Never Say Die

Monday afternoon, even as defeated state Auditor General Bob Casey Jr. was in scenic Moosic, Pa., graciously throwing his enthusiastic (well, what passes for enthusiastic if you’re Bob Casey) endorsement and support behind Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed Rendell, some folks in Philly simply won’t give up the ship.

Casey held a press conference touting his endorsement of Rendell at Lackawanna County Stadium, the home of the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, a Phillies farm team. In his usual deadpan delivery, Casey cited Rendell's commitment to the state and his assurance that his team will work tirelessly to help Rendell get elected in November.

Dan Fee, spokesman for the former mayor, says Rendell is happy to have the endorsement, coming as it does on the heels of one of the bitterest gubernatorial primary battles in recent memory.

"We're incredibly pleased," Fee said. "This shows that the Democratic Party is unified and ready to meet the challenges we'll face in November. We'll all be working together to promote the party's platform of good jobs for good wages, improved educational opportunities for every child, and quality health care."

While all this touchy-feely happy talk was going on upstate, back here at home, the folks at AFSCME District Council 33 apparently didn't get the word that the primary has been over for a month. The side of the government employees union headquarters at 30th and Walnut is still draped with a huge "Casey for Governor" banner, clearly visible from every car zipping along the Schuylkill Expressway. The union and its president, Herman "Pete" Matthews, were staunch Casey supporters during the primary, and DC33's University City headquarters served as Casey's Philadelphia campaign command center.

Sherman Harris, assistant to the president, had a simple explanation for the banner's continued presence.

"We're waiting for a recount," Harris said half-jokingly. Removing tongue from cheek, he goes on: "The company is supposed to come down and remove it tomorrow. It was supposed to be done last weekend, but the rain made them delay the removal."

Because the company that DC33 contracted to install and remove the banner has to use scaffolding and ladders, Harris said, inclement weather has been a factor.

"We weren't trying to make a statement, it's just the earliest we could coordinate to get it done," he said.

While on the subject of endorsements, Harris also said the union is still undecided whether to follow Casey's lead and support Rendell for governor.

"We haven't made a decision on an endorsement yet," he explains. "I'm sure it will come up at our meeting in September, but we're not focusing on it before then."

Rendell’s opponent in November, Republican state Attorney General Mike Fisher, has problems of his own. Instead of criss-crossing the state getting the GOP message out, as reported in City Paper by Executive Editor Howard Altman (Pretzel Logic, “Summertime Blues,” May 30), Fisher will have to spend some time next month defending himself in court for his office’s actions in the case of the so-called “Bastard Squad.” The squad was composed of the elite investigators in the A.G.’s office who say their lives and careers were left in ruins after they blew the whistle on a conspiracy by a Dominican political party to raise money by selling drugs on the streets of Philadelphia. Fisher and the A.G.’s office are named as defendants in the trial, which is set to begin July 22. Former state Auditor General Don Bailey is the attorney for the plaintiffs. Bailey says that the defense is using every available tactic to obfuscate and delay the trial, but he thinks that’s a bad idea, even politically.

"I've run for statewide office, and I've held statewide office," Bailey says. "So I understand the political strategy here. I just think it's a mistake. To delay is worse than going to trial and losing. They're better off getting it over with so that the public will have all the facts and move on."

As to whether the delaying tactics will ultimately be successful, Bailey refuses to speculate.

"The court sent us a trial date of July 22, and I'm proceeding as if that will happen. I can say this: Is Mike Fisher going to trial? Yes. Will it be July 22? I'm not sure. But that's what we're going by."

Fisher campaign manager Kent Gates says he's not all that familiar with the Bastard Squad case, but lawsuits naming the state attorney general as a defendant are numerous and fairly routine. Gates says that the court date won't be a distraction to the campaign.

"The attorney general of Pennsylvania is sued all the time," Gates says. "From our perspective, it isn't a distraction, certainly not as of yet. We'll continue to campaign hard right through the summer, and Mike will vigorously perform his duties as both gubernatorial candidate and state attorney general, just as he has been."

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