Campaigns for row offices still in formative stage

HARRISBURG - Contests for the three statewide row offices up for election in 2008 - treasurer, auditor general and attorney general - are still taking shape just three weeks before candidates will start to collect the signatures needed to make the ballot.

Auditor General Jack Wagner and Attorney General Tom Corbett both intend to seek reelection. Treasurer Robin Wiessmann agreed not to run before being appointed to the post in April.

The row offices can be a way to build a political name - Sen. Bob Casey served as auditor general and treasurer before being elected a U.S. senator - but this year's candidates will have to contend with a presidential contest expected to dominate news coverage and commercial airtime.

"My guess is we will have a relatively low turnout for the primary," said John F. Cordisco, a lawyer and former state lawmaker from Bucks County who is pursuing the Democratic nomination for treasurer. "Now, the general [election], obviously, will be just the opposite."

At least one other Democrat is expected to seek the party's endorsement when it meets in Lancaster on Jan. 12: Montgomery County venture capitalist Rob McCord.

On the Republican side, bond lawyer Tom Ellis, leaving office as a Montgomery County commissioner, is the sole candidate to surface thus far.

"I think we need someone who understands the process, understands the finance world, and knows what's a good product, what's a bad product, and has demonstrated that expertise," Ellis said.

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta said he decided not to seek the GOP nomination.

"I'm still fighting the illegal immigration battle here," he said. "Hazleton's battle has become a national issue. The office of treasurer, as important as it is, doesn't fit into what I'm doing or what I'm trying to do. Congress might."

Corbett, the Republican incumbent attorney general, plans to run on a record that includes aggressively prosecuting large-scale drug rings and gangs as well as establishing units to focus on child predators, people who abuse the elderly, and corrupt public officials.

Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli, trying for a third time to get the Democratic nomination for attorney general, might not face opposition.

Morganelli said Corbett's office should have been more aggressive in pursuing civil claims.

"Tom's done a good job on the drug work and things of that nature, which is pretty much standard fare, but a lot of the A.G.'s offices across the country are a lot more active," he said.

A wild card is Democratic Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham, who is being silent about her plans beyond her announced intention not to seek reelection in 2009.

Eleanor Dezzi, Abraham's political adviser, said Abraham was weighing a run.

"She's considering a lot of things," Dezzi said. "People that she highly respects have brought not only this but other things to her to think about, because they know she is not retiring."

Wagner, the Democratic auditor general, is - like Corbett - considered a potential candidate for governor in 2010, and neither man is committing to serve a full term if reelected.

Wagner expects to frame his reelection campaign around the work his office has done on such issues as Megan's Law compliance, low-income heating assistance, the state's student loan agency, and school security issues.

"When you run for an office the first time, you talk about what you hope to do. I believe our record is out there to be judged by every Pennsylvanian," Wagner said.

Republican State Committee spokesman Mike Barley said party leaders had been speaking with people interested in running for auditor general.

"We will have a candidate; we're just trying to determine who that will be," Barley said.

The GOP state meeting is Feb. 9.