Challenging Times Concerning Political Petitions

The petition-poaching season (the week or two following filing deadlines for elected office) is brief, but sometimes eventful.

Dan Onorato's campaign challenged Joe Hoeffel's petitions, then it didn't, then Onorato (left, with a junior aide) claimed his campaign had never done any of it.

Progress Pittsburgh overstated the situation with the headline "Has Dan Onorato Lost His Mind?" -- by about one-tenth of one degree.

Hoeffel filed roughly seven times as many signatures as were required, suggesting that Onorato's primary motivation was to exploit his funding advantage by bleeding Hoeffel's scarce dollars. The Onorato camp's stated explanation -- that fear of a Hoeffel challenge to Anthony Williams' petitions triggered the Onorato challenge, and that learning that Hoeffel had not challenged Williams' petitions caused Onorato to withdraw -- would not place Onorato in any more attractive light. For an ostensibly confident campaign based primarily on building a perception that its candidate's nomination is inevitable, the Onorato camp's unnecessary revelation of insecurity was a strange misstep.

Another interesting point: Veteran Republican overachiever Mike Turzai, state senator from the North Hills, has challenged the petitions of an unknown Democrat, Sharon Brown. One of the three registered Democrats named as a challenger is a David J. Malone -- who shares at least a name with a big donor to Democrats who also happens to be a prominent local beneficiary of the decisions of pragmatic Democratic elected officials (such as Tom Murphy). Malone (right) is among Luke Ravenstahl's biggest funders; Malone and Turzai are part of Ravenstahl's "problem-solving" pension panel.

Unless the situation involves two David J. Malones, why would two-way Democratic player Malone and Republican heartthrob Turzai form a tag-team to scuttle an inconsequential Democratic primary candidate? Someone should ask Jim Burn.

Politics Mag Peddles Politico Porn -- Purported 'Influencers' List -- At Pennsylvania Society (Plus: Why Are These People In New York?)

It can be difficult to get a word out edgewise while gang-shoveling free, fist-sized shrimp in, but Pennsylvania Societeers are an elite corps up to the task, especially when politico porn -- this list of "most influential" political Pennsylvanians -- circulates on Society weekend in New York.

The lists (50 Republicans, 50 Democrats) feature the same level of attention to non-photographic editorial content one encounters in Hustler -- other than the obvious picks, the lists appear to have been authored by a random-name generator. But several inclusions and omissions stimulated interesting conversation.

On the Republican side, Christine Toretti's listing seems stale; a salute to whomever misspelled Glen Meakem's name; and it is always nice to see InsolvenCity Mayor Emeritus Tom Murphy's former fundraiser, Leslie Gromis Baker, mentioned.

On the Democratic side, Ravenstahl/Onorato handler John Verbanac -- a Republican -- made the cut. This seems attributable more to the lack of insight that left Dave Matter, Dave Malone, the Goodrich boys and the Zappala empire off the list than to any legitimate conclusion that Verbanac belongs on a list of influential Democrats.

Listing Kevin Kinross -- a one-trick pony whose horse has not yet proven ready for the top tracks -- while omitting Lazar Palnick (center of photograph, at the right hand of Cliff Levine) is flat-out silly.

Most insiders seemed unimpressed, but nonetheless fascinated, by the lists. If nothing else, the lists spawned some great jokes, none of which will be repeated here.

UPDATE: No jokes, or off-the-record revelations, but a few observations:

Chris Doherty's campaign for lieutenant governor appears strong. People seem interested, and he delivers on substantive policy.

Tom Corbett excites no one, but no one is prepared to cross him publicly (or discuss the Ramaley verdict) in a party that defers to authority and money. Reminiscent of the greased-rail locomotive that brought George Bush Jr. out of Texas. Let's hope this version doesn't include an invasion and botched occupation of West Virginia.

Mary Beth Buchanan's political future does not appear to exist.

Democratic gubernatorial discussions consist mainly of hollow expressions of confidence in public, nervous (almost neurotic) handicapping in more private settings.

Can anyone explain why Democrats attend the Pennsylvania Society weekend? The Society tolerates Democrats solely when it is time to meet hotel room and catering guarantees. And even if Democrats break the Republican grip on the Society's neck, why not insist that the annual event become a Pittsburgh-Philadelphia-Hershey rotation? A 'buy Pennsylvania' campaign sounds bulletproof.

Just Wondering: Palin, Onorato, Baldwin, Luke

Just wondering:

• whether Sarah Palin's new Fox News contract requires her to become a bottle blonde to comply with Fox's "gold standard" (or, instead, her journalism degree earned at a half-dozen undergraduate schools scored a rare brunette exemption)?

• whether the primary reason Dan Onorato hasn't endorsed Arlen Specter yet is that Dan is having a hard time excusing the senator's switch from Republican to Democrat?

• whether Luke Ravenstahl genuinely fails to recognize that city employees' alcohol-fueled public tussles with police is an issue toward which he probably should not direct additional public attention?

• whether, when ostensibly pursuing the progressive vote, Mr. Onorato will mention that he passes the Republican Party's litmus test?

• whether veteran Pitt football eligibility coordinator defense attorney Craig Lee genuinely believes that Jonathan Baldwin's celebrity was responsible for Baldwin's charges (for unsolicited contact with a female classmate's buttocks) instead of for the acquittal (by Judge Sasinoski, Pitt '78?

Could A Move Kick-Start Local Donkeys?

Allegheny County Democrats are on the move! A postcard mailed to Democratic Committee members a few days ago confirms it.

Before local Democrats grumbling about the local party's lack of energy and achievement get too excited, however, they should read the fine print. What's moving is merely the county committee's headquarters -- literally, and for the second time in recent years. (The new address is 73 South 13th Street, 15203, near the heart of the South Side Intoxication District.)

We do not know what this development means, but a review of background seems worthwhile.

The county committee's performance has been generating complaints from important Democrats -- candidates, party workhorses, donors, fundraisers -- in increasing breadth and volume.

Candidates complain that the longstanding worthlessness of the party's endorsement in a primary election has been creeping into the context of the Democratic nomination during a general election. The candidates' complaints concern lack of financial support; spotty effort and loyalty from party leaders, including most municipal committee chairs; and declining campaign manpower. If elected, these candidates perceive neither respect for nor indebtedness to the Democratic Committee.

Party workhorses don't complain nearly so much; they simply work less or devote energy elsewhere. Fundraisers such as Lazar Palnick and Cliff Levine have been working independently, taking their donors with them. Street-level volunteers have been moving to Organizing For America and MoveOn, or switching to gardening, craft brews, the PTA, and Rachel Maddow.

The county committee's leadership seems poorly positioned to address these problems. Chair Jim Burn (right) is stretched severely, as county council president, chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, and a husband and father who must earn a livelihood. His vice-chair, Nancy Mills, is no help; her backroom selection for the position baffled nearly everyone and has never been explained in word or deed. Ed Abes, the treasurer, has little to do because funds are scarce.

Whether Jack Cambest and Ed Grattan continue to occupy Democratic Committee positions (Cambest as solicitor, Grattan as finance co-chair) is open to guesswork. Their names were removed from the party website after Rich Lord illuminated The List-Makers, the organization that appears to command the primary loyalty of Grattan and Cambest. Grattan and Cambest are listed in some party mailings but not others. In any event, Cambest has always been a ceremonial figure, leaving the party's legal work to others, while Grattan (like finance co-chair Stephen Frobouck, whose public-private network includes Jeb Bush and the List-Makers) connects money and political figures more for private perks than for party benefit.

The result is that the Allegheny County Democratic Committee is bereft of bite and can barely bark. It labors to pull off the occasional rally, golf outing, candidates night, or Kennedy-Lawrence dinner. It can not arrange candidates better than lawyers declared unqualified by the bar association, the Ravenstahl boys, and the three-clown circus endorsed by the city committee for city council a few months ago. Nearly every major local Democratic official got Obama-Clinton wrong, a rookie mistake for which the region has suffered.

Luke Ravenstahl and Dan Onorato (left), the two top local elected officials, would be Republicans in most regions of the United States. Each is more likely to embarrass the Democratic Party than to generate enthusiasm among Democrats.

Some Democratic regulars gripe about these circumstances, but no one acts, perhaps because there isn't enough enthusiasm in the party to sustain a debate or challenge.

The best thing the county Democratic committee has going for it is that its Republican counterpart is weakened by registration disadvantage, afflicted by lame leadership and harsh infighting, and badgered (and to some degree tempted) by Tea Party nuttiness.

One interesting point -- and, for local Democrats who seek a strong party structure rooted in principle rather than patronage, reason for hope -- is that the move to the South Side involves a departure from 225 Ross Street, nerve center of a cream-skimming network that has sapped the strength of the Democratic Party in Allegheny County for many years. That point alone supports a bit of hope that the Allegheny County Democratic Committee can shake its shackles and become a needed force for good in InsolvenCity and beyond.

Infytune: Our House, Madness
Infytune: Our House, Crosby, Stills, and Nash