What About Bob?

Profiling Brady, now that he's officially on the ballot.

by Mary F. Patel


	print	email	reply	rss feed

Published: May 2, 2007

Now that he'll officially appear on the May 15 primary ballot, Bob Brady will be the last Democratic mayoral candidate to be profiled in this column.

Brady's opponent Tom Knox challenged Brady's financial disclosure form and the case went all the way to the state Supreme Court, which upheld the lower courts' decision in Brady's favor. Whether the uncertainty of Brady's candidacy hurt his fundraising abilities or level of support remains to be seen.

He has been endorsed by the Democratic City Committee, which translates to thousands of sample ballots at the polls and committee people pushing his name. Yet, there is the perception that Brady was pushed into running by the party faithful, just like he was pushed to run for Congress in 1998.

One good thing for Brady is that it is unlikely he will have to pay out street money to ward leaders to advance his position. As the longtime chairman of the city's Democrats, he is the face of the party and, every four years, consistently gets voted back by the 67 ward leaders. But will the party be able to carry him to City Hall?

Despite being in the federal House, Brady's power comes from his chairmanship. In that capacity, he is the biggest employment agency in the city for Democratic patronage. And he makes no bones about it. It is a fact that city jobs come through the majority party and the mayor, so watch Brady's influence if he pulls this election off.

Brady is affable and rolls with the punches. He settles union disputes and strikes and is called upon by other leaders to intervene as a prevailing cooler head. While he may succeed as a successful mediator, there is the question that his ability to direct and control the party is shaken.

In numerous past primaries Ã¢â‚¬â€ particularly in judicial elections Ã¢â‚¬â€ some ward leaders followed their own ballots and pocketed money from candidates. (Brady had no control over this.) Although the situation has eased a bit over the past several years, Democrats no longer follow party endorsements, as is obviously noted in this election.

Brady may not be the best at reactionary social policies, which may impede his ability to lead the city. As a go-to guy, he works, but there is no question that he will have to put a lot of bright people around him and not cronies who want jobs. But mayors gladly handing over plum administration positions to friends and associates are as old as the hills.

For example, Mayor John Street installed incompetent people in his regime while Gov. Ed Rendell surrounded himself with many of his buddies, but the difference between him and Street was that Rendell's friends were bright, not greedy.

Thanks to Street, this election is all about having a clean nose. That's why news editorial boards have been complaining that Brady is part of the problem.

While it's been this way for decades, it took several indictments and convictions in City Hall for anyone to pay attention.

As the Chairman, Brady is obligated to support lame, ineffective, status quo Democrats. That wouldn't be such a good thing if he were to be elected mayor, because the city does not need another John Street. But while the civic-minded citizens rally for a new dawn, consider this: the Democratic Party is a powerful machine that should not be underestimated under any circumstances.

Backing a Supreme

Republican lawyer George Bochetto hosted a fundraiser for state Supreme Court candidate C. Darnell Jones last week at his private bar in the basement of his Center City law firm, Bochetto's Very Well.

Attended by the firm's associates Scott P. Sigman and Stephen Skovron, insurance magnate Bill Graham and Ira Einhorn prosecutor Joel Rosen, the event was held to raise money and awareness for Jones' candidacy. Jones' day job is president judge of Common Pleas Court. Although well-known locally, he faces an uphill battle in his quest for one of two openings on the Supreme Court since the Democratic State Committee endorsed Superior Court Judges Seamus McCaffery and Debra Todd.

Jones has an interesting past with Bochetto's firm, as it was only last year that Bochetto and Sigman represented state House candidate Tony Payton in his court battle against Democratic primary challenger Emilio Vazquez for the seat in the 179th legislative district. The seat formally belonged to ghost voter state Rep. Bill Rieger, who mercifully was not seeking re-election.

Vazquez challenged Payton's petitions while Payton hired Bochetto to challenge Vazquez's financial statements. The election court ruled that Vazquez be removed from the ballot because Vazquez failed to report his income at the Philadelphia Parking Authority. Vazquez then mounted his own write-in campaign but 52 voters in the district wrote his name in the committee-person slot instead of the one for state representative. Jones heard the case and gave those votes to Vazquez since he thought voters meant to vote for Vazquez as state representative.

Payton appealed and the Commonwealth Court overruled Jones, handing the primary to Payton.

(rcpatel@aol.com)