News Stories

June 16, 2008
Philadelphia Daily News
Stu Bykofsky: Comedy, charity & public servants who hold back
By Stu Bykofsky
Philadelphia Daily News

Daily News Columnist

A JOKE I like:

I was depressed last night so I called the Suicide Lifeline.

I got connected to a call center in Pakistan.

I told them I was suicidal.

They got all excited and asked if I could drive a truck.

You might hear that, or possibly something more ribald, from me Tuesday, Aug. 19, at the 18th Annual Stu Bykofsky Candidates Comedy Night, a fundraiser for Variety, the Children's Charity.

This year's show features local and statewide races.

In congressional contests, 1st District Democratic incumbent Bob Brady will return for his umpteeth appearance. In the 13th District, Republican attorney Marina Kats, a Russian emigre, is serious about challenging Democratic incumbent Allyson Schwartz.

In the 8th District, Democratic freshman Rep. Patrick Murphy is facing a challenge.

In a rare occurrence, some candidates turned their backs.

There's been a train wreck in the 2nd District. Republican challenger Mike Livingston quit the race and Democratic incumbent Chaka Fattah quit the show - in which he'd appeared in the past - sending word that he'd buy a table but that the show is not "his thing." (Maybe he feels he suffered enough in the mayoral race.)

Brady's opponent, Mike Muhammad, never returned phone calls over a period of weeks. If he's unapproachable now, just imagine him being elected. (Sorry, my imagination isn't that good.)

To my surprise, Rep. Murphy's Republican opponent, Tom Manion, declined, even declined to say why. The Variety summer camp for handicapped kids is located in Montgomery County, a part of which is in the district he wants to represent.

In statewide races, Republican incumbent Attorney General Tom Corbett will swap gags with Democratic challenger John Morganelli, the district attorney of Northampton County. For treasurer, Democrat Rob McCord faces off against Republican attorney Tom Ellis.

In a high-profile state Senate race, first-timer Larry Farnese beat two challengers to get the nomination for the seat Vince Fumo will vacate, and faces determined Republican Jack Morley.

Finally, in the 172nd state House district, former speaker Republican John Perzel is being challenged by Democrat Rich Costello, former head of the Fraternal Order of Police.

The show again will be staged at Finnigan's Wake, 3rd & Spring Garden streets. Doors open at 7:30, show starts at 8 p.m. sharp.

Like the previous 17, the 18th edition of the show will benefit the Delaware Valley chapter of Variety - the Children's Charity, which works with handicapped kids. Through 2007, more than $300,000 has been raised, thanks to the public and to the generosity and public spirit of the candidates, with the exceptions I noted.

Tickets are $60 each. Reserved tables of 10 ($600, it's simple math) are available. Tickets are tax-deductible. Checks should be made out to "Variety" and mailed to Variety, c/o Ellen Ganley, 2nd floor, 1520 Locust St., Phila., PA 19102. For credit-card orders, call Ellen Ganley at 215-735-0803. Tables are assigned in the order of checks received.

If any of the "public servants" who declined want to change their minds, they know how to reach me.

E-mail stubyko@phillynews.com or call 215-854-5977. For recent columns: http://go.philly.com/byko.

http://tinyurl.com/4ygz2b

April 14, 2008
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Editorial: For State Treasurer, Democratic Primary;
McCord has the credentials

Four candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination to become Pennsylvania's treasurer - a relatively obscure state row position that too often has been used as a springboard to higher office.

Bob Casey was treasurer before he won his U.S. Senate seat in 2006. His replacement, Robin Wiessmann, decided not to run for a full term. Wiessmann had been an investment banker and adviser to state treasurers in several states. But financial acumen historically has not been a requirement for this post.

That makes little sense for the head of a department that's responsible for investing all state agency funds and managing nearly $100 billion in the state's two largest public pension funds.

This year's Democratic field does include candidates with business experience that would be helpful in watching the state's pension fund investments.

Of the four, ROBERT McCORD is the most qualified to become state treasurer. A venture capitalist with degrees from Harvard and the Wharton School, McCord, 49, has spent 14 years managing more than $1 billion in assets. (He was a founder of the Eastern Technology Fund, an investor in Philadelphia Media Holdings, owner of The Inquirer.)

The Bryn Mawr resident has never held elective office and he isn't making campaign promises that can't be kept. He acknowledges that the state may not be able to afford the cost-of-living increases some legislators want for state pensioners and retired teachers.

McCord is prepared to oversee the Treasury Department's 530 employees and annual budget of about $60 million. His best asset, though, is also a concern - his close ties to the financial world.

McCord's inner circle includes powerful money-management associates, but he promises they won't have "undue" influence over him if he is elected treasurer. He says he will recuse himself when necessary. Voters should also keep in mind that the treasurer does not make investment decisions solo. The treasurer is only one of 15 members of the Pennsylvania Public School Employees Retirement System board. The State Employees Retirement System board has 11 members.

Others running for treasurer include John Cordisco, the Bucks County Democratic Party chairman, who helped found Team Capital Bank. A former state legislator and school board member, Cordisco is also a lawyer.

State Rep. Jennifer Mann, 38, of Allentown, has represented the 132d district in Lehigh County since 1998. She is considered a rising star in the party.

Former Philadelphia resident Dennis Morrison-Wesley, 58, of Harrisburg, a self-described fiscal conservative, is a financial consultant and cable salesman who has never held public office.

The winner will face Republican Tom Ellis of Montgomery County, who has no primary opposition.

April 23, 2008
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Democrats pick McCord to run for Pa. treasurer
By Mario F. Cattabiani; Inquirer Staff Writer

Rob McCord, a Montgomery County venture capitalist, easily defeated three opponents yesterday to become the Democratic nominee for state treasurer.

Thanks to name recognition built up through a massive TV ad campaign, McCord held off his closest rival, John Cordisco, the Bucks County Democratic Party chairman.

State Rep. Jennifer Mann of Allentown finished third, while Dennis Morrison-Wesley of Harrisburg, a former investment salesman, trailed the field, according to unofficial statewide results.

In the fall, McCord will face Tom Ellis of Elkins Park, who was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

"Especially in these economically challenging times, people wanted someone with significant financial experience and they saw I had that experience," McCord, a 49-year-old Bryn Mawr resident, said late last night.

With by far the largest war chest of the candidates, McCord was able to blanket most of the state in commercials in recent weeks in this otherwise below-the-radar contest.

McCord had raised $3.5 million in the primary, about $2.5 million of which went for ads.

In early returns, McCord appeared to capture impressive margins in his home county of Montgomery, as well as Chester and Delaware Counties. He also out-balloted Cordisco nearly 2-1 in Allegheny County, where McCord spent a lot of time campaigning.

Cordisco, a lawyer and former House member, easily won his home turf of Bucks and held a slight advantage in Philadelphia as votes were still being tallied.

The treasurer serves as Pennsylvania's chief financial officer, making decisions on where to invest billions in tax revenue, and has influence over investing hundreds of billions more as a member of the state's two largest public pension funds.

If not for the Pennsylvania Democratic presidential primary, which captured all the attention, the treasurer's race would have been the marquee statewide matchup.

A graduate of Harvard and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, McCord cofounded and has served as managing director of Pennsylvania Early Stage Partners, a family of venture funds that invests in technology companies, and cofounded the Eastern Technology Fund, a provider of funding for more than 800 businesses. The fund is an investor in Philadelphia Media Holdings L.L.C., owner of The Inquirer and Daily News. Brian P. Tierney, Inquirer publisher and Philadelphia Media chief executive, is on the fund's advisory board.

During the campaign, Cordisco accused McCord of an inherent conflict of interest, given that much of his contributions came from money managers and investment bankers that do business with the treasurer's office.

McCord dismissed those concerns by saying he would remove himself from any dealings involving people who gave him money or worked closely with him in the past.

The winner of the McCord-Ellis race will replace Robin L. Wiessmann, who is filling the unexpired term of Robert P. Casey Jr. He left the Treasurer's Office after winning a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Contact staff writer Mario F. Cattabiani at 717-787-5990 or mcattabiani@phillynews.com.

Source: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/state/20080423_
Democrats_pick_McCord_to_run_for_Pa__treasurer.html

April 21, 2008
The Associated Press & Local Wire
Other Pa. contests compete with Dems' presidential primary
By Peter Jackson, Associated Press writer

Behind the dazzling marquee of the state's Democratic presidential primary, Pennsylvania voters will decide nominations for dozens of other elective offices from state treasurer to the Legislature to Congress in Tuesday's balloting.

The drawn-out battle between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois spurred a voter-registration surge that pushed Democratic Party enrollment to a record 4.2 million, spawned TV advertising that injected millions of dollars into the state's economy and took the candidates into virtually every corner of the state.

"I don't know whether people are really paying attention to the treasurer's race," lamented John Cordisco, a Bucks County lawyer and one of the four candidates for the Democratic nomination for that office.

The other contenders for the nomination the only statewide contest on the ballot besides the presidential primary are retired venture capitalist Rob McCord of Bryn Mawr, state Rep. Jennifer Mann of Allentown and former investment counselor Dennis Morrison-Wesley of Harrisburg.

McCord, 49, a newcomer to elective politics, has raised by far the most money, including $1 million he loaned to his campaign, and has advertised heavily on TV and in newspapers. As of April 7, his campaign had more than $2 million on hand.

"I got into this race knowing that no party insider would lift me into the office," McCord said, making an implicit jab at Cordisco, whose insider credentials include six years in the state House of Representatives in the 1980s and the chairmanship of the Bucks County Democratic Committee since 2002.

Cordisco, 53, whose campaign went up on TV on Thursday, had about $307,000 on hand in early April and debts totaling $260,000. He has criticized McCord's reliance on fellow venture capitalists to finance his campaign and says he has put more than 11,000 miles on his donated campaign car since January.

Mann, 38, is a fifth-term legislator whose campaign war chest at the beginning of the month was about $22,000, She said she has concentrated on Democratic strongholds in southwestern Pennsylvania, whose industrial heritage is similar to that in the Lehigh Valley.

"There is no candidate at all from the west" in the race, she said.

Morrison-Wesley, 58, born and raised in Philadelphia, spent a decade working as an investment adviser in several firms and is currently a Comcast salesman. He said he hopes his stands against abortion rights and gun control will win votes.

"When you don't have money, you've got to be unorthodox," said Morrison-Wesley, whose campaign reported having $43 on hand as of April 7.

None of Pennsylvania's 19 members of the U.S. House of Representatives faces a primary challenge this year, but a couple of the primary contests stand out.

Republican Rep. John Peterson's decision to retire in the sprawling 5th Congressional District has spawned a nine-way contest for the GOP nomination to succeed him. The winner will presumably be the front-runner this fall in the heavily Republican district in north-central Pennsylvania. Three candidates are seeking the Democratic nod.

One of the highest-spending candidates on the Republican side, financial planner Derek Walker, was charged just five days before the primary with burglary, criminal trespass and other counts stemming from an incident involving his ex-girlfriend last year. He denied any wrongdoing, and said the charges were politically motivated.

In the 10th District in the state's northeastern corner, two businessmen are competing for the GOP nomination to take on Democratic Rep. Chris Carney in November. Carney, a freshman, won the seat in 2006 by defeating a longtime Republican incumbent embroiled in a sex scandal.

In Harrisburg, 26 members of the state House of Representatives face primary challenges 17 Democrats and nine Republicans. Of the 19 state senators who are seeking additional terms, none has any intraparty opposition.

Credible primary challenges have been mounted against at least three Democratic incumbents from Philadelphia: Reps. Tony Payton Jr., William F. Keller and Harold James. Payton's challenger Guy Lewis has the backing of many in the party establishment; Keller is running against Christian DiCicco, a well-funded protege of Sen. Vince Fumo; and James faces community organizer Kenyatta Johnson.

In the state's opposite corner, two-term Rep. Kathy Rapp's re-election effort has left two of the region's most powerful Republicans on opposite sides. Rapp, R-Warren, has the backing of U.S. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., while her primary opponent Kerry L. Gern has the endorsement of Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson.

And in Lebanon County, Rep. Mauree Gingrich survived a challenge to her nominating petitions that went to the state Supreme Court. But the man who took her to court, Republican challenger Russ Diamond, has continually raised allegations of electoral fraud in their three-way primary race. Diamond is founder of the anti-incumbency group PACleanSweep; the other candidate is Bruce Kreider.

Six senators are retiring this year, including Fumo, a master of Harrisburg politics who bowed out of the race as he prepares for trial on federal corruption charges. Three Democrats are competing for the nomination to fill his seat.

Associated Press writers Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg and Kimberly Hefling in Washington contributed to this report.

Source: http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_8993296

April 17, 2008
The Patriot News
Treasurer candidates differ on financial-background issue
By Jan Murphy of The Patriot News

Pennsylvanians have not regarded financial expertise as a prerequisite for a person they elect to serve as state treasurer in at least the past 25 years.

Instead, they have entrusted this office to a state legislator, an urban planner, a nurse and an attorney during that time.

But this year, financial knowledge that candidates possess is at issue. Four candidates are seeking the Democratic nomination for the $141,565-a-year post.

Candidates Dennis Morrison-Wesley of Harrisburg and Rob McCord of Montgomery County consider financial knowledge vital to the job. Both have financial backgrounds.

The other two Democrats -- Jennifer Mann of Lehigh County and John Cordisco of Bucks County -- cite their wealth of experiences as better, including state government service. Both have been state legislators.

Whoever wins the Democratic nod Tuesday will face Republican Tom Ellis of Montgomery County in the fall. He is uncontested for the GOP nomination.

State Treasurer Robin Wiessmann, who was appointed in 2006 to serve out the unexpired term of Bob Casey Jr. following his election to the U.S. Senate, is not seeking re-election.

The treasurer is charged with leading an office that serves as the custodian and investor of state money.

The treasurer also holds a seat on the boards of the state's two public pension systems, which oversee more than $100 billion in retirement funds for active and retired state and school employees.

Morrison-Wesley, an account executive and financial adviser who is a registered investment adviser, said he thinks financial knowledge is so important that the law should require the treasurer to be a certified public accountant or registered investment adviser.

That way, if a bad decision gets made, he said, "You can't say you didn't know. Or you can't blame it on bureaucrats, who would totally run the show."

McCord said he regards a financial background as important.

"We clearly have had huge changes in the financial markets," said McCord, a financial executive who worked on budget and regulatory issues in Washington, D.C., for Democratic senators.

"This is no time to play politics with the Treasury office because we have immense challenges in both the equity markets and bond markets ... and there is a lot of important work to be done to be sure the pension funds are adequately cared for."

But Cordisco, a lawyer, former legislator and CEO of two small companies, suggests a treasurer performs a multitude of tasks that do not solely require financial expertise.

"I don't see it as a necessity," he said. "It may possess certain advantages to the office itself if you should have that broad base of experience."

Managing a department with about 520 employees and $60 million budget requires CEO experience, he said.

A legal background comes in handy in approving sole-source contracts and bonds, according to Cordisco.

Mann, a state representative in the Lehigh Valley, is seeking the party's nomination for her House seat in addition to the state Treasurer's office. She said if nominated, she would serve in only one office. She said she is the candidate with the most relevant experience for the treasurer's office.

"Knowledge of how state government works, how state budgets work, how they come to be, that's the most important experience and what I can offer taxpayers," she said.

She said her travels have taught her there's distrust about Wall Street types among Pennsylvanians.

"Government should be focused on helping people, and certainly Wall Street has been taking care of itself and left lots of people hurting along the way," Mann said.

JAN MURPHY: 232-0668 or jmurphy@patriot-news.com 

INFOBOX:

TONIGHT'S DEBATE The four Democratic candidates for state treasurer are expected to participate in a forum at Harrisburg Area Community College at 7 tonight. The forum will be aired live on PCN and replayed at 10 p.m.

Source: http://www.patriot-news.com/