Tom's Unholy Union?

Who's in bed with Knox?

by Mary F. Patel

	print	email	reply	rss feed

Published: Apr 24, 2007

Philly is a union town, so the labor community's endorsements for mayoral candidates carry much weight for next month's primary election. Two of the more powerful unions have chosen not to endorse: Local 98 Electricians Union and the AFL-CIO.

If the mayor's race were held two years ago, Local 98 Business Manager John Dougherty would have endorsed Bob Brady, hands down. But since Dougherty and Brady's public falling-out last winter, Dougherty has urged the union to make no endorsement. Or did he?

City Hall Republicans say that Local 98 political director Bob Henon has approached them to inquire about where he could find available space in the Northeast for May 15. The GOP sources, who have strong connections in their Northeast base, say Henon wants the space to accommodate 400 Local 98 workers who will use the facility as a staging area. And their candidate? Tom Knox.

GOP insiders surmise that since Knox is ahead in the polls and may win, Dougherty will want a piece of the action. (Henon was not available for comment by press time.)

Brady, also chair of the Democratic City Committee, and Dougherty, who served as party treasurer, had a feud when Brady surmised that Dougherty was trying to topple his power base by filling what he believed to be empty committeeperson seats with members of his own union.

While Dougherty argued that the party had never been in better financial shape, Brady said he was pressured by ward leaders to remove Dougherty from his post, which he gladly did. Dougherty never did run for mayor, and many believe that his ambitions were hampered when the feds raided his home last fall in a possible connection with their investigation of electrician Donald "Gus" Dougherty, no relation.

Not every union's keeping mum, though. Brady has been endorsed by several, including the Teamsters, while Chaka Fattah was just endorsed by the steelworkers local. Dwight Evans has also received his share of union support, including SEPTA workers, while Michael Nutter and Tom Knox have gotten none.

But if Local 98 does join his side, Knox will become a formidable force. Out of all the unions, Local 98 is the most glamorous. Local 98 boys wear shirts bearing the name of the candidate and stand around at polling places en mass. They line the streets where assigned and create a presence that is quite impressive, although when asked why they are supporting a candidate, they won't comment.

Gay News

Gay activist Dolph Goldenburg hosted a fundraiser in his South Philly home last Sunday afternoon for the gay and lesbian community in support of Democratic City Councilmen Frank DiCicco and Jim Kenney. Both have been longtime supporters of the community even when it went against the grain of City Council. Kenney recalled how he and DiCicco took a beating in their 1999 re-election bids for their support of domestic partnership legislation for same-sex couples in city government.

"The Catholic Standard & Times ran big ads asking readers not to vote for us," said Kenney.

Both were endorsed by Liberty City Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club, but the organization chose not to endorse any mayoral candidate. (Bad move, since it dilutes their efforts as a powerful entity and makes them look weak and indecisive.)

Kenney and DiCicco both said publicly they were endorsing Brady and denounced Knox as entirely unworthy, mainly because of all the personal money he is pouring into his campaign.

Kenney, who is running for re-election to his at-large seat, drew the number one ballot position, which is fortunate for him given the lengthy list of council at-large candidates.

DiCicco is in a primary rematch fight with Vern Anastasio.

Supporters there that afternoon felt that DiCicco and Kenney would be voted back in because of their records and not hurt by their alliance with the recently indicted state Sen. Vincent Fumo.

Also on the scene was Dan Anders, an openly gay judicial candidate running for a seat on Common Pleas Court until last week. That's when Gov. Ed Rendell appointed Anders to fill the seat of Common Pleas Court Judge Jim Fitzgerald, who was just confirmed by the Senate to a seat on the state Supreme Court. (In exchange, Anders said he withdrew his name from the primary ballot and will run for re-election in 2009 when Fitzgerald would have been up for retention. )

Anders credited Philadelphia Gay News Publisher Mark Segal for help in getting Rendell to select him. Anders still must be confirmed by the Senate.

(rcpatel@aol.com)

All reader comments are subject to our Terms of Use. By clicking Post Comment, you acknowledge that you have reviewed and agree to these Terms.

Name	please enter your name
Email (will not be published)	please enter a valid email
URL	please enter a valid url
Comment	please enter a comment
Enter the security code on the right in the textbox below.
Security Code	please enter the code
	Join the City Paper Mailing List

Labor Pains
The Bell Curve
Curbside Manner
Environment
Money for Nothing
Juan Ramos
Ask A Candidate
One of Those Days