Williams’ voucher donors staying on the sidelines

The millionaire investors from suburban Philadelphia who pThe founders of Susquehanna Investment Group—Jeffrey Yass, Arthur Dantchik, and Joel Greenberg—do not intend to write substantial checks to Dan Onorato’s campaign despite the Democratic nominee’s newly announced a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2010/08/onorato-looks-for-school-choice-mantle-from-williams/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fonorato-looks-for-school-choice-mantle-from-williams%2F','support+for++school+vouchers')" target="_blank"support for school vouchers/a, one person said close to the investors said. It’s unlikely the donors will make a big splash for GOP nominee Tom Corbett, either./p
pThe three gave millions of dollars to Williams, most of it funneled through a new school choice political action committee, in the hopes that an urban Democrat outside his party’s political mold on school choice could elevate the issue’s public profile./p
p“They are gun-shy now because they did not enjoy the scrutiny that came their way after their donations became public,” one person familiar with their plans said. “In principle, they are neither Democratic nor Republican. … While Onorato’s plan is a step in the right direction, it does not go far enough.”/p
pDespite the lack of any big influx of cash from them, political consultant Larry Ceisler said neither candidate is in dire need heading into the last two months of campaigning./p
p“I know that Onorato met with the donors from Susquehanna, but it does not surprise me that they are not going to contribute to him,” Ceisler said. “They had a long-term relationship with Williams.”/p
pemThis article was a href="http://www.metro.us/us/article/2010/08/20/04/1607-82/index.xml" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.metro.us']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.metro.us%2Fus%2Farticle%2F2010%2F08%2F20%2F04%2F1607-82%2Findex.xml','originally+published+in+Metro+Philadelphia')" target="_blank">originally published in Metro Philadelphia, a pa2010.com partner.

Correction: This article originally carried an incorrect byline. It was written by Laura Goldman, not Rikard Larma.

August 20, 2010 at 12:30 pm | Comments (4)

Trade group hits Onorato on union labor

A builders’ trade group in western Pennsylvania is running a radio ad against Democrat Dan Onorato, accusing the gubernatorial candidate and Allegheny County executive of helping union “special interests” by requiring that most of a new community college science center be built by unionized workers.

The Tribune-Review first

August 19, 2010 at 9:42 am | Comments (4)

Libertarian candidates off the ballot

The Libertarian Party’s slate of statewide candidates has officially been sent packing.

The party’s candidates for senate, governor and lieutenant governor all ended their bids to stay on the ballot Wednesday, succumbing to another candidate for governor, the latest exits mean there will be…

August 19, 2010 at 9:01 am | Comments (15)

Two polls show Corbett up by double-digits

Republican Tom Corbett continues to hold a steady, double-digit lead in the race for governor, according to two new polls.

The

August 18, 2010 at 4:13 pm | Comments (6)

Third-party hopeful drops gubernatorial bid

The self-proclaimed Tea Party candidate for governor has withdrawn from the race.

John Krupa was facing a ballot challenge, and court proceedings in the case were set to begin when he stepped aside Monday morning, The Associated Press reports.

Krupa, who got some

August 16, 2010 at 12:16 pm | Comments (5)

Onorato claims Williams’ mantle… will he get the money?

PHILADELPHIA—State Senator Anthony Williams

August 12, 2010 at 7:30 am | Comments (4)

Onorato looks for school choice mantle from Williams

PHILADELPHIA—Almost three months after he lost a hard-fought Democratic primary for governor, state Senator Anthony Williams formally threw his support behind Dan Onorato as the two came together to talk up Williams’ favorite issue: school choice.

Appearing at City Hall here Wednesday afternoon, Onorato voiced support for state grants that parents could put toward private school tuition—a semantic variation of the phrase “school vouchers” that Democrats are often hesitant to use. School choice, including public…

August 11, 2010 at 4:25 pm | Comments (8)

Report: Onorato allies helped Tea Party candidate gather signatures

It appears that John Krupa, the self-identified Tea Party candidate for governor, got on the ballot thanks in part to some help from allies of Democratic nominee Dan Onorato.

The Tribune-Review pThe news of Democratic help for Krupa follows similar stories in the a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2010/08/lentz-volunteer-other-dems-helped-schneller-get-on-the-ballot/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2010%2F08%2Flentz-volunteer-other-dems-helped-schneller-get-on-the-ballot%2F','7th')" target="_blank">7th and

August 10, 2010 at 8:39 am | Comments (13)

State GOP looks to strike third-party candidates

Republicans allied with the state GOP filed a slate of ballot challenges against third-party candidates for statewide office Monday, as the party looked to avoid a splinter of conservative votes in the fall.

Challenges from the same group of plaintiffs were filed against Libertarian candidates for senate, governor and lieutenant governor. A separate group of plaintiffs challenged John Krupa, the self-identified Tea Party candidate for governor.

A state party spokesman couldn’t immediately be reached for…

August 9, 2010 at 8:09 pm | Comments (16)

Corbett says jobless gaffe is ‘past history’

Tom Corbett is ready to move beyond his

August 3, 2010 at 10:45 am | Comments (10)