Democrats Fran Nelms and Matt Darragh will battle next Tuesday for the right to challenge state Rep. Martina White (R-170th dist.) in the November general election.
White won a special election last year to replace Democrat Brendan Boyle, who resigned after being elected to Congress. She is part of a 119–84 Republican majority.
Democrats have a voter-registration advantage of about 2-to-1 in the district, which consists of the 58th and 66th wards.
Nelms, 25, worked for Boyle when he was a state representative and works in his congressional office.
“We’re trained to understand policy, and I help solve problems in the district,” he said.
Darragh, 30, is a lawyer and liquor store examiner for the auditor general’s office.
Both are graduates of Archbishop Ryan High School and Temple University.
Darragh said he can best address the issue of property taxes as the only homeowner in the race. He’s also the oldest candidate in the race. White is 27.
“Three young candidates is an interesting dynamic,” Darragh said.
Nelms is a lifelong Somerton resident who lives on Avon Street. He is a graduate of St. Christopher Elementary School, and still plays goalkeeper on a men’s soccer team based at Lighthouse. His family has owned houses in Somerton for 60 years, and he wants to keep neighborhoods strong.
“Generations of people know each other,” he said.
Darragh, who turns 31 on May 2, lives in Parkwood and is a graduate of St. Anselm Elementary School and Widener University School of Law. He’s a 10-year 66th Ward committeeman, member of the Parkwood Civic Association and Stephen Decatur Elementary School Advisory Committee and one-time college intern for former state Sen. Mike Stack.
Nelms, who has a degree in political science/economics, got in the race first and has knocked on more than 6,000 doors. He’s hit some homes four times.
“I’ve been doing doors since August. They know me by first name,” he said. “I’ve always felt the personal touch is necessary, and it’s been lacking in politics.”
Asked which candidates he’ll be backing in next week’s election, Nelms named Brendan Boyle, who is coasting to a second term unopposed, and Kevin Boyle, a state representative who is challenging state Sen. John Sabatina Jr. in the primary.
Nelms has raised money in small amounts, often $25 at a time from family and friends.
“It means a lot,” he said.
Darragh has knocked on more than 3,500 doors and said he has gotten a good reaction, “even in the 58th Ward, Fran’s backyard.”
He has also attended neighborhood cleanups, Irish celebrations and local beef-and-beer benefits. He’s backing Katie McGinty for U.S. Senate and Stephen Zappala for attorney general.
While Nelms has reached more voters at their doorsteps and has the backing of Brendan Boyle, Darragh has the support of ward leaders Mike McAleer, Shawn Dillon and Mike Stack, the carpenters and sheet metal workers unions and AFSCME District Council 47. He would seem to be the favorite.
“I don’t take anything lightly. Fran got the jump on me on doors,” he said.
Dissension among Democrats helped lead to White’s win last year. Darragh worked on the campaign of Democrat Sarah DelRicci.
“I’d like to think I have a pretty good relationship with most Democrats in the Northeast,” he said.
Darragh dismisses talk that the district should elect a Republican to serve in the majority, saying House leadership is too focused on social issues and promotes anti-worker legislation.
“It’s not the party of Dennis O’Brien or George Kenney, or even John Taylor,” he said. “This seat is one we need back.”
Darragh has also raised about $65,000, enough for newspaper ads, a billboard on Bustleton Avenue, a half-dozen mailers and many recognizable green lawn signs.
One of those mailers points out that Nelms has voted in only three elections. He’s never voted in a presidential race, never voted in a race involving Brendan Boyle and skipped the special election won by White. The mailer goes on to claim that Nelms was paid $2,000 for campaign work by Republican City Councilman Brian O’Neill and that he worked as a Marcellus Shale lobbyist for Republican Gov. Tom Ridge.
“Matt has decided to go negative on me,” Nelms said. “It’s part of the game.”
Nelms blamed his lack of voting on job conflicts, having to work to pay his way through college. He said he’s proud of his experience, noting that the Ridge Policy Group is a bipartisan government relations and issue management firm.
His first mailing called for the natural gas industry to pay its fair share, with proceeds going to schools. He supports a “significant” severance tax on oil drillers.
“It can’t be a token severance tax,” he said.
Right now, there is no tax, only an impact fee.
“Kids are getting the short end of the stick as a result,” Nelms said.
Darragh’s focus is on quality-of-life issues, jobs, taxes, schools, safety and college debt.
“The things that unite us are more prominent than those that separate us,” he said.
Darragh said he is best positioned to take on White.
“I’ve had the experience in local politics and I know these issues,” he said. “I’ve been concerned about these things since I was 20 years old.”
Nelms said he is the better choice.
“I think I’m the best qualified,” he said. “I listen to people, and I have varied experience. I have experience working bipartisan, and I have friends across the aisle.” ••
