Five Philadelphia ward leaders have endorsed Marjorie Margolies in the Democratic primary in the 13th Congressional District.
The ward leaders backing her are Bill Dolbow (35th), Elaine Tomlin (42nd), Janice Sulman (53rd), John Sabatina (56th) and Mike McAleer (66-B).
The election is May 20. Margolies, a former congresswoman, faces state Sen. Daylin Leach, state Rep. Brendan Boyle and Dr. Val Arkoosh.
The Far Northeast’s John Fritz is seeking the Republican nomination.
Boyle, a Somerton resident, is the only Democratic candidate from Philadelphia. He is maintaining the option of running for re-election to the state House while seeking the congressional seat. The other candidates live in Montgomery County.
McAleer is chairman of Northeast Ward Leaders.
“When Brendan Boyle announced his candidacy for U.S. Congress, I told him that I could not endorse a candidate for U.S. Congress and state representative on the same ballot,” he said. “You can’t serve both, run for one or the other. I believed then, as I do now, that the voters of the Northeast in the 13th Congressional District deserve a full-time candidate, and the constituents and taxpayers of the 170th Legislative District deserve a full-time representative.
“Brendan feels that he has a right to run for a Washington position in Congress and a legislative position in Harrisburg. The voters will not buy it, and I will not ask them to.”
Sabatina said Margolies will be ready for the job on day one. He credited her for campaigning in neighborhoods in the last six months.
Dolbow praised Margolies for fighting for small businesses. He added that her tie-breaking vote in 1993 for President Bill Clinton’s economic plan helped create 23 million jobs.
Tomlin said she looks forward to fighting big battles with Margolies.
“Marjorie was fighting the Tea Party before there was a Tea Party,” she said. “She took on Newt Gingrich and the radical right-wing Republicans before, and she’ll take on the likes of Sen. Ted Cruz when she returns to Washington.”
Margolies said, “Democrats from Rhawnhurst to Lawncrest and Oxford Circle to Olney want to send leaders to Washington to fix a broken system. I am humbled that their leaders today stand behind my campaign to do just that.”
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Margolies will not participate in an upcoming candidates forum hosted by Montco Democracy for America and the Area 6 Democratic Committee.
The other three candidates will be in attendance. The forum is set for Sunday, Jan. 26, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Upper Dublin Township Building, at 801 Loch Alsh Ave. in Fort Washington.
The moderator will be Will Bunch, writer for the Philadelphia Daily News.
Doors open at 1 p.m. Only registered Democrats in the 13th Congressional District may attend.
No food, drink or candidate badges, signs, banners or apparel will be allowed.
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State Rep. John Taylor, chairman of the Republican City Committee, said President Barack Obama has turned his back on law enforcement in Philadelphia and the region by nominating Debo Adegbile to head the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
Adegbile, while working for the NAACP, argued in court on behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of killing Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981. The attorney claimed that the jury was selected along racial lines.
“I find it absolutely appalling that the president of the United States would not respect the opinions of those that keep us safe,” Taylor said. “In fact, what is more horrifying is that Danny Faulkner’s civil rights were cut down by a gun-wielding radical in the middle of the night while the man convicted of killing him has adopted celebrity status. While the Philadelphia Police Department and Maureen Faulkner were still in mourning, Debo Adegbile was keeping Mumia Abu-Jamal comfortable and avoiding the death penalty. Having this man oversee the Civil Rights Division is disgusting.”
Adegbile is senior attorney for the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee chairman, Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, supports Adegbile’s nomination.
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Katie McGinty, a Rhawnhurst native running for the Democratic nomination for governor, has proposed a plan to make college and technical schools affordable for students and their families.
McGinty, who attended Resurrection of Our Lord Grammar School and St. Hubert High School, would boost financial aid, establish a program to provide grants to middle-income families and create a program to provide merit-based grants of up to $4,000 for low-income students.
“Too many Pennsylvania families and deserving students can no longer afford the cost of an advanced education,” she said. “Not only are too many students being left behind, but our state is falling behind. Without an educated workforce, businesses will not expand or move here. As governor, I will lead the effort to put a lid on soaring tuition costs and increase the amount of financial aid to middle and lower income families.”
The plan would be paid for, in part, by imposing a tax on cigars and smokeless tobacco. In addition, she would reform the state liquor store system by extending hours of operation and improving marketing.
McGinty is a former secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection.
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John Hanger, another Democratic candidate for governor, recently released a 90-second video titled Schools Not Jails: Legalize Marijuana.
Hanger is proposing the immediate use of marijuana for medical purposes, followed by decriminalization of small quantities. By 2017, he’d regulate and tax marijuana, using revenues for property tax relief and alcohol and drug addiction treatment services.
The candidate noted that the NAACP supports legalization because of studies showing that black people have a marijuana-user arrest rate five times greater than that of whites.
Like McGinty, Hanger is a former secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection. ••
