pols On The Street: Boyle Vs. Sabatina Will Be Battle For 5th Senate Dist.

by Joe Shaheeli

SHERIFF Jewell Williams hands a young man his safety helmet on National Night Out. Helping him are Toy Story cartoon characters played by Jessie and Deputy Sheriff Woody Pride at 2nd & Tioga Streets celebration.

Shades of Putin! Russia’s top man keeps chiseling away at Ukraine without declaring a war. Reminiscent of his successful efforts to date is the primary 2016 scenario for the 5^th Senatorial Dist. seat.

Though newly filled in a special election by former State Rep. John Sabatina, this senate seat comes up for a new term in the 2016 April primary.

56^th Ward Leader John Sabatina, Sr. successfully used his powerful organization to help his son John, Jr. win the 174^th Legislative Dist., and when that district found itself morphed into two districts, was able to keep his son in the seat while avoiding an all-out civil war. The other legislator, Ed Neilson, took on a vacant council-at-large seat and won it easily.

Now, however, back to battling in the Aug. 11 special election for his old legislative seat is Neilson, having lost his council-at-large seat in this past primary election. His ballot position was untenable in that race.

In the special election for State Senate in that same primary, Sabatina, Jr. was nominated by the Democratic leaders in the district and won easily, replacing Lt. Gov. Mike Stack who had held that seat – which comes up for reelection in the coming April primary. Sabatina needs to begin running again to win the seat again in the next primary.

Skip to an earlier election, where the 13^th Congressional Dist. returned to Philadelphia County after State Rep. Brendan Boyle triumphed in a tremendously well-run primary against Dr. Valerie Arkoosh, Sen. Daylin Leach and former Congresswoman Marjorie Margolies.

Since then, we have become aware there are two political family dynasties blooming in the Far Northeast: the Sabatinas and the Boyles. As is the case when two share the top, the time comes when both families understand they will agree to disagree.

The Boyles consider the 5^th Senatorial Dist. an open seat with Sabatina a fill-in until the selection begins for that senate seat in the April primary. With no formal announcement, election mailers are being received in the homes of key voters noting State Rep. Brendan Boyle of the172^nd Dist. will be running in the spring primary for the Democratic nomination for that senate seat.

Regardless of which of the two, Boyle or Sabatina, receives the Democratic Party state senate endorsement, they will clunk heads together over this seat come Apr. 26, 2016. Both sides are reported huddling to plan strategy.

Unlike Putin’s moves in the Ukraine, there is no piece to surrender. It’s the whole seat, winner take all. This will be a war to watch!

The Boyles have become a household word within the senatorial district, thanks to the successful efforts of Congressman Boyle. His shirttails are long, giving his brother Kevin an edge in popularity in portions of the senatorial district new to Sabatina, Jr.

Whichever family comes out on top will also be the acknowledged “leader” of Northeast Democrats.

With 26-year-old Martina White now the second Philadelphia Republican elected to the State House, and its youngest female in well over a quarter century, the local GOP Executive Committee believes it has one good shot in the Aug. 11 primary for a repeat victory.

Though Democratic nominee Ed Neilson is well remembered by voters in a portion of the 174^th, local GOP leadership feels their nominee Tim Dailey’s years as a Father Judge HS teacher has earned him a lot of support from Judge alumni. They are pushing for Republicans around the city to join their effort to win this seat.

ALTHOUGH no official announcement has been made, this election circular has already been sent to top Democratic vote getter advising them of a possible effort by State Rep. Kevin Boyle to challenge State Sen. John Sabatina, Jr. in April 2016, primary.

Will More Candidates Bring Out More Voters

A number of independents have filed petitions to various positions up for grabs in the November general election.

Newspaper publisher and civic crusader Jim Foster as well as Boris Kindij will compete in the Mayor’s race. For council at large will be independents Osborne Hart, John Staggs, Andrew Stober and Kristin Combs. Running for district council seats are Leah Wright in the 5^th and Michael Galganski in the 8th. Running as an independent for City Commissioner is Glenn Davis.

PA Dems Adopt 2016 Delegate Plan

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party has adopted its Delegate Selection Plan for the presidential election in 2016.

“This year the adoption process was more democratic than it has been in past years” said Diane Bowman, executive director for the PDP. “We invited all 369 members of our committee to review the Plan over a period of more than ten days and received feedback from over 60 percent who overwhelmingly supported the plan” Bowman stated. The Delegate Selection Plan has been forwarded to the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee to await final approval. Absent any objections from the DNC, Pennsylvania Democrats plan on engaging in a robust outreach effort led by Outreach Director Prescott Harris and Affirmative Action Chair Roger Lund to ensure participants in the endorsement process accurately reflect registered Democrats in Pennsylvania. For those interested in participating in the Delegate Selection process, visit PADems.com regularly for updates on how to become more involved.

Moody Knows Extent OF Our Pension Burden

It’s official! Moody’s credit rating shows our city has the largest pension burden in the nation.

Although it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Philadelphia has a significant pension burden, it might surprise some readers the City of Brotherly Love has the biggest burden (as a percentage of it operating budget) of any other major city in the nation. Moody states $660.6 million of the city’s $3.7 billion operating budget is devoted to its pension fund.

Quinnipiac Poll Finds Dems Trump Trump

ALTHOUGH no official announcement has been made, this election circular has already been sent to top Democratic vote getter advising them of a possible effort by State Rep. Kevin Boyle to challenge State Sen. John Sabatina, Jr. in April 2016, primary.

With 20% of Republican voters, Donald Trump is the clear leader in the crowded Republican presidential primary field, but he trails any of three leading Democratic contenders by wide margins in general-election matchups, according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll.

Trump’s 20% is the largest tally for a Republican contender in any national poll. Behind Trump are Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker with 13% and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush with 10%. No other Republican tops 6% and 12% are undecided.

Trump also tops the “no way” list as 30% of Republican voters say they would definitely not support him. New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie is next at 15% with Bush at 14%.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gets 55% of Democratic voters nationwide, with 17% for US Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and 13% for Vice President Joseph Biden. No other candidate tops 1%, with 11% undecided.

Clinton tops the Democrats’ “no way” list with 9%, followed by former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee at 8% each.

What Took Casey So Long To Do?

US Sen. Bob Casey has endorsed Philadelphia Democratic mayoral nominee Jim Kenney. He said, “Throughout years of public service, Jim Kenney has fought tough battles on behalf of working families and vulnerable children. Jim recognizes that when children learn more earlier in life, they earn more later.”

Casey added, “I look forward to working with him to move forward on funding for pre-kindergarten education programs and all our public schools to make sure every Pennsylvania child has a fair shot.”

“I am honored to have the Senator’s support,” said Kenney. “He will be a crucial partner in Washington in securing the requisite funding for early-education programming, infrastructure improvements and transportation to make Philadelphia a world-class city. I look forward to collaborating with him as we address the pressing needs of Philadelphia’s children and working families.”

Our question to our Senator is, “Why did you wait until now?”

Publicist Frank Keel Joins Taubenberger Campaign

Veteran political consultant Frank Keel, long considered the city’s spokesman for labor, and political leader John J. Dougherty, Jr. have signed onto the campaign team of Republican city council at-large nominee Al Taubenberger.  It makes sense, since way back Keel had been on the team of former City Councilman Jack Kelly, where he got to know Taubenberger who was then Kelly’s chief of staff.

Taubenberger, long-time president of the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, is a seasoned campaigner. He was the Republican nominee for Mayor of Philadelphia in 2007.

This is the first time in recent memory Republicans are being asked with intensity to vote for at least two of their five nominees to win the minority slots guaranteed their top finishers by the City Charter.

Campaign Video Land of the Lots

The Adam Lang for State Representative campaign has released its second campaign video, “Land of the Lots.”

“North Philadelphia, West Philadelphia and many other parts of the city have a blight problem from vacant land and boarded-up buildings,” says Adam Lang, candidate for the 195th Dist. “A lot of these blight problems are because City Hall refuses to let private individuals, residents, acquire land. Our elected officials let our neighborhoods run down as stockpile land for their own ends.”

The video goes into issues about blighted land in the neighborhood and also what Lang has been fighting for.

‘We need to elect someone that has been saying enough is enough and we deserve better. Aug. 11 is an opportunity to send a message,” Lang said.

Adam Lang is running as GOP candidate for State Representative in the Aug. 11 special election.

It’s nice to view, but how do voters get to see it in a district where not many have access to computers?

ENJOYING fundraiser in his honor, Tim Dailey and his wife Helen were joined by Councilman Brian O’Neill and Republican City Committee Chair State Rep. John Taylor.

RAISING CAMPAIGN funds is order of day for Democrat 195th Legislative candidate Donna Bullock, seen here at fundraiser at Fergie’s on Sansom Street with husband Otis Bullock, City Commission candidate Lisa Deeley, host David Forde and Zac Shaffer.

VENDORS ROW event on Woodland Avenue brought out State Sen. Anthony Williams, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and 191st Democratic candidate Joanna McClintock in blue shirt. Photo by Leona Dixon

GOP Sees McGinty Easy Senate Target

Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason released the following statement regarding Katie McGinty, who will challenge Joe Sestak in the Democratic primary for the US Senate.

“Establishment Democrats have finally found someone who’s willing to run against Joe Sestak,” Gleason said. “For months, Democrats have publicly raised concerns about Joe Sestak’s ability to win a statewide election. After multiple rejections by other possible candidates, Democrats’ best hope to take on Sestak is a candidate who came in last in the gubernatorial primary.

“With McGinty’s lack of accomplishments, including her role in creating the current budget crisis, and their own pariah Joe Sestak, it looks like Democrats are stuck with a terrible choice between two lackluster candidates in next spring’s primary.”

FBI Taps Sweeney For Local Bureau

 Philadelphia native William F. Sweeney, Jr. is now the special agent in charge of the Philadelphia Field Office. Mr. Sweeney most recently served as the special agent in charge of the Counterterrorism Division of the New York Field Office, where he oversaw the Joint Terrorism Task Force and all FBI counterterrorism investigations and operations in the New York Field Office’s area of responsibility.

Sweeney entered on duty with the FBI in 1998.

Before joining the FBI, Sweeney served in the US Navy aboard the guided missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf. Sweeney is a graduate of Villanova University and has a bachelor’s degree in political science. He has a master’s degree in security studies from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Look for more activity in the realm of local political circles to become the order of the day in this branch of the federal investigative agency.

Who’s On Third, Or Will Be On 2^nd?

Adding interest to the general election Nov. 3 is the entry of newspaper publisher Jim Foster, whose newspapers have been full of charges against the actions of Congressman Chaka Fattah and his many supporters.

He has been banging away at Mayor Michael Nutter’s handling of money going to nonprofits in the Northwest section of this city.

He has charged hundreds of millions rolled in from HUD, other federal agencies, state funding sources, city agencies and some participation with private banks with government guarantees attached to support a major fraudulent nonprofit in that area.

Some of Foster’s contentions have become part of the federal investigation that has led up to the indictment of Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-Phila.). Expect more of his charges, some of which may be picked up by main media.

He states, “The major tragedy here, and a national story if there ever was one, is during his 22-year reign, the 2^nd Congressional Dist. in Philadelphia sent federal dollars at the rate of often a million a week to U of P, while Southwest Philadelphia became the largest bloc of deep poverty in the nation.”

Wolf Works Electorate For Krueger-Braneky

Gov. Tom Wolf campaigned for the Democratic candidate for 161st state house seat special election. That second race pits Republican Paul Mullen against Democrat Leanne Krueger-Braneky for the seat most recently held by State Rep. Joe Hackett (R-Delaware).

What makes that race interesting is the GOP’s candidate, who himself is the AFL-CIO’s county boss and business manager of an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers local, has the backing of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO labor union.

Krueger-Braneky, a Swarthmore businesswoman, is bringing in some big guns of her own to help her chances on Tuesday. Gov. Tom Wolf is scheduled to campaign with her on Saturday.

Muddying the waters in this special election is the independent candidacy of Lisa Esler, a Tea Party activist who lost to Mullen in the Republican primary. Look for pleas to Democrats to defect from Krueger-Braneky to Mullen – countered by pleas to Republicans to defect from Mullen to Esler.

The other Aug. 4 special election matches up Republican Greg Rothman against Democrat Bob Charles for a seat vacated by GOP State Rep. Glen Grell (R-Cumberland). And there will be three more special elections a week later – on Tuesday, Aug. 11 – for Philadelphia’s 174th, 191st and 197th Legislative Dists. (all previously held by Democrats), two of which (the 191st and the 197^th) were made vacant by house members who resigned following guilty pleas to public-corruption charges.

COUNCILMAN Mark Squilla got chance to host most of his family at fundraiser in his honor at Keenan’s in Wildwood. Missing was son Mark. On hand were wife Brigid and daughters Danielle, Gabrielle and Brigid.

Rep. Lewis Endorses Wilkins In 191st Race

Charles Wilkins has announced his endorsement by 74^th Legislative Dist.’s State Representative Harry Lewis, Jr. for 191^st Dist. State Representative.

“We need more leaders like Staff Sgt. Charles Wilkins to help serve in the state legislature,” Lewis said. “His commitment to community service and integrity will help provide new insight and resources to the residents of the 191st Dist.”

Wilkins has served in the United States Army for over 22 years of combined service, including Iraq and continuing to serve as a reservist at his home in Yeadon. The US Army has awarded him with a Joint Service Commendation Medal and an Iraq Campaign Medal with three campaign stars for his most-recent tour.

He is a Volunteer Disaster Action Team relief member with the Red Cross, a member of Phi Beta Sigma and a small-business owner in the 191st Dist.

Wilkins graduated from Overbrook HS and attended Temple University, where he met his wife Ebony of nearly 14 years.

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