April 8-14, 2004

political notebook

by Mary F. Patel

Primary Palette

Politicians aren’t the only hot ticket on the April 27 primary ballot. Candidates will be running to become delegates to the national Democratic or Republican conventions this summer.

And even though John Kerry is assured to be the Democratic presidential nominee, Howard Dean, Dennis Kucinich, John Edwards and Lyndon LaRouche will still appear on the primary ballot.

The Democrats get 178 delegate votes from Pennsylvania, 98 of which are elected while 56 are to be chosen at a June 5 meeting of the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee. (Another 24 are reserved for the nabobs of the state party.) In addition, 18 alternates are elected and the party chooses 10. Presidential candidates must approve those running to be their committed delegates. Elected delegates are chosen in their congressional district primary; Philadelphia has three congressional districts.

The Democratic National Convention will be held from July 26-29 in Boston and the number of Democratic delegates Pennsylvania sends there is determined by congressional district size and how each district has performed with Democratic votes for presidential and gubernatorial candidates, according to Shannon Bigler, Pennsylvania State Committee’s information and technology adviser.

For example, in the 1st District, represented by U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, six delegates will be selected. Five out of eight delegate hopefuls on the April ballot are committed to Kerry, one is for Dean and two are for LaRouche. District 2, represented by U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, is the biggest Democratic congressional district in the city and, as such, is allowed seven delegates.

Everyone wants to be a delegate since the thrill of standing on the floor and cheering for their party's nominated candidate is every political junkie's dream. (The access they get to pre- and post-convention parties certainly doesn't hurt, either.)

Elected officials and other high-profile political types often run to be delegates. District Attorney Lynne Abraham, NAACP leader Jerome W. Mondesire, Sharif Street, nightclub owner Michael Weiss and political consultant Eleanor Dezzi are just some of the Democrats running in the primary.

For the Democrats, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino announced Celebrate Boston 2004, a monthlong party that features numerous cultural and community activities including a huge gala the night before the convention.

Renowned Bostonians, such as Boston Pops Orchestra Director Keith Lockhart, African-American studies scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. and business leader Edmund Kelly are serving as honorary co-chairs. The convention will be held at the Fleet Center.

Pennsylvania delegates will get down on Sun., July 25 at a big kickoff party to be held at the Beacon Hill State House. There are also other delegate parties around Boston in various historic locations that night.

Though George W. Bush is the only presidential candidate on the Republican primary ballot, the Republican National Convention will be held in New York City from Aug. 30 through Sept. 2.

There are 75 GOP delegates from the state and 57 are chosen in the primary election, with three per congressional district. Thirteen are chosen by GOP leaders and five go to GOP elected officials. Republican delegation hopefuls include Sheryl Perzel, wife of House Speaker John Perzel, Philadelphia Republican City Committee Chairman Vito Canuso, Republican fundraiser and arts patron Fred Anton, former district attorney candidate Joe Bongiovanni and Log Cabin member Jesse Walters.

Josh Wilson, Pennsylvania Republican State Committee political director, said that party venues have not yet been fully organized for the Republican Convention, which will be held at Madison Square Garden.

Republican New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to host a plethora of cocktail soirees. His predecessor, Rudolph Giuliani, will be on the scene, as will New York Gov. George Pataki, who showed his party-animal side while in Philadelphia for the 2000 Republican National Convention.

Potential delegates should expect to spend a hefty amount in both Boston and New York, especially because they'll pay for their own transportation and hotels. Meals and drinks are usually free at the right breakfasts, luncheons and evening receptions. And sometimes, if another state is hosting a better party, other hopefuls will crash it.

Since Boston charges a huge daily room tax for its hotels, deals are just a little better in New York. But with airfare to Boston pretty cheap now, delegates should book early.

Tracey Katz

Tracey Birnhak Katz, president of Philadelphia Weight Watchers and wife of Harry Jay Katz, lost her long, valiant, battle with breast cancer Tuesday morning. Tracey had a wonderful sense of humor and was known for her many philanthropic endeavors in favor of cancer research and other very worthy causes. She will be missed.

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