Party Night

by Mary F. Patel

Election Day came and went with no surprises, as Barack Obama was elected president of the United States. By midnight, when John McCain conceded, masses of enthusiastic voters bombarded Broad Street in front of City Hall, blocking traffic for miles.

The Obama craze was rampant the night before in Rittenhouse Square at Twenty Manning, where owner Audrey Taichman hosted a pre-election night confab attended by Wolf Block Chairman Mark Alderman, who has raised his profile as Obama's state finance chair. Alderman backed Obama early on when the popular choice was Hillary Clinton.

Michael T. Regan THE FEELING: Obama supporters celebrate after the president-elect's speech at the two.one.five magazine election night party. (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Before the election was called, the day was slow.

The annual Famous Deli Election Day Lunch was not as crowded as it was in the primary, with only about a hundred or so showing up for the corned beef special. Inside, Gov. Ed Rendell and Charlie Breslin pored over turnout figures. Noticeably absent was state Sen. Vincent Fumo, and his entourage, who, as tradition dictates, take over the porch section of the deli. Fumo was presumably preoccupied with his federal corruption trial.

Select members of the gay and lesbian community, big Obama supporters, gathered at a dinner for Mel Heifetz at Knock, owned by Bill Wood. Heifetz celebrated his 73rd birthday that night and as a big donor for Obama, gave opening remarks to the guests, who included Common Pleas Court Judge Dan Anders, Stephen Glassman, Arthur Kaplan, Duane Perry and Thom Cardwell.

"We are celebrating an evolution and a revolution after eight years of suppression," said Heifetz.

While there were other parties around town, the hot ticket of the night was the victory party for Larry Farnese, who will succeed Fumo as state senator. The bash was held in the Rose Garden Ballroom at the Bellevue Park Hyatt Hotel and was the hub for hundreds of guests to gather, although it was no surprise that Farnese would beat his Republican challenger, John Morley.

Fumo attended this party and appeared to be having a wild time.

An eclectic mix of guests included Councilmen Jim Kenney and Frank DiCicco, Chuck Peruto and Scott P. Sigman.

As a newbie senator, Farnese will not have the same clout as Fumo did over the many decades he served — he'll be low on the food chain. In his speech, he emphasized that he would be independent. He was also noted in the November issue of Philly Mag as a hot single to watch, whatever that's supposed to mean.

Talk at the new senator's event revolved around the upcoming race for the next president judge of Common Pleas Court.

Former President Judge C. Darnell Jones was appointed to the federal bench by outgoing President George W. Bush.

In what promises to be a tight election to succeed Jones, two women are slugging it out. They are Judge Pamela Dembe, supervising judge in Criminal Court, and Judge Jacqueline Allen, who is a civil judge.

The president judge is elected by his or her peers in the Common Pleas Court. The position is considered prestigious because of various ceremonial duties.

In practical terms, the president judge is responsible for implementing local rules and assigning new judges to courts. The term is five years.

There are 93 judges total in Common Pleas Court and racial politics may play a role here, as Allen is black and Dembe is white. The election will take place Nov. 12 by secret ballot. Judge William Mazzola will tally the votes.

In other election matters, there was some action in Northeast Philadelphia, where Democrat Brendan Boyle trounced his Republican opponent, Matt Taubenberger, for a state House seat that currently belongs to State Rep. George Kenney, who is not seeking re-election. Taubenberger spent a lot of time knocking on doors in the neighborhood and was expected to pull it out, but the Democratic tide may have pulled Boyle over the edge.

Boyle also may have been helped by state Sen. Michael Stack, whose district covers the far Northeast. Stack had pulled out all the stops for Boyle.

No surprise that GOP state Rep. John Perzel crushed his Democratic opponent, Rich Costello. Northeast voters split their votes between parties, supporting Obama for president and Perzel in the district.

(rcpatel@aol.com)