Big labor doesn’t endorse in race for governor; backs Saidel

Pennsylvania’s organized labor community can’t come to a consensus in the four-way Democratic primary for governor.

The state AFL-CIO, the state’s largest umbrella union organization, overwhelmingly endorsed former Philadelphia City Controller Jonathan Saidel for Lieutenant during a meeting of its executive committee over the weekend in Pittsburgh. But no top-ticket candidate was able to garner the two-thirds vote needed for a formal endorsement.

An AFL-CIO official couldn’t be reached for comment. But a labor insider…

April 13, 2010 at 10:14 am | Comments (9)

Brady not worried about an all-Philly ticket

PHILADELPHIA—If Bob Brady has his way, the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial ticket will be all Philly, all the time. And that doesn’t bother him one bit.

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April 12, 2010 at 1:30 pm | Comments (12)

Johnson says he’d forgo state pension

Republican Steve Johnson kept up the populist tone he’s been striking in his run for Lieutenant Governor Monday, promising that if elected he’d refuse to take a state pension under the current system, which he says is “out-of-date with today’s best practices and unfairly burdens taxpayers across Pennsylvania.”

“We need leaders who lead by example,” Johnson, a York County businessman, said in a statement. “As we weather this economic storm, it is critical that leaders…

April 12, 2010 at 12:26 pm | Comments (5)

Saidel says Corbett should resign

Democrat Jonathan Saidel this week called for the resignation of Republican Attorney General, charging that the indictment of a Republican state Senator by a local prosecutor was proof that Corbett is dropping the ball on investigating fellow GOPers as he seeks a home in the Governor’s Mansion.

It was an extraordinary statement by the former Philadelphia City Controller and current candidate for Lieutenant Governor, one not without some exaggerations. But it also underscored the fact…

April 9, 2010 at 12:33 pm | Comments (17)

Planned Parenthood and LGBT group back Hoeffel for governor

From the moment that Democrat Joe Hoeffel got into the race for governor, there’s been little question that his social policies are the most friendly toward abortion rights advocates and gay rights advocates. This week Hoeffel was rewarded for those stances, with significant endorsements from one of the state’s most prominent LGBT groups and from the state’s Planned Parenthood political action committee.

Hoeffel, the Montgomery County commissioner and former congressman, was endorsed Wednesday night by…

April 8, 2010 at 5:30 pm | Comments (5)

Russ Diamond goes MTV (or maybe VH1)

If the race for Lieutenant Governor was a music video contest, Republican Russ Diamond would win by default—and with some style, too.

Diamond, the longtime government reform advocate, released a five-minute campaign music video Tuesday, six weeks before the May primary that pits him against a crowded field of eight other Republicans.

The video—titled “We are Free” and complete with clips of him at a campaign rally and shots of a singing, disembodied head—combines headlines…

April 6, 2010 at 11:37 am | Comments (16)

Metcalfe: I ‘blindsided’ the party

State Representative Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) is pretty happy with himself. In a political culture and media environment that makes keeping secrets a tall order, Metcalfe slipped one by political insiders earlier this month, when he surprised all watchers by filing nominating petitions to run for Lieutenant Governor earlier this month.

His candidacy made it a whopping nine Republicans on the ballot for the office, and with unrest in the party’s base palpable, a movement conservative…

March 30, 2010 at 12:03 pm | Comments (9)

Pennsylvania needs a new car

Have you ever had to drive a junker? I have over the years. Lots of them. I’d keep them running through knuckle-busting self-repairs and the wonders of duct tape and wire ties, milking each one for every mile I could squeeze out of it. Money was always tight, and the price of a new vehicle was the determining factor in keeping me in junkers. But each would eventually leave me on the side of the…

March 24, 2010 at 3:54 pm | Comments (6)

Corbett joins in health care suit; Dem candidates pile on

Attorney General Tom Corbett on Tuesday formally joined a dozen other state attorneys general in filing a federal lawsuit seeking to block the newly-passed health care reform legislation, igniting a fever-pitch of criticism from Democrats.

Corbett announced that he had joined in the suit challenging the constitutionality of the law, which President Obama signed Tuesday. In doing so, he is sure to garner the same kind of free publicity yielded by his long-running Harrisburg corruption…

March 23, 2010 at 6:12 pm | Comments (26)

Westmoreland Dems endorse Specter, Wagner, Conklin

The Westmoreland County Democratic Committee handed out its endorsements Saturday, backing Senator Arlen Specter for reelection and Auditor General Jack Wagner for governor.

The party also handed state Representative Scott Conklin (D-Centre) his first big endorsement win in nascent bid for Lieutenant Governor. Conklin only got into the race shortly before filing nominating petitions to get on the ballot; former Philadelphia City Controller Jonathan Saidel has been easily cruising to most county party endorsements.

Former…

March 21, 2010 at 12:22 pm | Comments (15)