Guv Watch

Hustle Tussle

It’s amazing how the same folks who hurl slings and arrows for a living can be decidedly thin-skinned when those arrows sometimes backfire. The Jan. 18 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran an article outlining Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bob Casey Jr.’s criticism of a campaign ad by rival Ed Rendell as distorting Rendell’s military service record to reflect medals he never won. In the article, Casey spokesman Troy Colbert is quoted as saying that Rendell will "do this until someone calls him on it. It’s that same Philadelphia hustle that he’s going to try to shoot on the people of Pennsylvania."

Philadelphia City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown took exception to the "Philadelphia hustle" remark, and she fired off a missive to the Casey camp saying so. "As a Philadelphian, I find it disingenuous that your campaign team believes that you can be the governor for the entire state, yet allows your spokesperson to make derogatory statements about a city that is home to 1.5 million Pennsylvanians…. An apology to the citizens of Philadelphia for Mr. Colbert’s blatantly disrespectful remark would be appropriate and in order," Brown writes in the letter, dated March 5.

Contacted at her office Monday, Brown says she’s yet to receive that apology or any other acknowledgement of the matter from Casey’s handlers.

"Bob Casey is a nice man, but actions speak louder than words," Brown says. "A campaign has to be careful about insulting not necessarily their campaign opponent, but the region that opponent is from. I was a professional dancer, and I’ve never heard of the ‘Philadelphia hustle.’"

Colbert was insulted that he was even contacted for this article, and he says the story isn’t newsworthy. He also said no apology is forthcoming.

"It was never my intent to offend the councilwoman," Colbert says, exasperated. "My intention was to focus on what Rendell had done as mayor, not as a jab at Philadelphia. Rendell has been going around the state saying he turned the Philadelphia schools around, and that’s what should be insulting to the councilwoman."

And as far as answering Brown formally, Colbert says that’s not likely.

"I think when she sent her letter, she made her point. We got the point," he says. Apparently, he’s right on that one. Subsequent mailings and press releases from the Casey camp refer to the former mayor’s shenanigans as "the Rendell hustle," with Philadelphia left out.

Any of the Above

In light of Casey’s announcement last week that he’d chosen state Sen. Jack Wagner as his running mate, we wondered when Ed Rendell would be making his choice for lieutenant governor known. According to Rendell spokesman Dan Fee, he won’t. Ever.

"Our focus is on winning our race for the governor’s mansion, and we’re going to stay focused on that," Fee says. "We won’t be making a choice for lieutenant governor. We’ll let the people take care of that."

The lieutenant governor’s race is wholly separate from the race for governor, with each candidate running on his or her own. Fee says Rendell will be happy to work with whomever the people elect.

"There are quite a few highly qualified, quality candidates in that field," he says, "and Ed will be pleased to partner with the people’s eventual choice. We trust the people of Pennsylvania to pick the right candidate."