Last weekend the Pennsylvania Society convened at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel for the annual year-end confab of politicians, lobbyists and lawyers.

Basking in the glow of his recent declaration that he intends to run for mayor next year, Sam Katz was in the spotlight as he made the rounds at various receptions on Friday night.

Katz stopped in at fellow Republican John Perzel's reception for Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor, who is considering running for attorney general in 2004.

(Perzel is now extremely popular with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community because he finally put an amendment to the Hate Crimes Bill on the legislative calendar last month. The new bill includes crimes against the LGBT community; it passed the House and Gov. Mark Schweiker signed it into law.)

The Perzel/Castor event drew a large number of Republicans, such as Sean Reilly -- former state director for U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum -- who is running for an at-large City Council seat next year.

The Delaware River Port Authority hosted its annual party. On the greeting committee was Manny Stamatakis, chairman of the board of directors for the Port, and Bernadine Munley, a Port commissioner and attorney at Ballard Spahr.

Joe Vignola, PICA board executive director, is considering a run for state treasurer in 2004 and James “Jamie” McDermott, the executive director of the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, had his first fundraiser last week. He is running for a GOP at-large Council seat.

The Port party was a popular stop for other 2004 Republican attorney general candidates.

Tom Corbett -- the interim attorney general after the indictment of former Attorney General Ernie Preate in 1995 -- made the scene, as did Joe Peters, who has left the Bush administration to explore a run. Peters was the assistant deputy director of state and local affairs in the National Drug Control policy office.

The late-night party for youngish professionals hosted by lobbyist David Urban, developer Gary Silvi and attorney Gregg Melinson was so hip that Melinson said he had to extend the open bar.

Governor-elect Ed Rendell was in New York Friday night and took his inner posse to see the Billy Joel-inspired Broadway musical Moving Out, followed by dinner and drinks at the Friars Club.

The annual Pennsylvania Manufacturing Association's meeting and luncheon at the Metropolitan Club, held on Saturday, had some competition. Marty Sellers and his lobbying firm, Triad Strategies, hosted seven state senators, including Vincent Hughes, to see the Broadway play Thoroughly Modern Millie. Hughes' very, very good friend, Sheryl Lee Ralph, plays Muzzy Van Hossmere, one of the show's two female leads. The group caught the matinee after lunch at B. Smith. Sellers is also a board member of OutFront, a legislative lobbying organization focusing on LGBT issues that was instrumental in drafting the legislation for the new amendment to the Hate Crimes Bill.

Saturday night, prior to the official Pennsylvania Society dinner, David Sweet and his firm, Pepper Hamilton, hosted a reception. Sweet was Rendell's campaign manager. Numerous Rendell transition team members attended, such as former City Solicitor Ken Trujillo and former Deputy City Representative of Arts and Culture Diane Dalto-Woosnam. Trujillo is the transition team's deputy general counsel and Dalto-Woosnam is a co-chair on the Arts and Culture transition committee.

The Buchanan Ingersoll reception was the last stop before the dinner. Pennsylvania Society Executive Director Carol Fitzgerald organizes the dinner. She is married to Common Pleas Trial Division Administrative Judge James Fitzgerald. Their daughter, Melissa Fitzgerald, plays the character Carol on The West Wing.

Lobbying firm S.R. Wojdak & Associates hosted a reception in honor of Rendell, who attended most functions with his wife, Third Circuit Court Judge Midge Rendell.

The Wojdak party brought out a lot of contenders, like Jim Eisenhower, a Democrat who plans to run again for attorney general, and Councilmen Thacher Longstreth, Frank Rizzo, Jim Kenney and Michael Nutter. All are running for re-election and when asked about any future plans as a mayoral candidate, Nutter said he was reviewing his situation. The mayor himself, John Street, was in full circulation, as was his son, Sharif.

The younger Street said he would devote next year to his father's re-election and then focus on his own rematch with state Rep. Frank Oliver.

The Sunoco party was also a scene. Jim Mulligan, of the Harrisburg office of the Obermayer law firm, said he is considering a run for auditor general in 2004. The current auditor general, Bob Casey Jr., who was also in attendance, may run for state treasurer.