Pols On The Street: Coming Soon! A Jammed November Ballot!

by Joe Shaheeli

SHOWING trophy at youth basketball tournament at Kingsessing Rec Center were State Rep.-Elect Joanna McClinton, State Sen. Anthony Williams and State Rep. Jim Roebuck. Six politicians and civic groups sponsored teams. Photo by Bill Myers

Since many of our readers are vested with the responsibility of getting out the vote, or maintaining the polls on election day, they should be aware the lines will be long at each polling place come the Nov. 3 election.

If it were because of a major turnout of voters, no one would care. All would celebrate. Instead, it will be because the Registration Commission is now hard pressed to give equal space to all those running in the general election, as well as charter questions for voters. Even if few voters show up, they will have a lot to choose from as they ponder the massive ballot.

Take the count now: 24 judges have resurfaced on the campaign trail because they are up for retention. They need a majority of “yes” votes over “no” votes to hold onto their jobs for another 10-year term. Based on history, they have little to fear.

In addition to these 24, on the election ballot voters will have to choose whom they wish to elect to 12 Common Pleas positions, and three for Municipal Court.

Add to that citywide candidates:

For Mayor, in addition to the Democratic and Republican candidates, Jim Kenney and Melissa Murray Bailey, there will be three others running with them for the same post. Crusading Germantown publisher Jim Foster has taken his efforts to the main arena as an “Independent”. Joining him as an “Independent-Boris Kindij” is Boris Kindij.

His entry fed the rumor Kindij was the tool of someone who wanted two independents on the ballot to dilute the impact of Foster’s campaign, should he get the kind of money needed to reach out to city voters. For years Foster has earned a crusader image for blasting the Germantown congressional leadership’s “failure to do right by not properly channeling the millions of dollars that came from Washington through to nonprofits which did little or nothing for their community,” he charges.

Kindij has a pro-business growth platform. He notes Thomas Jefferson once said, “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty” and that led off his campaign statement. He has invited Sam Katz to join him.

He says, “Philadelphia is divided into two very different slices. I will fight to unite the City of Brotherly Love by eliminating poverty. As Mayor of Philadelphia, I will create an Income Inequality Advisory Committee (comprised of representatives from labor, business, and nonprofits), and with City Council’s cooperation increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour … and will create a 10-year tax-free zone program for new business entities that will bring jobs to Philadelphia. Their minimum requirements: 25+ employees, apply the $15 minimum-wage schedule, and pay an annual membership to the City of Philadelphia.”

WISHING State Rep. Mike Driscoll the best and congratulating him on turnout at his fundraiser at Three Monkeys in Torresdale were Democratic City Commission candidate Lisa Deeley and Marla Walmsley.

The Socialist Workers Party has entered candidates for Mayor and City Council, Osborne Hart and John Staggs respectively. Their campaign director is Chris Hoppner.

Staggs and Hart are workers at Walmart who are involved in the fight for $15 an hour, a union and full-time hours at the retail giant.

Democratic and Republican at-large candidates will find four joining them seeking votes. They are Kristin Combs, Sheila E. Armstrong, Andrew Stober and John Staggs.

Free Dominion Party candidate Michael Galganski will show up in the 8th Council Dist. voting machines; independent Bobby T. Curry will be on the 9th Council Dist. ballot.

Feinberg Would End Register Of Wills Office

Republican Candidate for Register of Wills, Ross Feinberg, has called for the abolition of the office.

“While it may seem like a contradiction to run for an office that you think should be abolished, it’s not. What I really care about, and what any public servant should care about, is serving the people, not maintaining an inefficient and expensive office,” Feinberg said in a press conference outside the door of the Register of Wills Office in City Hall.

Feinberg stated, “The Register of Wills simply presides over a bureaucracy. They make administrative decisions, not political ones. Contrast that with the decisions made by the Mayor and City Council. Those offices make decisions that affect policy. The Register of Wills does not. Since it should not be doing political work, it should not be elected through the political process.”

Current Register of Wills Ron Donatucci, 67, has held the office for a record 35 years.

Sen. Farnese Keeps Oil Trains On His Radar

State Sen. Larry Farnese’s 1st Senatorial Dist. is the conduit to more oil trains passing from North to South and East to West and he continues to keep the safety of oil trains a priority.

He stated, “I’ve been working with train companies, Philadelphia officials and state Dept. of Environmental Protection experts to make sure we are prepared in the event something bad happens. And now we have Gov. Tom Wolf’s support.

“Bakken oil trains have been winding their way through my senatorial district en route to other points along the Atlantic seaboard for years – and we have been lucky to avoid major disasters. I have been working with constituents and sharing their legitimate concerns with public safety officials at every level, and I appreciate the commonality we now share with Gov. Wolf.”

Kudos To Tom Massaro On City Council Classes

This columnist was caught with an error by Thomas Henry Massaro, who, among his other accomplishments, has been the creator of the well-received Prep School for incoming City Council Members.

PACKING Tavern on Camac was summer fundraiser on behalf of State Rep. Brian Sims. Joining Sims at event were, from left, State Sen. Larry Farnese, judicial candidate Rainey Papademetriou, Sims and State Rep. Jason Dawkins.

In case you wonder why it is new members seem to be running and in full comprehension of what they face, it is because of his efforts in alerting them to what to expect. He truly puts in 18-hour days to plan, assemble, resource and provide a potent comprehensive orientation for the next incoming City Council freshmen and women. Between last June and through to January 2016, he’ll have given 300-plus classes to either one or more, or all while taking them on 16 days of site visits.

What explains his dedication is the fact, while hospitalized for 35 consecutive days in critical and serious condition, from Father’s Day, June 21 until July 25, he squeezed out time for prospective freshmen like Allan Domb, Helen Gym, Derek Green, Terry Tracy and Dan Tinney from his hospital bed or wheel chair.

He caught us with an error in our Aug. 13 issue where we indicated Councilman Ed Neilson hadn’t resigned as yet from City Council. He did so in June, more than 60 days before the Aug. 11 special election.

I get the feeling I need to attend his classes.

Quinnipiac Poll Finds Pa. Voters Like Biden

With an overwhelming number of candidates vying for the 2016 presidency, the latest Quinnipiac Poll attempts to see for whom Pennsylvanians would vote if the election were today.

Although Vice President Joe Biden has not yet entered the race, his poll results indicate he may have a successful run against various candidates.

“In head-to-head matchups against the three leading contenders for the Republican nomination, he runs as well or slightly better than she [Hillary Clinton] does,” noted Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

“Who gets the love? The one guy who hasn’t declared. Vice President Joseph Biden, a Scranton boy made good, is perhaps becoming a more important player in the 2016 presidential race,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

While Clinton may currently be one of the front-runners, in some of the match-ups she does not hold up well. When voters were asked if they would elect Clinton or Bush, Bush gathered 43% with Clinton at 40%. In a race against Rubio, Clinton remained at 40% while Rubio topped Bush at 47%.

It appears, however, that Pennsylvanians favor Clinton more than Trump, as she is at 45% to his 40% in their match-up.

Biden loses both match-ups to Bush and Rubio as well, but does better than Clinton with 42% and 41% to their 43% and 44%. Like Clinton, he polls better against Trump at 48% to Trump’s 40%.

Bernie Sanders does not do as well as Clinton and Biden against Bush or Sanders with only 36% and 33%, but still “trumps” the billionaire at 44%.

Vendors Sought For Dem Convention

The Philadelphia 2016 Host Committee for the Democratic National Convention is seeking the participation of local businesses and members of the public in the planning and presentation of the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

The Host Committee recently officially launched its vendor and volunteer registration forms, which are available for businesses and individuals interested in getting involved in the Convention. These forms are available on the Host Committee’s website, www.phldnc.com, and allow individuals and businesses to submit contact information and categorical specialties for opportunities related to the Convention.

Prospective businesses interested in being considered an official Democratic National Convention vendor should go to the “vendor” tab at the top of the Host Committee’s website, www.phldnc.com. Registrants will be added to the Host Committee’s 2016 Vendor Directory, which will be used by the Host Committee and provided to the Democratic National Convention Committee to help find suppliers and services for their needs. The directory will also be given to third parties interested in holding events affiliated with the Convention.

Early Polling Points To Toomey Victory

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) does a bit better against Katie McGinty than Joe Sestak in a new Quinnipiac Poll.

Though the 2016 election for one of Pennsylvania’s US Senate seats is still a long way away, McGinty trails Toomey in a head-to-head matchup, 48% to 32%. Sestak, who gave Toomey a close run in 2010, but who doesn’t have the support of national Democratic Party leaders, trails Toomey by a slightly smaller margin (a one-percentage-point difference) than the one confronting McGinty: 48% to 33%. Part of this could be due to voters not knowing enough about the two Democratic candidates (although both have run past statewide races), since 61% of those polled said they didn’t know enough about Sestak, while 74% said they didn’t know enough about McGinty. With Toomey having a 49%-26% job-approval rating and a 46%-23% favorability rating, it would appear both Democratic candidates have some work to do during the next 14-plus months.

95% Of School Districts Funded Through October

Philadelphia School District will have enough money to at least get through October. As Pennsylvania’s state budget impasse continues to drag on into the start of the school year and districts begin to plan for contingencies in case the stalemate continues, House Education Committee Chairman Stan Saylor (R-York) said around 95% of Pennsylvania’s school districts will likely to survive until October without state funding.

“Statewide I have not seen a school district that can’t open,” he said. “I’m going to say 95% of them probably can survive into October without taking a loan, possibly.”

He added those that are more financially distressed might have to go out for a line of credit a little sooner.

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