While Governor-elect Ed Rendell hashes out issues with his transition team, there are other more pressing state matters to attend to.

The inaugural ball is a major social event, an all-day party that begins with the governor's swearing-in ceremony and ends with the big ball at night.

Penny Lee is the CEO of the inaugural festivities. She was Rendell's executive director during his gubernatorial campaign, and worked with him in Washington when he was chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Forget the rest of the transition team. Lee has the most important job at this point in time.

All of the details have not yet been worked out, but the basic concept is there.

The day's events will take place in Harrisburg. Rendell will be sworn in at noon on Jan. 21 outside the Capitol Building. The swearing-in will be followed by a big parade. All afternoon, Rendell will host an open house in the governor's mansion. Although this is not an official state holiday, there is no legislative action that day and state workers are asked to stay home so their parking spaces can be utilized by the guests.

That evening, the inaugural ball will take place. Usually the ball also serves as a fundraiser for the governor. In this case it will be not be a pricy event, but will be considered the official ball.

"Ed wants this to be the people's ball," said Lee. She said the proposed amount for tickets is $100.

"There has been such national interest in the governor's race that thousands of people could be attending," said Lee.

In the past, other governor's inaugural balls were held at the Milton Hershey School in nearby Dauphin County. The school has a large rotunda suitable for such an occasion but in this case, that is not enough space.

Lee said she is working out the logistics of the ball and a space should be confirmed shortly.

For those who are interested in attending the inaugural festivities, the two closest hotels to the Capitol are the Harrisburg Hilton and the Crown Plaza.

In Charge of At-Large

The city’s Republican leadership, primarily Michael Meehan and Vito Canuso, have their hands full lately with the amount of GOPs that are eyeing at-large seats next year.

Interest stems from speculation about whether 82-year-old Thacher Longstreth, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, intends to seek another term. Longstreth has also been the topic of conversation regarding his highly publicized divorce from longtime wife, Nancy, and engagement to his chief of staff, Melanie Hopkins. So far, Longstreth plans to run, although he has not officially announced this news.

Currently, Longstreth and Frank Rizzo Jr. hold two of the seven at-large seats.

Since the Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans, they always win five seats and the Republicans gain their two seats by a City Charter-mandated default. The Republican Party usually supports the two incumbents and also endorses five others to run, even though only two ever get elected.

Some names that have surfaced as potential candidates include: James “Jamie” McDermott Jr., Joe McColgan, Jack Kelly, Charlie Dougherty, Karen Chizek and Sean Reilly.

He is serious about running and wants to formulate a platform on issues as well as a solid GOP voter base to get him through the primary. After the primary, Oh said he intends to tap into the Democrats, a tactic that worked for Rizzo when he ran in 1995 and beat Joan Specter.

But before he gets technical, Oh has decided to set up a committee, the Committee of Friends for David Oh, to explore the feasibility of his candidacy.

Ibrahim, also a Republican, considered running against District Attorney Lynne Abraham in 1997. He dropped out after the party endorsed Jack McMahon.

Well-connected in the Latino community, Ibrahim has just been nominated by President George Bush as a sub-Cabinet member in the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. He now awaits Senate confirmation.

Ibrahim said that Oh's campaign will be up and running, if all works out with the Committee of Friends.

"I am not looking to be the Asian-American candidate," he said. "Not to dismiss that vote, because I am already known in the community. But I prefer that people look at me for my issues."

Oh said he will be focusing on economic development in the city and tax reform just to name a few. He stressed that he is not concerned about whether Longstreth decides to run again. "I suspect that if he does, a lot of people will not run," he said.

Oh speculated that he will need at least $300,000 for an effective citywide campaign.