BY JOE SHAHEELI The 184th Legislative District seems to have a magnetic allure for political newcomers this year. This seat, representing the South Philadelphia neighborhoods of Bella Vista, East Passyunk, Pennsport and Whitman, has been served since 1993 by State Rep. Bill Keller. A longshoreman by trade, Keller has quietly tended his largely blue-collar constituency […]
BY JOE SHAHEELI City Commissioner Al Schmidt has made a prominent contribution to a hotly debated national controversy over how many aliens vote in U.S. elections. A study conducted by Schmidt’s office found 220 non-citizens “who were registered to vote in Philadelphia at some point between 2006 and 2017,” reported City Commission’s lone Republican member. […]
BY JOE SHAHEELI While national attention has focused on the Democratic Party’s weakness in declining rural areas, urban Philadelphia is showing clear signs of decay in the Dems’ brand as well. Philadelphia Republicans shaved 31,728 off their voter-registration deficit against their Democratic competitors in the past year. That’s one-third of the total statewide decline of […]
BY JOE SHAHEELI Entering the General Assembly as a freshman, in the minority party, is a humbling experience. Ask any veteran lawmaker how much influence he had during the first six months of his career. It’s obvious the freshman’s main job is to keep his nose down and his ears open. Rarely does he get […]
BY JOE SHAHEELI As if there wasn’t enough happening in the turbulent political waters of 2017, a few of its local mariners already have an eye on the distant beacon of the 2018 primary election. State representative races are the easiest opportunities for newcomers to try to make an entry into elected officialdom. Two adjoining […]
BY JOE SHAHEELI If gerrymandering reform comes to Pennsylvania, it may come at the hands of the same Republicans who now appear to have gained from it. That’s because what goes around comes around – and they can even tell the date: 2021. Legislation promoted by the anti-gerrymandering lobbying group Fair Districts PA – SB […]
BY JOE SHAHEELI The last City Council meeting before the summer recess is rarely one to circle on the calendar. Like end-of-session meetings everywhere, this was expected to be heavy on legislative tidying up, light on flashpoint issues. Sure, Rebuild is still in the process of being streamlined and the soda tax fight is still […]
BY JOE SHAHEELI With tomorrow’s deadline for applicants who crave a high-profile temporary position with a risk-reward ratio that would give Vegas pause, the search for an interim district attorney to bridge the roughly six months until the winner of November’s election takes up residence on the 16th floor of the District Attorney’s Office enters […]
BY JOE SHAHEELI Just in time for the 4th of July break, the Pennsylvania Senate passed a $31.99-billion spending budget for Fiscal Year 2017-18. It reflected a willingness on the part of both the Republican-controlled General Assembly and Gov. Tom Wolf’s Democratic administration to avoid painful cuts to core constituencies’ favored programs. State Sen. Vincent […]
BY JOE SHAHEELI It’s not often the minority party in Harrisburg gets what it wants in the General Assembly. But the Philadelphia delegation in the State House of Representatives may be on the verge of scoring a rare win. The cause at hand is State Rep. Jordan Harris’ (D-S. Phila.) HB 1547, which aims to […]
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