U.S. East- Open Discussion

6 Comments

1. 

   BooMan on February 25, 2008 at 1:45 pm

   If you are looking for a worthy cause, check out Anne Dicker.

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     anna in philly on February 27, 2008 at 10:16 am

     what do you think of larry farnese entering that race?

2. 

   BooMan on March 8, 2008 at 2:43 pm

   Eric Massa will have to beat an incumbent.

3. 

   BooMan on March 12, 2008 at 8:53 pm

   State Sen. Vincent Fumo, one of the longest serving and most powerful lawmakers in Pennsylvania, announced Wednesday he will not run for re-election because federal corruption charges have left “a cloud hanging over my head.”

   Fumo, 64, is also recovering from a recent heart attack but said that was not the reason he will retire at the end of the year, when his term ends.

   “I did not make this decision to retire because of health issues,” Fumo said. “I simply do not think it’s right to ask the voters to vote for me while there is a cloud hanging over my head.”

   Fumo faces trial in September on charges that he defrauded the state Senate, a seaport museum and a nonprofit by using their staff and assets for his personal and political needs.

   In office for 30 years, Fumo said Wednesday he is finishing his term “at Governor Rendell’s insistence.”

   Gov. Ed Rendell, who attended Fumo’s news conference at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, praised the senator’s long life in public service.

   “We’re all complex people. No one is 100 percent good and no one is 100 percent bad,” Rendell said. “The balance tips greatly toward the great work Vince Fumo has done.”

   Three other Democratic candidates remain on the ballot for the April 22 primary: union leader John Dougherty, community activist Anne Dicker and lawyer Larry Farnese.

   link

4. 

   BooMan on March 13, 2008 at 3:49 pm

   PHILADELPHIA – A leading black clergy group endorsed Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday in his hard-fought bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

   The Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity voted overwhelmingly to endorse Obama in his race against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

   “The folks in our churches are overwhelmingly supporting Barack Obama,” said the Rev. Ellis I. Washington, the group’s president. “We can do no less.”

   The group’s support transcends racial lines, he said.

   “Obviously, we’re proud of him as an African-American leader,” Washington said. “We (also) feel there’s a depth, a quality to his leadership that’s just exciting to us.”

   Washington cited Obama’s appeal to young voters and his status as a man of faith in making the endorsement. The organization represents about 200 churches in the Philadelphia area.

   Bill Clinton was a popular figure in Philadelphia’s black community during his presidency, but the group had no problem supporting Obama over Hillary Clinton.

   “There’s maybe a sense of … that was then and this is now,” Washington said.

   link

5. 

   BooMan on March 20, 2008 at 1:04 pm

   Another New York retirement.