Republicans have nominated Tim Dailey, a history and English teacher at Father Judge High School, as their candidate in the 5th Senatorial District special election.
Dailey will face Democratic state Rep. John Sabatina Jr. in a May 19 special election, which will take place the same day as the primary.
The seat has been vacant since Democrat Mike Stack resigned to become lieutenant governor.
If Sabatina wins, there would be a special election for his seat. Dailey lives in the 174th Legislative District and could run for that seat.
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U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-13th dist.) congratulated Republican Martina White for winning his former 170th Legislative District seat.
Boyle wanted Democratic ward leaders to nominate his former aide, Seth Kaplan. But Mike McAleer and Mike Stack, the lieutenant governor, chose Sarah DelRicci.
“I congratulate Martina White on her win,” Boyle said. “She clearly was the harder-working candidate, and it showed in the results. I was proud to become the first Democrat to win this seat six years ago and to win re-election three times. This could have remained a Democratic seat. But, unfortunately, a couple of Democratic ward leaders in the district chose personal relationships over the best interests of Northeast Philadelphia, the Democratic Party and an extremely important ally — organized labor. Unions are a valuable component of the Democratic organization and should be treated with respect when it’s time for candidate selection. That didn’t happen in this election.”
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The Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Mayoral Breakfast Series will continue on Friday, April 10, at Wesley Enhanced Living Pennypack Park, 8401 Roosevelt Blvd.
The six Democratic candidates for mayor have been invited to address the group.
Doug Oliver will speak at 9:15 a.m. Anthony Williams has been invited to speak at 8:30.
On Friday, April 24, Jim Kenney will speak at 8:30. a.m. Milton Street has been invited to speak at 9:15.
Tickets cost $10 to each event.
Nelson Diaz and Lynne Abraham have already spoken to the group.
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The Abraham campaign last week released a poll showing her leading the field with 30 percent.
Williams and Kenney each took 14 percent, followed by Diaz (6 percent), Street (5 percent) and Oliver (2 percent).
However, Williams and Kenney are expected to benefit by spending by outside groups on television commercials. Unions are backing Kenney, while three wealthy Main Line businessmen are supporting Williams because of their shared interest in school choice.
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Kenney last week released a plan for creating an ethical, transparent and accessible city government.
Kenney proposed increasing the Board of Ethics budget by 25 percent and investing in phila.gov, 311 and mobile technology apps.
“The proposals presented in this plan are an important step towards strengthening our existing ethics policies, closing remaining avenues for pay-to-play, increasing government transparency and making our government work better — and for less cost,” said Ellen Mattleman Kaplan, a member of Kenney’s policy committee.
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The Philadelphia chapter of the National Organization for Women endorsed Kenney.
“During his time on Council, Kenney consistently fought to expand opportunities for women and families. Whether it was on equal pay, women’s sports, domestic abuse or street harassment, Kenney was a strong ally to Philadelphia’s women. We are proud to endorse him and we look forward to working with him to advance gender equality across our city,” said Nina Ahmad, president of the local NOW chapter.
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Meanwhile, Kenney is calling on the Williams campaign to return $20,450 in contributions that exceed the city’s campaign limits.
“By refusing to immediately return this money, Sen. Williams is blatantly flouting campaign finance limits and taking advantage of the Board of Ethics’ budgetary constraints. Our ethics board must have the funding it needs to forcefully penalize campaign finance violations,” Kenney said.
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Williams has renewed his challenge to the other mayoral candidates to support the recommendations in President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
Specifically, Williams challenged his opponents to endorse the increased use of technology to improve relationships and trust between police and the communities they serve.
“Philadelphia police officers and Philadelphia residents deserve a 21st-century police force, but I’m not sure that our city’s commitment to policing technology has kept up with its benefits,” he said. “Whether we’re talking about body-worn cameras, using social media to improve community policing outcomes, or making the sharing of data between agencies and departments more effective and efficient, there is more we can do as a city to use technology to the benefit of our men and women in uniform and the residents they protect and serve. To me, this is an obvious priority and I’m still waiting to hear from my opponents to learn whether they agree or disagree.”
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Meanwhile, Williams last week started airing television commercials.
An announcer notes that Williams’ grandfather was one of the first black mailmen on the Main Line, and that the candidate’s father, the late state Sen. Hardy Williams, was told that a black man couldn’t run for mayor.
The ad mentions that Anthony Williams has helped bring money to public schools as a state senator, and that he battled gun lobbyists to take illegal guns off the street.
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Allan Domb, a leading developer and Democratic candidate for an at-large City Council seat, supports Mayor Michael Nutter’s budget proposal giving the Department of Licenses and Inspections an increase of $10.8 million over three years.
The funding would go, in part, to hiring 43 people, many of them building inspectors.
“It is important that the city increase its inspections of dangerous buildings, and the Nutter administration deserves praise for moving to do so,” Domb said. “But for there to be confidence in what the city is doing, these inspectors need to be licensed, and each employee’s work needs to be publicly accountable. If there needs to be additional funding released immediately to get these inspectors certified, I hope the Council approves it.”
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The Pennsylvania Federation of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division has endorsed education advocate Helen Gym, a Democratic candidate for an at-large Council seat.
“Our union does not normally endorse candidates for local office. However, Helen Gym is clearly worthy of our support. Now and then a person comes along who seeks political office who is different and wants to represent the people and not some rich patron, corporation or themselves. Helen Gym is one of those rare exceptions in politics today, and we can rest assured that her integrity, grit and compassion will be at work 24 hours a day, seven days a week representing the working families of Philadelphia and only the working families of Philadelphia,” said Jed Dodd, the union’s general chairman.
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AFSCME District Council 47 has endorsed Derek Green and Sherrie Cohen, Democratic candidates for at-large Council.
Cohen also was endorsed by the 215 People’s Alliance, which cited her fight against cutbacks in city services and library and firehouse closings and support for paid sick leave, affordable housing, gay rights, school funding and the “Black Lives Matter” movement.
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International Association of Fire Fighters and Paramedics Local 22 has endorsed Anne Covey for Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the Republican primary.
“I am grateful for the support of the first responders at Local 22,” Covey said. “We all rely on the bravery and dedication of these men and women every day, and it is an honor that they are supporting my candidacy for Supreme Court.”
Covey, a married mother of two from Bucks County, has served on Commonwealth Court since 2012. ••
