Senate race tops primary ballot
Voters will elect a new state senator next week in a special election that coincides with the municipal primary
State Rep. LeAnna Washington, left, stands with a supporter at last weekend’s Mt. Airy Day festivities on Germantown Avenue. (Photo by Jimmy J. Pack Jr.)
by MICHAEL J. MISHAK
With less than a week until Election Day, two candidates are pounding the pavement in bids to succeed Allyson Schwartz in the state Senate.
Democratic State Rep. LeAnna Washington and Republican Ron Holt are competing for votes in a special election set to coincide with the May 17 municipal primary.
Sandwiched between last year's presidential election and next year's gubernatorial election, the Senate race comes at a time in the four-year election cycle when voter interest is at an all-time low.
The contest gives Northwest voters a unique incentive to cast ballots next week. All registered voters in the district, regardless of party affiliation, are eligible to vote in the special election.
Neither candidate vying for the vacant 4th District seat is concerned about low turnout. Both claim large Election Day street operations.
In the final push to May 17, Washington and Holt are jockeying between city and suburbs. The district includes Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy and Germantown in Philadelphia and Abington, Cheltenham, Jenkintown and Rockledge in Montgomery County.
Both candidates pressed the flesh at last week's Mt. Airy Day celebration.
Washington, a six-time state representative, said she made the rounds with Jim Dean, brother of former presidential candidate and Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean.
She currently represents parts of Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy.
For Holt, the former register of wills in Montgomery County, the event was an opportunity to raise his low profile in the Northwest.
The two candidates, both African-American, are running on platforms that prominently feature education and public transportation.
Washington is looking to transition to the Senate in the same way she was elected to the House: a special election. The switch is not uncommon, bringing more resources, less competition and greater political leverage.
With more than a decade in Harrisburg, Washington, 59, touts her experience as a legislator with strong leadership skills. In 2001, she was elected chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, the first woman to hold the post. In that capacity, she used the pulpit to fight racial profiling and sought reforms in public education and election law.
She considers daycare reform her biggest legislative accomplishment. After her grandson died in a daycare facility, Washington said she fought for more rigorous inspections and won funding to boost the number of state inspectors.
Early childhood education and daycare would remain priorities in the Senate, she said.
While advocating smaller class sizes and more teacher support, Washington takes aim at the No Child Left Behind Act. The legislation encourages educators to teach children how to pass standardized tests but it does little to improve education, Washington said.
If elected, Washington said she would also push for homeland security funds to better prepare the district's communities in the event of attack. While state and federal funds have benefited local law enforcement, she said, few monies have "trickled down" to the neighborhood level, where they could be used to stage education forums.
Holt, an Abington accountant, is mounting his second run for the Senate seat. He challenged Schwartz in 2002 but lost, garnering about 18 percent of the total vote. Most of that support came from the suburban parts of the district.
In 1999, he bested the Republican Party's endorsed candidate for the register of wills post in Montgomery County. Though Holt said he modernized the county's banking system and enacted fiscal reform, he failed to get his party's nod the second time around. He didn't seek reelection.
In 2001, the state Attorney General's Office investigated Holt for failure to report income from a second job on his financial disclosure forms while an auditor with the state Department of Revenue from 1980 to 1997. While missing from his state ethics forms, the income was declared on his state and federal income tax reports, Holt said. He was forced to pay a fine and underwent probation. Holt said the incident was "politically motivated" and called it a "non-issue" in this campaign.
Holt, 57, faults what he calls the "fragmented leadership" of the Senate district. As a Republican in the GOP-controlled legislature, Holt said his party affiliation would endear him to influential state legislators, boosting his chances of securing state dollars for the district.
If elected, Holt said he would cross party lines to hammer out compromise plans on issues ranging from public transportation (he advocates dedicated funding for SEPTA but not through highway funds or higher taxes) to education (smaller class sizes, better public safety) to medical malpractice reform (he does not favor caps on non-economic damages) to economic development (meeting with local business leaders, rehabbing abandoned houses for sale at market value).
Above all, Holt said he would continue Schwartz's legacy of constituent service.
"I feel pretty good about it," Holt said of the projected low turnout. "It makes the race a little closer."
In the 9th Ward, the GOP plans to turn out the vote, hoping the timing of the election works to their advantage.
"I think Ron has an excellent chance, especially in this unusual type of election," said Ken Powell, Republican leader of the 9th Ward.
"In this city, Republicans know there's more at stake," he said. "We take nothing for granted."
