Saidel must wait for recount in Democratic lt. governor race

Former City Controller Jonathan Saidel's political future could come down to a recount.

The three-way Democratic primary for lieutenant governor is down to a two-man race between Saidel and Centre County state Rep. Scott Conklin, but the race was too close to call this morning.

"All right, go home, this is not a bar mitzvah," Saidel said after addressing a room full of supporters, including U.S. Rep. Bob Brady and Councilman Bill Green, shortly after midnight at the Warwick Hotel.

Saidel trailed Conklin by only 3,064 votes with 98.75 of precincts reporting. Former Commonwealth Court Judge Doris Smith-Ribner finished in third place.

Because the margin of victory is expected to be less than one-half of 1 percent, an automatic recount across the state's 67 counties will kick in. Conklin led with 35.4 percent of the vote, compared with 35 percent for Saidel.

The winner of the Democratic primary will team with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato against Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett and lieutenant governor candidate Jim Cawley. Cawley is a Bucks County Commissioner who won a nine-way primary yesterday.

Saidel won handily in Philadelphia, earning nearly 69 percent of the vote with 96 percent of precincts counted. Smith-Ribner earned 24 percent of the vote in the city, while only 7 percent voted for Conklin.

"This would be difficult for anybody," Controller Alan Butkovitz said early this morning. Butkovitz said that Saidel ran a "very strong race" statewide and did very well for a Philadelphia candidate.

Saidel served as the city's controller from 1990 to 2005, and briefly ran for mayor in 2007, before stepping aside for his old pal Brady.

Saidel's aborted mayoral campaign left him with more than $1 million in unspent campaign cash. He soon began floating the idea of running for lieutenant governor, noting that he missed working in government.

Saidel, who recently worked at the Center City law firm Cohen, Placitella & Roth, received his party's endorsement in February. Last month, a Centre County Democratic official claimed a Saidel representative threatened her when one of his aides wasn't allowed to speak on Saidel's behalf at a community brunch. Saidel's campaign denied the allegation.

Saidel didn't face nearly as much competition as Cawley, who ran against former GOP auditor general nominee Chet Beiler; Russ Diamond, the founder of PA Clean Sweep; state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe and five others.