Johnny Doc... what a crock

I've been following my state senate race very closely this spring, and I'm still crossing my fingers that Progressive Anne Dicker (right) can beat out the well-funded, ethically challenged John Dougherty and the outgoing Sen. Vince Fumo's hand-picked successor, Larry Farnese, a week from this Tuesday.

This morning, Philadelphia Inky columnist Monica Yant Kinney had some interesting things to say about Johnny Doc in her column:

It's 2005. You earn $175,000 that year and decide to renovate your home.

Do you (a) rent a place for the duration of the messy six-month project or (b) live for free at a luxury waterfront apartment building owned by a prominent developer?

John Dougherty chose b.

Personally, if I wore as many hats as Dougherty does and wanted to hold office, I'd jump into the Delaware before taking a gift like that.

Dougherty, business manager for Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Democratic candidate for the First District's state Senate seat, seems to have no problem with sweet deals that to voters may taste sour.

In 2003, according to federal authorities, he bought a North Wildwood condo from an electrician pal for $24,000 less than what you or I would have had to pay because he could, never mind that the law forbids contractors from plying union leaders with gifts.

Investigators are also concerned whether, a year later, the same contractor did work gratis on Dougherty's home in South Philly.

Now we learn that during the renovation, developer Peter DePaul gave Dougherty a key to a $3,000-a-month unit in the Dockside Luxury Apartments.

Inside the complex - which resembles a cruise ship and boasts of offering "a sea of amenities" - Dougherty had granite counter tops, a private terrace, and the use of an indoor pool.

This was a freebie, Dougherty freely acknowledged. Now if it was only clear why he had taken it in the first place.

This is one in a seemingly endless examples of why Dougherty should be shown the door, not given the keys to the First District's state Senate seat. I've said it many times, and it certainly bears repeating - Dougherty represents the sleaziness and questionable ethics that have stained Vince Fumo's tenure in the state Senate. In order to move forward, I really do hope and pray that voters send Dicker to the fall election with a primary victory, not Farnese or (heaven forbid) Johnny Dougherty.

There seems to be a good amount of money to throw around (and away) on the part of Farnese and Dougherty - in the past few weeks, I've gotten more mail fliers from these two than Publisher's Clearing House. I don't mind receiving it, because we are already casting our votes for Dicker, so they're simply wasting their money.

Probably my favorite piece of direct mail came from Larry Farnese, boasting about how when his father got cancer, he successfully fought his dad's HMO about one thing or another. Hmm - that's a pretty honorable thing to do - using your father's cancer on campaign literature. I guess it didn't occur to his campaign handlers to include a picture of Farnese helping an old lady across the street.

The irony isn't lost on me that Farnese has gained the support of the Liberty City Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club, either. Farnese and Dicker both support gay marriage, so I give Farnese credit for that, but I'm unsure why Farnese has otherwise received the club's support.

Dicker, open bisexual, has amazingly been derided by some critics as making that fact public for political reasons. I guess I must be living in an alternate universe, because I must have missed the political development when it became political advantageous to be anything other than straight, in Philadelphia or any other city. My guess is that Dicker did it for two reasons - so her opponents couldn't dig up that dirt on her, and to indicate to voters of all sexual orientations that she can appreciate some of the issues they face today. In one of the Philadelphia weeklies that one of the leaders of a Philadelphia gay group slammed Dicker for never having been a member or being vocal about her sexual orientation before running for the state Senate. In a word - preposterous. I'm a straight man, so perhaps I cannot totally appreciate what gays go through, but since when is anyone who is gay obligated to be actively involved in gay community groups? Just a thought.

Anyway, I urge all Democratic voters in Philadelphia's First District to cast their vote for Dicker. She has received a very high number of endorsements, including The Philadelphia Inquirer. Drop by her Website to find out more.

You can print out Dicker window signs like the one at left, too - I have two on my car.

Get a color sign Here (PDF for download).

Get a black and white sign Here (PDF for download).

Dicker appeared on WHYY's Radio Times to debate Farnese and Dougherty last week. Clearly, she was on her A-game, while Dougherty and Farnese didn't sound as good to me. Click Here to listen to the debate.

In fairness, I liked several things about all of the candidates, and it's safe to say that whomever wins the April 22 Democratic primary, I will vote for in November (although I'd hold my nose voting for Dougherty).

It's little wonder that Dougherty only wanted to spend a half hour on the show, because he virtually spent the entire half hour of the debate on the defensive, and he has a lot to answer for. Scheduling conflict my ass. I find it OUTRAGEOUS that Dougherty wants to remain on in his post with IBEW Local 98. Dicker was spot on when she said she doesn't believe that IBEW Local 98 deserves its own Senate seat. It does not, and it had ought to be a much bigger campaign issue than it is been thus far.

Another thing I love about Dicker is that she is vehemently anti-casino, as the founder of Casino Free Philadelphia. Good on her, because I firmly believe that casinos are the last thing we need in Philadelphia.

Nine days to go 'til the primary, and we must support and elect smart, bright, determined and motivated Progressives like Anne Dicker. Please support her campaign with time or money - every little bit helps.

Philly casino buffer vote is in

The vote for the Philly Casino buffer zone is in, and it's a landslide - denizens of Philadelphia overwhelmingly voted in support of a 1,500' buffer zone from schools, churches and homes.

The final count:
13,319 "successful" votes were cast (meaning, they were identified as belonging to a registered voter in Philadelphia).

And of those, 12,592 voted for a 1,500-foot buffer between slots parlors and homes and neighborhoods. 727 opposed the buffer.

Most of the votes - 9,446 - were at the bright-red ballot boxes in the city.

The vote is not binding - the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court saw to that.

A bit of background on the casino issue, from Philly's Ballot Box Website:

In the final hours of the 2004 PA Legislative session, the Gaming Act was passed. Unlike most states that implement slots gambling, Pennsylvania did not give residents a chance to vote on whether they supported the expansion of gambling in our state.

The Gaming Act, also known as Act 71, included the possibility of two slots parlors in Philadelphia, but did not include any standards for how these mega-projects, which include 24/7 liquor licenses, free drinks, 5,000-car parking garages and 6 million visitors a year, could be developed. The PA Supreme Court upheld the right of Philadelphia to determine the siting and zoning controls of the proposed casinos in their 2005 decision.

Early this year, Casino-Free Philadelphia volunteers collected over 27,000 signatures, which encouraged the Philadelphia City Council to place the buffer-zone question on the May 15th ballot. The Council voted unanimously to place it on the ballot, including unanimously overriding Mayor John Street's veto. The City of Philadelphia began preparing for the election and printed up ballots that include Question # 1, giving Philadelphians the opportunity to set minimal standards for how slots gambling will be implemented in Philadelphia. This represents the only vote that any Pennsylvanian will get on the expansion of gambling in our state.

Then on Friday, April 13th, the PA Supreme Court placed a temporary injunction on Question #1 without any published rationale, causing confusion among voters and citizen groups.

Casino-Free Philadelphia created Philly's Ballot Box to organize a citizen-run election in the event that the Supreme Court permanently removes Question #1 from the City ballot.

Now, the question is, where does the city go from here? That won't likely be determined until the city gets a new mayor, which will either be Democrat Michael Nutter or Republican Al Taubenberger. At any rate, the casino issue will be a sticky one for the next mayor of Philadelphia.

For more information and for continuous updates on casinos in Philadelphia, go to Casino-Free Philadelphia.

No word yet on Philly casino ballot question

I feel more than a little guilty now about not being more involved in the mayoral primary this past Tuesday. I will be for sure this fall during the general election for mayor, as well as the Pennsylvania Presidential Primary next spring.

Anyway, thanks to my friend Lisa, I heard about this before going to the polls yesterday, and I e-mailed a few friends and blogged about this. A question about where casinos can be located was kicked off the ballot after a casino company filed suit, but that didn't stop people opposed to having casinos near our schools, homes and churches. A "write-in" campaign was waged, with many people stationed outside polling places, as well as a Website where Philly voters could go and vote.

Ballot #1 question read:
"Should the City of Philadelphia keep casino slots parlors 1,500 feet away from schools, residential neighborhoods, playgrounds, and places of worship?"

I voted online, (there wasn't a "Ballot #1 box" outside of my particular polling place) but many people were voting in the voting booth by pressing "Yes" over top of the sticker that read "Ballot question removed by court order."

The city is not only counting these rogue votes, but it's reporting them as well, and the results are encouraging.

With 96.25% 1618/1681 Precincts Completed, the tally is:
835 (69.93%) voted YES in favor of a 1500-foot buffer, and 359 (30.07%) voted NO.

The official announcement of the votes will take place on May 19 at 10 a.m. For more information, go to Casino-Free Philadelphia's Website. I urge all Philadelphians to take part in this effort. The last thing this city needs right now are casinos, and I don't care what the money that will be raised is going for. Casinos bring a whole lot of bad things with them, including increased crime, and the last thing this city needs right now is more crime.

Here's a pretty good video from Casino-Free Philly's Website. I got a kick out of it - it underscores the absurdity of the casino bosses and their PR efforts.

On balance, I've been more happy than unhappy with Governor Ed Rendell's administration, but he's got it all wrong with casinos, an idea he's been pimping since before he became governor. I have absolutely no proof to substantiate this, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's getting paid off in one way or another for bringing casinos to Pennsylvania.