Farnese, Keller, Payton win in state primaries

Here are the big local election results from the state House and Senate races, courtesy of Philly.com:
1st Senate District: With 96.5% of the vote counted, FARNESE, 43%, beats Dougherty, 38% and Dicker 19%.
172nd House District: With 100% of the vote in, COSTELLO, 57%, over Kearney, 43%.
179th House District: With 100% of the vote in, PAYTON, 61%, beats Lewis, 39%.
180th House District: With 93% of the vote counted, CRUZ, 55%, leads Ramos, 45%.
182nd House District: With 98% of the vote in, JOSEPHS, 60%, easily bests Banaszek, 25%, and Gormley, 14%.
184th House District: (As previously reported) KELLER, 60%, beat DiCicco, 40%.
186th House District: With 96% of the vote in, JOHNSON, 65%, defeats James, 35%.
198th House District: With 97% of the vote counted, YOUNGBLOOD, 56% over Davis, 44%.

Here are the Inquirer and Daily News takes on the Farnese victory.

Gar Joseph in the Daily News captures some local color from a voting day he calls pretty tame.

Most incumbents won, the AP reports. Well, except for ten-term legislator Harold James, Chris Brennan writes in the Daily News. Meanwhile, Catherine Lucey and Dave Davies in the Daily News name less-obvious winners (Bob Casey Jr., Chis Matthews?) and losers (Ward leaders, Geno's steaks) in the whole shebang.

Voters head to polls. Dem machine gets a test. And the Inquirer endorses....

Voting Day. The city's Democratic machine gets a test today as it pushes its candidates, trying to unseat freshman Rep. Tony Payton in the 179th state House district and stages a long-shot write-in campaign to keep Rep. Thomas W. Blackwell in office in the 190th, reports Jeff Shields in the Inquirer. In the Daily News, Bob Warner reports that leaflets with incorrect polling-place information were distributed in South Philadelphia.

The Inquirer today endorsed Barack Obama and John Mccain in the presidential primaries, Larry farnese in the Democratic primary for the 1st state Senate district seat, and Rob McCord for Treasurer.

In today's New York Times, Tom Ferrick has an op-ed piece explaining the street-money tradition in the wards of Philadelphia.

Ferrick Answers Key Questions. Delegates on Ballots Explained. Committee of Seventy comments in CSM.

One day until the PA primary. The presidential and state races are tight.

On the Committee of Seventy site today, Tom Ferrick handicaps the presidential and local races and answers some outstanding questions. In the Daily News "Clout" column today, Gar Joseph offers an A to Z overview of election issues (and one-liners).

Pennsylvania "may turn on Philadelphia and the 'burbs," in case you didn't know that, reported the Christian Science Monitor on Sunday. Committee of Seventy CEO Zack Stalberg comments in the article on the apparent enthusiasm for Barack Obama in the "industrial metropolis" (that's Philly). The CSM has a cool, interactive, national demographic map here.

The ability to vote for individual delegates who are committed to Clinton or Obama is confusing, as the Inquirer reports today. But what matters is which presidential candidate you select. That will determine how many delegates for each candidate travel to the convention. The Inquirer has a graphic on the delegate process here.

Inquirer: Committee of 70 will add poll-watchers to heated 1st District race

The Inquirer reports that outgoing state Senator Vince Fumo yesterday told people they should not vote for John Dougherty to replace him. Fumo labeled Dougherty "a bully, a thug and evil." Dougherty, business manager of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, responded: "I expect this kind of angry rant from [election rival Larry] Farnese, but not from the senator. It's a shame."

Zack Stalberg of the Committee of Seventy, says in the story that the committee has a record number of poll-watchers this year -- 775 -- and that a large proportion of them, 140, will work the 1st District. The article cites the need to monitor "the union's hard-nosed election-day tactics."

The Daily News runs down six closely contested local House primary races that Philadelphia voters may see on their ballots. A separate editorial ensorses two of them, Richard Costello in the 172nd District, and Christian DiCicco in the 18th.

Farnese's Connections, Dougherty's Connections. Committee of 70 comments on "street money." DN Endorses Obama; Replay of Debate is Online

The Inquirer is packed with politics today. Democratic state Senate candidate Larry Farnese gets a double-dip in the Inky inkwell. A profile of the Center City attorney by Joseph Gambardello says Farnese is in the race to prevent rival John Dougherty from winning. In the profile, Farnese attempts to build a little distance between himself and outgoing Senator Vincent Fumo, who, according to some, handpicked Farnese to promote as a successor. A front page news story says legislators in Western Pennsylvania have donated a total of $287,500 to Farnese's campaign. The story suggests Fumo orchestrated the contributions.

On the editorial page the Inquirer explores Dougherty's many affiliations (as head of the electrician's union, chairman of the city's Redevelopment Authority, president of the Pennsport Civic Association, a past board member Independence Blue Cross), as well as his relationships with local building developers, and asks: "Given his extensive ties, who, if elected to the state Senate, will he really represent in Harrisburg?"

A nice column by Dan Rubin gets some word from the street about street money and the local political machine in Philadelphia. Committee of Seventy CEO Zack Stalberg adds perspective.

The Daily News endorsed Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential primary.

Prez Debate On Demand: In case you missed the Democratic Presidential debate at the Constitution Center on Wednesday night -- or if you just want to re-live it -- KWY-1060 has an audio-only replay available for free listening here.

House race endorsements; Inquirer's Dicker profile

The Inquirer's profile of state senate candidate Anne Dicker is in this morning's paper. The Daily News has endorsed candidates in the state house races: Guy Lewis (179th house district), Kenyatta Johnson (186th), Byron Davis (198th).

As the papers called in advance and report today, Donald "Gus" Dougherty Jr., a South Philadelphia electrical contractor with ties to electricians' union manager and state Senate candidate John J. Dougherty, pleaded guilty yesterday to charges of theft, bank bribery and tax evasion. "But the contractor didn't plead guilty to two charges involving the candidate," the Daily News reports. "He will stand trial on those charges next month."

Meanwhile, of course: the big Democratic Presidential debate is tonight at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia, and Dave Davies at the Daily News sets the stage.

Daily News Endorses Dicker; Inky Profiles Johnny Doc; Courier Times Traces Obama Remark to Levittown

The Daily News today endorsed Anne Dicker in the 1st Senate District, praising her "long experience as a neighborhood and anti-casino organizer" and "impressive grasp of issues well beyond casinos."

The Inquirer has launched a three-part series of profiles on candidates in the 1st Senate District Democratic primary. Today Joseph Gambardello looks at John Dougherty. Tomorrow, it's Dicker. Thursday, Larry Farnese. The Johnny Doc piece chronicles his rise to frontrunner in the race, explores his local roots, and highlights the wide spectrum of opinion about him.

Both the Daily News and Inquirer have reports on an anti-Michael Nutter flyer that circulated last year before the mayoral primary, equating Nutter's stop-and-frisk plan with harassment of the Black Panthers of the 1970s. An ethics board is investigating whether the flyer was produced by Dougherty's union. Nutter and Dougherty both ran for mayor.

J.D. Mullane in the Bucks Couty Courier Times goes back to the Levittown tavern where it seems Barack Obama's "bitter" comment originated. Mike Sokolove, for his New York Times Magazine piece a couple of weeks ago, had gone back to his old Levittown neighborhood and talked to working-class patrons of Gleason's on Mill Creek Road about their concerns. Obama apparently read that article, and it went from there.

70 Questions for John Dougherty

Here is the third of our "70 Questions" Q&As with candidates for the 1st Senate District seat being vacated by Vincent Fumo. Today, it's John Dougherty. Below is a sampling of that interview, with a link to the full version and to the other candidates' interviews:

Committee of 70: Would there come a point, if your political career advances, where you would relinquish the union leadership?

Dougherty: I don't think -- right now that guarantees me I won't be a freshman senator. I come in there with the impact and the power that we've developed over the years at Local 98. We've spent a lot of money on both sides of the aisles. So I won't be a back-bench senator. I'll be someone who has relationships on both sides of the aisles, who has been involved in legislation, who has been credited for passing legislation, someone who understands the political apparatus and has a political appatarus. It's actually a positive.

Complete "70 Questions" interviews are here: John Dougherty Anne Dicker Larry Farnese

Dicker Campaign Shake-Up; Dougherty Probe Continues

The top two aides to state senate candidate Anne Dicker left her campaign over the weekend, the Daily News and Inquirer report today. Apparently there was some disagreement over campaign strategy.

Over the weekend, the Inquirer's Craig McCoy looked further into the waterfront developer who didn't let candidate John Dougherty pay to stay in a luxury apartment, and columnist Monica Yant Kinney questioned Dougherty's judgment.

Ferrick and Suburban Dems; Colbert's Guests; Buried Treasurer

There are some surprising numbers in today's new "By Ferrick" column by Tom Ferrick on the Committee of Seventy site. The column takes stock of just how much Democratic registrations have surged in the four suburban counties surrounding Philadelphia, and examines how the trend might affect elections to come. Data shows the number of registered Dems growing by 51 percent in Montgomery County from 2000 to 2008, by 49 percent in Delaware County and 33 percent in Bucks. Click here for Tom's full chart.

In today's Daily News, Gar Joseph's "Clout" column reports that when Stephen Colbert does his first show in Philadelphia on Monday, his guests will be Mayor Nutter, John Legend (singing the "Star Spangled Banner") and Chris Matthews. Not bad, but Joseph makes some other modest proposals of local pols to sit in the guest chair, such as: "Marge Tartaglione. This raspy-voiced legend is the woman in charge of the city's elections. She's also a tough Democratic ward leader who, in her younger days, could climb over three rows of chairs in her basement to correct a misguided committeeman."

Seven out of 10 people have no idea whom they'll choose for State Treasurer in April 22 voting, according to a cover story in today's Inquirer by Mario Cattabiani and Joe DiStefano.

70 Questions for Anne Dicker

As part of our spotlight on hot election contests in the April 22 primary, the Committee of 70 has asked the Democratic candidates for the 1st District Senate seat to meet with us for short question-and-answer sessions about the issues and the campaign. We'll present these in the days leading up to the vote. Anne Dicker spoke with us over coffee at Java in Queen Village. Below is a snippet of the discussion. For a full version click here.

70: Can Philadelphia realistically get control of guns?

Dicker: I think Philadelphia deserves to have its own tighter gun laws, and I will work for that. But if you want to stem the tide of illegal handguns, it's got to be statewide. Because most of our illegal guns are actually coming from Montgomery County and Delaware county and Bucks County. Do I think that convince the rest of the state? Of course. Because 70 percent of Pennsylvanians want tighter gun control laws. They want one-gun-per-month. They want "lost or stolen" [gun reporting requirements].

I'm from the Midwest, from a town where my teachers took off weeks to go hunting. I understand the Midwestern value system that we're operating under. For years, we've had a battle between the rest of the state and Philadelphia, and I want to call a truce. I want to have an open and honest and respectful relationship with my colleagues. I think that by building that trust, we're going to be able to get through the insidious lobbying efforts of the NRA.

Candidates Square Off on Fox 29

Part one of the "You Decide 2008" TV interview with Democratic candidates in the 1st Senate district is here (or click image above). The other parts are here.

Ward Leaders Pick Dougherty; Farnese Advisor Leaves Casino; Radio Debate

Eleven out of 17 city Democratic ward leaders will support John Dougherty in the 1st Senate disctrict race to replace Vincent Fumo.
"The committee's support traditionally boosts a candidate's profile among party loyalists and with get-out-the-vote efforts on primary day," report the Inquirer's Joseph Gambardello and Marcia Gelbart.
"People think Dougherty's going to win and they want to be with a winner," one ward leader who asked not to be named told Bob Warner in the Daily News. "Johnny Doc plays politics a little on the rough side and everyone knows it, but this is not a personality contest."
Larry Farnese, who also pleaded his case before ward leaders, received the support of five ward leaders -- after making a bold play. Farnese said of Dougherty: "He's a thug that has tried to intimidate my staff, supporters and volunteers - including some people in this room - making veiled physical threats, promising legal action, and every time acting like the bully that he is... John Dougherty is not a nice guy. . . But some of you know what kind of man John Dougherty is, and you ignore it."

On the radio: WHYY had its own 1st Senate candidates' panel on "Radio Times" yesterday. Dave Davies asked questions of Anne Dicker, Larry Farnese, and John Dougherty. Listen to the whole thing here (RealAudio). Beyond the campaign issues, Davies asked Dougherty about the case of Donald "Gus" Dougherty that has involved allegations of illegal payments from Donald Dougherty to John Dougherty as a union official and federal authorities executing a serach warrant at John Dougherty's house.

"Should voters be concerend about your integrity, given this?" Davies asked.

Dougherty said: "I would not be running for State Senate if I thought there was any issues here. Some of the allegations that were made, if there was any validity to them, I would have been named on the front page of that document about Donald Dougherty. Right now we have 104 coffee klatches under our belt. We have 134 contacts as of now as of now in the campaign. That issue has come up a handful of times at best. Other than some of the print media and one of my competitors bringing it up, the concerns have been about guns, and jobs, and education....In reference to integrity, I don't think that's ever been a question."

Farnese advisor resolves conflict: Ken Snyder has been working as a consultant to the proposed SugarHouse casino and also for Farnese, who wants to re-site the casino. Backers of the casino said it wasn't working for them. Now he's not working with the casino.
Reports Chris Brennan in the Daily News: "Leigh Whitaker, a SugarHouse spokeswoman, said that the developers wanted to keep Snyder on the job but considered his work for Farnese to be a conflict. They see little difference between opposing their location and opposing casinos in general, she said."

70 Questions for Larry Farnese

As part of our spotlight on hot election contests in the April 22 primary, the Committee of 70 has asked the Democratic candidates for the 1st District Senate seat to meet with us for short question-and-answer sessions about the issues and the campaign. We'll present these in the days leading up to the vote. Below is part of our conversation with attorney Larry Farnese. Click here for a fuller version of the Q&A.

70: You're running in a district where Vincent Fumo has been in office for 30 years, re-elected repeatedly by voters. Your opponents recently accused you of being a "surrogate" for Fumo. They meant that as a criticism -- but wouldn't that be what the voters in the district want?

Farnese: My opponents were attacking me before Senator Fumo got out of the race, trying to make up all kind of conspiracy theories. The truth of the matter is that I'm the one candidate in this race that is appealing to every single constituency, all the different neighborhoods. One of my opponents [John Dougherty], when I was in the race with the Senator said that I was in the race [just] to take away votes from him. Well, where? In Center City -- where Larry Farnese ran and almost beat Babette Josephs? In the progressive 30th ward and 2nd ward? In South Philadelphia, where Larry Farnese is a very respected name? My uncle Ben was the principal of South Philly High. We have strong name recognition throughout this entire district. more...

Fumo Lobbying for Farnese; Doubts About Voting Systems

Both the Daily News and the Inquirer report today that State Sen. Vince Fumo has begun lobbying hard to get Larry Farnese elected to succeed him as senator in the district that includes Center City and much of South Philadelphia. Bob Warner in the Daily News reports that Fumo has been talking with local ward leaders; Joseph Gambardello in the Inky says Fumo has been pitching Farnese to other legislators. "If the Senator wants to support my campaign in any way, I'll treat him in way I treat any other supporter," Farnese told Warner. The Farnese campaign this week said it received endorsements and a pledge of $250,000 from 13 Democratic Senators considered close to Fumo, Warner reports. That seems a lot better than displaying a bumper sticker like any other supporter.

Rep. Babette Josephs of the House State Government Committee is not quite sure that Pennsylvania's voting systems will be able to flawlessly handle all the extra voting business they get on April 22, when a record turnout is possible, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I do not have 100 percent confidence," Josephs said. "Her chief concern is whether up to 170,000 new voters, most of them Democrats, would be allowed to vote if they show up without ID or report to the wrong polling place. She's worried about availability of provisional ballots, voting machines working and whether results will be counted properly in Republican-controlled counties with Democratic-majority cities."

Meanwhile, the Bucks County Courier Times reports today on mix-ups with absentee ballots for voters who have changed their party affiliations. Again the snafu is attributed to the extraordinary interest in the April 22 primary.

Candidates Debate at the Y

The four candidates for the Pennsylvania Senate seat being vacated by Vincent Fumo spoke last night at the Gershman Y on Broad Street in a forum sponsored by the Crosstown Coalition of Civic Associations. TV newsman Steve Highsmith moderated, asking questions to each candidate for the 1st District Senate seat on a range of issues and then reading questions submitted by the audience of 100 or so, from a stack of index cards.

Highsmith opened by asking each candidate whether he or she favored limits on campaign contributions. Jack Morley, Jr., the lone Republican candidate for the seat, was the only one to say no outright. The three Democrats -- John Dougherty, Anne Dicker and Larry Farnese -- all said in principle they favor limits, but not for this particular race.

On casinos, Dicker was the only candidate to oppose them completely. Farnese, a Center City lawyer, said he was "not 100 percent against" the casinos but would "fight to re-site" them and work for compliance with community needs if that effort fails. Dougherty, head of the electricians' union, said that he would only favor the casinos in their proposed waterfront locations if the neighborhoods were to approve. Morley said he fought against gambling when the state was working to legalize it several years ago ("casinos make weak people weaker," he said) but insisted that now it's too late to change what the casinos are planning.

"The time to oppose gambling was in 2003," he said. "It's time to support the developers."

Highsmith asked about the South Street Bridge and tort reform and universal healthcare (Dicker says it can be done, Farnese favors cutting out insurance companies, Dougherty says he would support it, and Morley says state taxes would increase too much to if we try to insure everyone). Only Dicker said she would support a gasoline tax; only Morley said he would oppose new gun laws.

Morley is a fire-protection contractor by trade, and his introduction to government came in the 1990s when he lobbied the state to create better building codes. In introducing himself, he said he favors "limited government, free markets and personal responsibility" and is "pro-choice and pro-environment." Morley was the only candidate to bring a prop -- a hardbound copy of the Pennsylvania legal code. On a couple of occasions he opened to pages he had marked with little yellow stickies and read passages aloud to point out that we already have existing laws governing certain things (such as guns) and don't need new ones. Morley, who in November will face the winner of the April 22 Democratic primary, said he is best positioned to bring back to the district the kind of generous funding that Fumo did, because Morley would be joining a Republican majority in the senate.

Any of the four candidates will go to Harrisburg as a first-term legislator. But Dougherty seemed especially eager to build the impression that he already is the State Senator. His campaign staff handed out flyers detailing civic projects he has helped foster within the district (mostly due to his leadership of the electricians' union) such as helping to keep Boathouse Row lit up. He said he had "spent the morning with Barack Obama" (Obama had addressed a union meeting in Center City) and said his experience combined with the clout of the district itself "will allow me not to be a freshman senator" in Harrisburg.

Dougherty also got off the funniest line. When Highsmith asked if candidates would support a ban on using cell phones while driving, they all answered yes. Answering last, Dougherty said "yes -- but I'll have to start walking."

New Polling Data in 1st Senate; Farnese Ad Goes Negative

The Inquirer's "Heard in the Hall" blog reports on new polling data for the 1st Senate district election race, just released by the John Dougherty campaign. The poll, taken March 25-26, shows Dougherty leading among voters who have decided on a candidate, at 31 percent. Activist Anne Dicker is at 18 percent and attorney Larry Farnese at 14. A February poll had Sen. Vincent Fumo at 28 percent before he decided not to run for re-election, the HITH item adds. Still out in front is "undecided" at 37 percent.

The Daily News reports that Farnese is preparing to run a new commercial that "links [John] Dougherty to a pending federal investigation and notes that his union has been cited repeatedly for violating federal labor laws." As Bob Warner describes it, the ad begins with sunshine and children and dissolves into a collage of headlines about federal investigations. (We'll post a link to the ad here when it is available; the policy on this nonpartisan blog is to post links to available media from all candidates.) According to the Daily News, "Dougherty refused to comment on the advertisement, and [spokesman Brian] Hickey said the campaign would not be 'dragged down' into discussing the specifics."

"Endorsements Pile Up" in 1st Senate

The endorsements are piling high, according to a new story in The Bulletin. The Anne Dicker campaign has announced receipt of an endorsement from Democracy for America, a political action committee chaired by Jim Dean, brother of Howard Dean. The Bulletin article says: "Brian Hickey, campaign manager for [John] Dougherty, said he's not concerned about the Dicker endorsement. 'We have a litany of endorsements' he said, naming the 130 labor organizations in the city including the Fraternal Order of Police." That must have been a long phone call!

The Daily News reports that city and state officials asked a federal judge yesterday to throw out a lawsuit brought by a political-action committee for Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The suit was filed to stop disclosure of the details of $2.4 million that the union "spent on politics" last year.
"A provision of state election law requires political-action committees to keep detailed records of any expenditures over $25 and make them available to anyone upon request," the story by Bob Warner says. "But...the union PAC filed a federal lawsuit in February contending that the disclosure requirement is unconstitutionally broad, a violation of its First Amendment right to free speech. Local 98's business manager, John Dougherty, is a candidate for state senate.

The Assoiciated Press, here by way of the Morning Call, reports today on the latest news about proposed changes to Pennsylvania's casino laws.

Just in: Jonathan Ramos, a Philadelphia police officer and candidate for State Rep. in the 180th district, announced that he has a new Web site. And here it is: http://www.ramosforpa180.com/. Ramos has the FOP's endorsement too.

Weekend roundup: Dougherty's Friend; New Ferrick column on the 179th district race

On Saturday, the Inquirer I-team of John Shiffman, Craig R. McCoy and Nancy Phillips explored the case against Donald "Gus" Dougherty, a South Philly electrical contractor who is expected to plead guilty to 98 of 100 tax and theft charges against him -- but not to the two counts that he made illegal payments to union leader and State Senate candidate John Dougherty (a friend, but no relation).

An Associated Press story that ran Saturday in The Centre Daily Times and other papers statewide looks at the delicate balance of power in the legislature in Harrisburg . Republicans control the state Senate, 29-21, "a margin large enough to make it likely they will retain control this year," the story says. "But in the House things are much more volatile, and both parties began recruiting candidates months ago. Democratic strategists are targeting districts in the Philadelphia suburbs for potential pickups..."

Check out the new column by Tom Ferrick -- a Committee of 70 Web exclusive -- explaining the challenges State Rep. Tony Payton has faced as he seeks re-election in the 179th.

Fumo's Still Smokin'

In today's Inquirer, Kristen Graham follows outgoing 1st District State Senator Vince Fumo to a meeting with constituents at the Central South Philadelphia Civic Association Alliance -- and reveals that the people still love their man.

The Young Philly Politics blog gives some background about Pennsylvania's closed primary system and why independent voters who didn't register with a party by Monday will not be able to vote in the April 22 primary.

Payton in Place; CityPaper visits neighborhoods politics forgot

The Northeast Times reports State Rep. Tony Payton will remain on the ballot in the 179th Legislative District, surviving a challenge to the validity of signatures he submitted to be eligible to run. Payton submitted 1,361 signatures in favor of his candidacy. Judge Doris Smith-Ribner validated 386 of them, Tom Waring reports. That's a .284 batting average. His fans have to hope he can hit for power.

Tom Namako has begun a multipart series in the Philly CityPaper called "Politics Lost," looking at downtrodden city neighborhoods where the politicians don't bother campaigning. This week it's West Philly's Carroll Park.

New Endorsements for Dougherty, Farnese

John Dougherty has received another labor endorsement in his bid for the State Senate seat in the 1st District, this one from the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police, according to the Inquirer. The FOP represents 14,000 active and retired Philadelphia police officers, Sam Wood reports.

Earlier, papers reported on endorsements by the Liberty City LesBiGay Trans Democratic Club. The group has endorsed Larry Farnese for 1st Senate. Its other picks, as reported in the Daily News and Inquirer, are: Hillary Clinton for president; Rob McCord, state treasurer; and for state rep: in the 163rd, Kevin Lee; 179th, Tony Payton Jr.; 181st, W. Curtis Thomas; 182nd, Babette Josephs; 186th, Kenyatta Johnson; 190th, Vanessa Brown; 198th, Byron Davis.

The Farnese campaign says it's hosting a fundraiser tonight: “Not Your Daddy’s Fundraiser,” from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Pearl Restaurant on Chestnut Street. More info at the candidate's site, larryfarnese.com

Campaign HQ Break-In, New Dicker Ad, Democratic Registrations Surge

Holy Watergate! Police are investigating a weekend break-in at the Arts of the Avenue gallery in South Philadelphia, where Christian DiCicco, a candidate in the 184th PA House district, recently opened his campaign office, reports Bob Warner in the Daily News. Eight paintings and a leather couch were slashed, phone wires were cut , and campaign documents were gone, the story says.

DiCicco is running against State Rep. Bill Keller. Gallery owner Jim Gallo said he'd received threatening phone calls from Keller supporters. DiCicco thinks the John Dougherty campaign is behind it, according to an Inquirer report by Marcia Gelbart. "The 184th District race is viewed as the latest battle between Dougherty, who supports Keller, and State Sen. Vincent Fumo, a DiCicco ally who is vacating the [1st PA Senate District] seat that Dougherty is pursuing," Gelbart writes. The Johnny Doc campaign says the charge is untrue.

* * *

The Anne Dicker campaign for the 1st Senate District has begun running a new ad on cable TV and YouTube. And here it is:



In the interest of equal time, here are existing videos from Dicker's rivals, Larry Farnese:



and John Dougherty:


Voter Registration Time Has Left the Building: Some interesting numbers in an Inquirer story today about the surge of voter registrations in PA, most of which have been Democratic. From March 10-17, 14,256 out of 19,639 new voters signed up as Dems. An even higher number -- 29,060 people -- switched to Democrat (at least for the time being). Apparently everybody wants a piece of the Democratic presidential primary.

Registration Day, Fumo's "Shadow," & Casino Campaigning

Spring is in the air! The breeze off the Delaware is warming up, and another early start to Daylight Savings Time has settled in nicely. The Major League Baseball season for some reason begins tomorrow morning at 6:05 a.m. with a game in Japan.

And today is the last day to register to vote in the April 22 state primary. If you're not already registered, you need to get this form postmarked by today. If you want to vote in the race between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, or hotly contested local Democratic races, you need to be registered as a Democrat.

It's a tough bet whether the proposed Philadelphia riverfront casinos will be a make-or-break issue for Democratic candidates looking to replace Vincent Fumo in the 1st Senatorial District. In today's Daily News, Chris Brennan runs down what they have to say about it.

In the Inquirer, Joseph A. Gambardello asks candidate Larry Farnese to respond to suggestions that he may be a surrogate in the election for the departed Fumo. Fumo allies including City Councilmen Frank DiCicco and James Kenney are backing Farnese, and the article says "it's well known that Fumo and Farnese's families are connected" (to each other). Farnese says, "I am my own man, and that's the way it's going to be."

In the presidential race, Clinton campaigned in Blue Bell today, then spoke at Penn, where the Inquirer's Larry Eichel live-blogged her speech. Tom Infield looks at "The Last Time a Pa. Primary Mattered." Obama is taking a short vacation out of the country. He's not in Australia, though maybe he ought to stop by for a pep rally. One newspaper columnist down there today says: "Barack Obama is a rock-star combination of Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King jnr, peppered with hints of Superman and Denzel Washington and with the faintest whiff of Jimmy Stewart in Mr Smith Goes to Washington. "

Weekend Roundup: Fumo Name Off Ballot; is PA Really OH?

Happy Easter.

It's 30 Days until the PA Primary, and almost everything remains up for grabs. Monday is the last day to register to vote in the April 22 primary. This form must be postmarked by tomorrow. It's a hectic deadline, yes. But that's why they call it March Madness, baby.

The latest news...

Vincent Fumo is officially off the April 22 ballot for State Senate, report Dave Davies in the Daily News and Joseph Gambardello in the Inquirer. That seems to make sense -- now that Fumo isn't running and all (Ferrick's analysis).

This ballot deletion has absolutely nothing to do with the PA voter registration web site that the state has shut down due to security glitches that potentially exposed individuals' personal information, as Angela Couloumbis reports in the Inky.

Meanwhile, in the ongoing postmortem of Fumo's political career, Ben Waxman at The Next Mayor blog asks what (if anything) was so special about all the money Fumo was able to bring to Philadelphia from Harrisburg.

Catching up on the 179th PA House race, it looks like incumbent Tony Payton has survived a challenge to his nominating petitions and will remain on the ballot.

In the race for president:

Sasha Issenberg in today's Boston Globe examines work by the Barack Obama campaign to register voters in Philadelphia and keep the popular vote in PA close.

"Obama's campaign has given every indication that he does not expect to win the most delegates when Pennsylvania votes on April 22, due to an overwhelmingly white, working-class electorate that has already given Hillary Clinton a sizable lead in some polls," Issenberg writes. But they do want to prevent Clinton from catching up in popular votes nationally. Obama is getting around. After his speech at the Constitution Center, he filmed a campaign ad at the West Avenue Grille in Jenkintown, as we learn in Gar Joseph's Daily News Clout column (second item).

At Politico.com, former Inquirer political writer Carrie Budoff Brown has a piece this weekend ("Dynasty: Not a dirty word in Pennsylvania") pointing out how much Pennsylvanians seem to like politicians who are related to past politicians. There's a picture of Hillary Clinton smiling about that. "Familiarity does not breed contempt is this state," Budoff Brown writes.

In "A Review of the Pennsylvania Primary" over at RealClearPolitics.com, Jay Cost pulls out some fancy, higher-level mathematics -- including regression analysis -- to analyze the demographics that may drive the Democratic presidential primary. It may all boil down to this simple formula:

Clinton's Margin of Victory (Or Defeat) In a County = Baseline + Median White Income in County + Percentage of African Americans in County + Percentage of Residents Aged 20-24 in County + Unaccounted for "Error"

Or not.

Cost, who authors The Horse Race Blog, says the numbers suggest "it reasonable to favor Clinton in Pennsylvania." Some data seem to suggest "Clinton should do roughly as well as she did in Ohio," Cost writes. But he acknowledges the differences --and refers to a recent Politico.com piece by Joel Kotkin suggesting PA is no OH.