is usually a big “if” for independents.

In the meantime, a fundraiser has been scheduled for McClinton Jul. 7 at 1518 Sansom, 5-7:30 p.m. See calendar of events for details.

Democratic-endorsed candidate for the 174th is former Councilman at Large Ed Neilson, involving Northeast Wards 56, 57, 58 and 66. Neilson seems to be the favorite in this one. His Republican opponent is Tim Dailey, who will be hosting a fundraiser at Cannstatter tonight starting around 5:30 p.m. He ran in a special election for an open State Senate seat last May and has picked up voter recognition; plus he has taught hundreds of Father Judge grads.

The 195th finds Donna Bullock, a lawyer working under Council President Darrell Clarke, the endorsed Democratic candidate vying for the prize with Republican Ward Leader Adam Lang. Bullock is the favorite, though Lang is well known. For years this district has favored Democratic candidates.

The Republican leadership in the House scheduled this special election for the three districts, hoping to salvage one. But since Lt. Gov. Mike Stack, a Democrat, makes the call in the Senate, he scheduled a vacancy in the 37th Senate Dist. of Southwestern Pennsylvania to be held during the November general election, tilting the district toward the Democrats.

Wolf Follows Rendell With A Late Budget

Democrats are blaming Republicans for the obvious budget stalemate, which may mean extended sessions through the summer. Republicans are reportedly holding up agreements until they get support to end the LCB as it now exists.

But they need to go back to the history books to rediscover how Gov. Ed Rendell got around them when he took office. One must remember, as a kitchen-cabinet member of the Wolf administration, Ed Rendell has been teaching Wolf not to make mistakes in high-profile battles, especially this one.

We could be right since Wolf’s polling shows he’s gaining in favorability among voters.

NEIGHBORHOOD Networks membership party in Germantown was treated to appearance by mayoral candidate Jim Kenney, joined here by Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, NN leader Stan Shapiro and Councilman Bill Greenlee. Kenney thanked progressive group for support in primary.

The new report shows the Governor’s approval rating is now 47%, a 3% increase from April’s results. The number for disapproval is also down 2% from April, as it currently stands at 32%.

The Governor attracts more support from women, seeing a 51% approval rating compared to 43% from men.

As expected, the Governor’s approval ratings are also more favorable among Democrats, 68%, than Republicans, 28%. Independents, meanwhile, give Wolf 44%.

“Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf prolongs the honeymoon with job approval numbers his Republican predecessor, Tom Corbett, could only have dreamed of,” notes Tim Malloy, assistant director the Quinnipiac University Poll.

The state’s legislators, however, didn’t have as much success with Pennsylvanians as Wolf.

The state legislature’s approval rating stands at 28%, with 53% of voters disapproving of their job.

There is not a wide gap between any of the demographic categories when it comes to the legislature’s approval rating. The legislature, however, garners the most support from Republicans (35%) and women (29%).

This Quinnipiac survey was conducted Jun. 4-15. 970 Pennsylvania registered voters were interviewed through land lines and cell phones. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.2%.

Maybe legislators need to understand the reasons behind the Wolf landslide, and emulate them.

Toomey Still Looks Good

Democratic candidates hold small early leads in 2016 US Senate races in Florida and Ohio, while Republican incumbent US Sen. Pat Toomey is ahead in Pennsylvania, according to a recent Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich enjoys a 2-1 job approval rating, while Florida Gov. Rick Scott is stuck in a job-approval hole and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has a modest approval rating, the independent Quinnipiac University Poll finds. The Swing State Poll focuses on Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania because since 1960 no candidate has won the presidential race without taking at least two of these three states.

President Barack Obama has a negative job approval rating in all three states:

43-51% in Florida, 40-56% in Ohio and 42-55% in Pennsylvania.

“All three swing states are expected to have very competitive US Senate races. None of the candidates in Florida are well known to voters, while the Pennsylvania and Ohio races involve candidates who have run statewide previously,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll. “Democrats hold an early edge in the Sunshine State, but no candidate from either party has much visibility at this point.”

“In Ohio and Pennsylvania, however, the major candidates are well-known. Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has a slim edge over incumbent GOP Sen. Rob Portman in a race Republicans had seen as relatively safe. Next door in Pennsylvania, Republican US Sen. Pat Toomey has a larger-than-expected lead over Joe Sestak, whom he defeated to win the seat six years ago. The betting is that when Election Day comes all three of these Senate races will be close.”

“President Barack Obama is unlikely to be much, if any, help to the Democratic candidates. His job-approval numbers are close to his all-time low in Pennsylvania and well below water in Ohio and Florida,” Brown added.

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