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)

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)

LEFTOVERS: Williams’ next move, Saidel’s new gig, toss-up in the 11th

Democrat Anthony Williams didn’t make much public noise after finishing third in the gubernatorial primary last month, and he even passed on a chance to endorse Dan Onorato on primary night. But he was set to break that silence in a big way Thursday night, with plans for a two-hour event to “announce next steps” at the National Constitution Center. And even before the curtain came up on that number, Dave Davies at WHYY told…

June 24, 2010 at 9:59 pm | Comments (3)

Anthony Williams, civil rights populist?

PHILADELPHIA—Insofar as the Democratic gubernatorial candidates were pigeonholed over the course of the campaign, state Senator Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia) overwhelmingly became known as the guy who supported school choice. And understandably so: His campaign was funded almost entirely be three suburban investors who back public vouchers for private schools.

But as he delivered a concession speech at Temple University Tuesday night, Williams sought to portray himself as something more: a civil rights leader.

To an…

May 19, 2010 at 2:42 pm | Comments (6)

Onorato easily wins gubernatorial primary, setting up showdown with Corbett

PITTSBURGH—Dan Onorato, the Allegheny County Executive who started plotting a path to the Governor’s Mansion years ago, took a big step toward getting there Tuesday, easily winning the Democratic gubernatorial primary in a race he was favored to win from the start.

Onorato bested three primary rivals thanks to a campaign infrastructure he started building long before them and a massive TV blitz that introduced him to Pennsylvania Democrats at a time when the vast…

May 19, 2010 at 6:24 am | Comments (6)

Onorato’s closing argument: ‘The strongest record’

With the Democratic primary for governor just hours away, closing arguments from Dan Onorato and

May 17, 2010 at 1:41 pm | Comments (0)

An Onorato response ad

After

May 17, 2010 at 1:36 pm | Comments (0)

Williams’ closing argument: ‘I’m frustrated too’

With the Democratic primary for governor just hours away, closing arguments from Anthony Williams and Dan Onorato have arrived.

Both have new campaign ads that began airing in recent days, spots which seek to recap their and wrap up the rationale behind their candidacies.

Williams’ ad, which began airing late last week, emphasizes the need for lower taxes, betters schools and job creation.

“During the course of this campaign, I’ve met with parents and grandparents…

May 17, 2010 at 11:53 am | Comments (1)

School choice PAC gives Williams another $1.6M

A political action committee that advocates for school choice is funding Democrat Anthony Williams’ campaign for governor down to the final days of the race.

Students First PAC gave Williams, a Philadelphia state Senator, a whopping $1.625 million on Friday, according to state campaign finance data. Williams’ campaign has now received more than $4.5 million from two school choice PACs, virtually all of it coming thanks to contributions from three suburban Philadelphia investors. Both PACs…

May 17, 2010 at 10:10 am | Comments (12)