October 28-November 3, 2004

political notebook

by Mary F. Patel

A Perfect Swarm

The city will be teeming with lawyers on Election Day. Affiliated with both parties, they'll be on the lookout for any funny business at the polls. Among the hundreds of lawyers volunteering their time is Lawrence Farnese, a trial attorney with the firm Klett, Rooney, Lieber & Schorling.

"We will be addressing concerns such as voter access and unauthorized people in the polling area," explained Farnese, who expects a big turnout.

Connected by a network of cell phones and walkie-talkies, they'll be riding herd to, among other things, make sure people don't try to illegally hand out campaign literature inside polling places.

"We want to make sure that everyone who is registered to vote will be able to and that this election won't turn out like the last presidential election in Florida," said Farnese, referring to the 2000 Florida fiasco in which many minority voters were disenfranchised. "If a voter can't get in the polling place or is turned away for whatever reason, then we will go to that poll to assist."

Farnese, a Democrat, who will be working with the Democratic City Committee, said the lawyers will help voters get to election court if needed. (Makeshift courts will be set up around the city to deal with any problems.)

If anybody encounters any challenge to their ability to cast a vote, they should contact the election officials at their polling place who can get them in touch with the proper help.

More Legal, Less Action

John "Jack" Morley, the Republican who is challenging Democratic incumbent state Sen. Vincent Fumo in next week's election, has had some rough days in federal court.

Morley filed a mandamus complaint against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and WPHT-AM 1210 alleging that they violated the equal time and fairness doctrine. That stemmed from a recent Michael Smerconish show on which Fumo got an unrebutted hour of airtime to talk about the controversies surrounding his community nonprofit Citizen's Alliance and PECO Energy, as well as his use of a yacht owned by the Independence Seaport Museum. Morley also complained that Fumo got 11 minutes on the Oct. 19 show to discuss his use of a gay slur on the Senate floor. The crux of the argument was that since Fumo's airtime didn't qualify as a newscast, Morley should get the same amount of time.

Senior U.S. District Judge John P. Fullam dismissed Morley's claims, saying the matter was out of his jurisdiction and that Morley had not exhausted all administrative remedies before requesting a hearing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Gugin successfully represented the FCC.

Actually, Fullam tossed out the Citizen's Alliance hour controversy back in March since it was before the primary election and Morley ran unopposed in his party. It was the Oct. 19 time that was up for discussion last Tuesday. To that end, Fullam asked the station if would voluntarily give Morley his 11 minutes. After Gayle Sproul, attorney for WPHT, said her client would not agree to do so, Fullam dismissed the case.

Morley, who represented himself, said he intends to appeal to the Third Circuit Court and hoped he could get a hearing scheduled before Election Day.

Prognostication

Here's one woman's take on how the elections will shake out: Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry will win the state.

Incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter will beat Democratic challenger U.S. Rep. Joe Hoeffel. Though Hoeffel's a nice guy, he has little name recognition outside of the immediate counties.

Democrat Allyson Schwartz will defeat Republican Melissa Brown because she has more money, friends in high places and is a better campaigner.

The unconquerable U.S. Representatives Bob Brady and Chaka Fattah, Democrats both, will sail to re-election, as will all the incumbent state senators and house members, Democrat and Republican alike.

For attorney general, it will be Tom Corbett, the Republican from the western part of the state. His Democratic challenger, Jim Eisenhower, is from Philadelphia, and no one in the rest of the state will elect anyone from Philadelphia—with the exception of Ed Rendell.

Bob Casey Jr. can transfer all his people over from his office at the Auditor General to the Treasury. His Republican opponent, Craige Pepper, knows her stuff, but no one knows who she is.

Democrat Jack Wagner will succeed Casey, beating Republican Joe Peters because he has a strong showing in the western part of the state and more name recognition.