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Making room for DiCicco
Submitted by Detorn on Wed, 02/27/2008 - 2:37pm.
Greetings neighbors,
I want to thank you all for your interest and support in the Draft James effort that several of my friends launched last year to encourage me to run for the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives. I was moved by the interest that was generated around the idea of me running. However, it is much to my regret that 2008 is not the right time for my candidacy.
Luckily, for all of us living in South Philadelphia’s 184th district, a candidate has come forward who can help us reclaim South Philadelphia. Christian Dicicco will be the next Representative for the 184th district, and I believe it is essential for all of us to help make this happen.
It is time to end the representation of South Philadelphia by a man who represents the interest of a small group of people, many of whom do not live in the area. Christian, like his father Councilman Frank Dicicco, will never forget where he comes from, and will never stop fighting for the people he represents.
Though I can not run this time around, I will do everything I can to fight for the people of South Philadelphia and to see that they are represented properly in City Hall, Harrisburg, and Washington D.C. We must fight to take back our neighborhood and send Christian Dicicco to Harrisburg with Senator Fumo, and re-elect Congressman Robert Brady to keep him fighting for us in Washington D.C.
This is an historic election year, but we can not lose sight of what is most important to us – this neighborhood. Tell your friends, family, and neighbors that this is the year we take back the White House, and we take back South Philadelphia.
God bless you all, and thank you again for the support.
James Stanley Smith
Democratic Committee Person 39A-40
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We must fight to take back
1. Who are you taking back your neighborhood from?
and
2. So would you describe a vote for Christian DiCicco as the same as a vote for Senator Fumo i.e. that Christian plans to follow in Fumo's footsteps in every way?
Just asking....
MrLuigi, are you a member of Local 98?
Just asking....
Nope. I've never had the
Nope. I've never had the opportunity to be a card-carrying member of any union as a mater of fact. It's absurd to label anyone who has a distaste for the stuff outlined in this document a member of Local 98. I saw signs of a similar sort of line being drawn in the original post and posed the question to draw the poster out a little for clarification.
Are you, Stephanie?
-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.
I asked because
you label Christian Dicicco as someone who will "follow in Fumo's footsteps in every way" when the original post had NOTHING to do with Vince Fumo and everything to do with who is running in the 184th district.
And, I also asked because a vote for the current incumbent, William Keller, is a vote for John Dougherty. And, a vote for John Perzel.
I'm not a South Philly native, but I now live there. From what I've seen so far, the lack of leadership is palpable throughout the district. We need new representation who can deliver real change on crime, schools, and job opportunities.
And Christian Dicicco, however peripherally related to Vince Fumo he might be, seems to be the real deal. I checked out his ADA questionnaire, http://www.phillyada.org/blog/?q=node/6, and I was impressed with his answers. His views are progressive, and he's someone I will be proud to vote for.
So to answer your question, no, I'm not a member of Local 98, and like you, I dislike their business and political practices. I don't particularly like Vince Fumo's, either. But I think that all candidates ought to be judged on their merits. And in this case, we have almost 20 years of a state representative who brings nothing of value to the district, versus a young liberal candidate who looks like he can fight for and stand up for the 184th district.
I agree every candidate
I agree every candidate should be judged on their own merits. As I said, I just noted something that piqued my curiosity in the phrasing of the original post and asked the original poster to clarify a little.
One other thing, Keller has been in Harrisburg for a number of years and has what I would call a "mixed" voting record as far as I am concerned. I read with interest, for example Ray's recent post about Keller being the only member of the Philly delegation not to cosponsor the GLBT anti-discrimination bill though I hear he has since become more active on the issue and embraced a much more progressive stance. I have heard however that Keller started his career as a Fumo-ally and I would be curious to hear an un-biased account of that political progression, if such a thing is possible.
Care to take a stab, Stephanie?
-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.
mixed?
"Keller has been in Harrisburg for a number of years and has what I would call a "mixed" voting record as far as I am concerned."
Keller has voted 80% against women's issues and 90% for NRA issues, yes that is very mixed.
Also, I'd like to make clear that I speak for neither the Fumo or DiCicco campaigns. That said, after 30 years in the State Senate and having brought back 8 billion dollars to this area, I can only hope that a vote for DiCicco is a vote for Fumo.
Can I ask Mr. Luigi, do you live in the 184th district?
James, if you don't want
James, if you don't want comments, then why post?
i dont mind
I didn't mind the comment, just wanted to clear up the confusion. I hope that it was clear that I was actually trying in engage in a conversation. If Mr. Luigi is from the 184, I wanted to let him know why his vote for Christian is so important.
I don't live in the 184th
I don't live in the 184th but I am pretty familiar with Christian.
Two questions:
1. Whose index and for what year is the Keller voting record based on? I don't doubt you I just was curious about a citation or a link. I guarantee you I am not shilling for Keller. This is one of those races where I would probably be with the third candidate if there was one.
2. If you were willing to take your own stab at explaining the history of Keller's political progression from Fumo-ally to Dougherty-ally.
-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.
yes and no...
My bad, I should have cited that and double checked before I posted. The NRA number is 80%, thats from http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=9164
That site has abortion voting as mixed, but overall he has a poor record. I will try to find the site where I originally found that information.
As for Doc/Keller and Fumo, all that goes back a lot further back than my entrance onto the seen, so I couldn't speak intelligently on any of it. My interest in the election has nothing to do with their feud, but Keller's actions as a representative of the neighborhood I've lived in all of my life.
I'll get back to you soon...
~James
Thanks for the link
Thanks for providing the link though when I look at it I could not seem to bring up any abortion information at all, perhaps I am not using the site correctly.
On the rest of Keller's voting record- it is not as bad as I expected form your comments. Consistant yes votes on increasing the minimum wage, consistant yes votes on the smoking ban, no on the Defense of Marriage Act, no on English as the Official Language, yes on considering mental retardation in murder cases, yes on Rendell's Clean Fuels and Energy Independence Act and other enviromental legislation. He did get get a B- from the NRA but also high 80's to 100 percent from the AFL-CIO.
Not a "progressive crusader" by any means but I would hardly describe him as "a vote for John Perzel" as he was described up thread. I'll stick with my original evaluation of "mixed".
-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.
James: I can explain the Keller-Fumo split
In the 2002 Democratic primary, the Senator was a strong supporter of Bob Casey for governor. Casey's opponent was Ed Rendell.
Keller was a Fumo ally who had a staffer named Bobby Mulgrew in his office. Although Mulgrew worked for Keller, he was on the payroll of the Senate Appropriations Committee (i.e. Fumo).
Mulgrew appeared at a political event wearing a Rendell campaign button, an act of disloyalty that embarrassed the Senator. Fumo fired him.
Keller was upset by this (I'm not sure if Vince checked with him before firing Mulgrew). Mulgrew was immediately hired by Johnny Doc's Local 98 and Keller became a high-profile defector in the Doc-Fumo war.
Christian DiCicco became executive director of the Citizens Alliance for Better Neighborhoods in 2006 (he'd been on the board) when longtime Fumo aide Ruth Arnao stepped down. The agency, the Senator and Arnao later got some bad publicity.
LOL Gar!
Laughing out loud in the future home of the IronPigs.
(There's a lot to laugh about this year, isn't there?)