March 30–April 6, 2000

city beat

General Malaise

AG face-off: Jim Eisenhower

Two Democrats are vying to be the next chief law enforcement officer in the state.

by Gwen Shaffer

The attorney general of Pennsylvania is not only the chief law enforcer in the state, he has significant potential to help shape legal policies. It is ironic, then, that most people can’t name Pennsylvania AG Mike Fisher — let alone either Democratic candidate vying for the chance to challenge him in November.

The few people following the campaigns run by Philadelphia attorney Jim Eisenhower and Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli say that much is at stake April 4. Both Democrats have spent much of their careers locking up the bad guys — each are experienced prosecutors — and, with the exception of a few issues, the political ideologies characterizing their candidacies are similar.

Morganelli and Eisenhower each support a woman’s right to abortion and believe in stronger gun control. Both support amending the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to include gays and lesbians, as well as protecting gays in hate crimes legislation.

The Pennsylvania AG’s office is responsible for much more than straight law enforcement. It can play a leading role in shaping the policies that effect our day-to-day lives — consumer issues, environmental protection and governmental corruption, to name just a smattering of them. State legislators often rely upon the AG for advice and legal interpretations.

Yet most voters are unaware of these responsibilities because the office of AG has been relatively obscure the last several years, says Joe Kohn.

Kohn mounted two unsuccessful campaigns for AG, first against Ernie Preate in 1992 and then against Fisher in 1996. He is now a partner with the Center City law firm Kohn, Swift & Graf.

“Attorney general is a very important office,” he says. “Unfortunately, in Pennsylvania it has been a dormant democracy.”

By contrast, Kohn notes, state AGs in New York, California and Texas are “much more at the forefront” of pressing issues. “Here, Fisher has played no role in the debate over gun control, and he didn’t get involved in the tobacco settlement until all the shouting had ended,” Kohn says.

Both Morganelli and Eisenhower promise to raise the public profile of the AG’s office. Morganelli proved last year that he is unafraid of tackling controversial issues, when he used his position as president of the state district attorneys’ association to sink the nomination of a federal court nominee deemed soft on crime. Frederica Massiah-Jackson, a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge, would have been the first African-American woman from this state appointed to the federal bench had she not come under attack.

Eisenhower is certainly no stranger to conflict, either. He used a fellowship to work for the National Security Council earlier in the Clinton administration. As a federal prosecutor for seven years, Eisenhower dealt with the challenges created by the global drug trade, international offenses and war crimes.

In the wake of widespread corruption in the Philadelphia Police Department, Eisenhower helped create a controversial civilian review board to monitor police behavior.

In spite of Morganelli’s more narrow realm of experience, Kohn believes he would make the better AG. Kohn characterizes him as a “leader” in Pennsylvania, pointing to his presidency with the state district attorneys’ association.

“As a Democrat, this is no small feat — considering that 50 of Pennsylvania’s 67 district attorneys are Republican, at any given time,” Kohn says.

Morganelli is both independent and hardworking, Kohn adds, and — more importantly, he stresses — independent. “The AG should not be beholden to any political establishment.”

With little separating the candidates in terms of ideology, Democratic voters are left with the choice of pulling the lever based on personality.

Neither candidate can afford television advertising and the race is below the radar screen for the vast majority of Pennsylvanians, says political analyst Terry Madonna.

	AG face-off: John Morganelli

This means voters recognize Morganelli and Eisenhower only as “caricatures” of what they actually represent.

“You sort of see Morganelli as plodding, methodically working his way up the ladder,” says Madonna, who teaches at Millersville University. “He is a solid, bedrock kind of guy who fits well into the community and reminds you of what you’d expect in a prosecutor.”

By contrast, Madonna describes Eisenhower as “the younger, dynamic former U.S. attorney” who put some of the world’s most sinister characters behind bars.

“To an extent, he comes from outside the political world,” Madonna adds.

Whether it is accurate or not, Morganelli has been positioned as the candidate in step with the more conservative wing of the Democratic party. His appeal seems to lie with the voter leaning toward U.S. Congressman Ron Klink as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Madonna says.

Eisenhower, now an attorney with Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads, is associated with the liberal wing of the party. He is likely to grab votes from the same Pennsylvanians supporting State Sen. Allyson Schwartz as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Madonna says.

The Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police so fervently opposes the nomination of Eisenhower that the powerful union decided this year to endorse in a Democratic primary for AG for the first time ever. Not surprisingly, the union strongly favors Morganelli.

Many FOP members abhor the Police Advisory Commission — the civilian review board that Eisenhower helped establish — which they contend serves only to “harass” officers. Cops also opposed the judicial nomination of Massiah-Jackson, whom they label as soft on crime.

“Eisenhower wants to turn the AG’s office from a tool for law enforcement into a weapon against it,” says FOP President Rich Costello.

But for every person who agrees with Costello, there is a voter who objects to Morganelli’s pro-death penalty stance. In fact, the local chapter of Americans for Democratic Action decision to endorse Eisenhower was influenced, in part, by Morganelli’s “extreme” support of capital punishment. Years ago, Morganelli sued former Gov. Robert Casey in an attempt to force him to sign a death warrant.

“And people who know Eisenhower personally think he is very capable,” says ADA President Bill Greenlee.

Philadelphia’s Liberty City Gay and Lesbian Club is working to elect Eisenhower as well.

“Morganelli doesn’t support domestic partnership benefits,” points out Tiffany Palmer, endorsement chair for the club. “And that could be a major issue for the attorney general, who could challenge House Bill 115.”

That legislation, signed into law last year, exempts state universities from complying with local domestic partnership ordinances.

No matter their political leanings, come April 4, all Democrats must agree with Costello on at least one point.

“This is a significant state office and yet people are losing interest,” he says. “It would be one thing if we were talking about the register of wills — but the AG should be a high-profile race.”