Rep. Bob Brady's attorneys lose 2007 mayoral case - again
A Common Pleas Court judge has ruled for a second time that U.S. Rep. Bob Brady can't exceed the city's campaign finance limits to raise money to pay the six-figure tab for the law firm, Cozen O'Connor, that helped him remain on the ballot in that race. And the firm can't forgive the debt, Judge Leon Tucker said in a ruling released Monday.
Rep. Bob Brady's attorneys lose 2007 mayoral case - again
Chris Brennan
A Common Pleas Court judge has ruled for a second time that U.S. Rep. Bob Brady can't exceed the city's campaign finance limits to raise money to pay the six-figure tab for the law firm, Cozen O'Connor, that helped him remain on the ballot in that race. And the firm can't forgive the debt, Judge Leon Tucker said in a ruling released Monday.
Brady still owes the law firm $448,648 for helping him defeat a ballot challenge from Tom Knox in the 2007 Democratic primary election for mayor. Knox finished second in the five-man race while Brady finished third.
The Philadelphia Board of Ethics told Brady after the primary that he could not exceed the campaign finance limits. Cozen then sued the Board of Ethics in 2008. Judge Gary DiVito dismissed that case, saying Cozen lacked standing to sue. The state Commonwealth Court agreed but the state Supreme Court in February 2011 overruled the lower courts, allowing Cozen O'Connor to take another shot at the case.
Stephen Cozen, the law firm's chairman, still insists that legal work to keep a candidate on the ballot is not the same thing as a contribution to influence an election. Tucker, in his ruling, disagreed with that argument.
"We’re a little bit disappointed and baffled by Judge Tucker’s decision," Cozen said. "Obviously we’re going right back to the Commonwealth Court and, if necessary, the Supreme Court."
Mike Reed, vice chairman of the Board of Ethics, in a statement released with Tucker's ruling said it "preserves the integrity of the city's campaign finance law."
..can be summed up by the profound words of Mr. Nelson Muntz "Ha haaa"— uandwhosearmy- Let's retire Bob Brady NOW! I promise to restore integrity to the 1st Congressional Seat. Please visit my campaign at featherman.com. JOHN FEATHERMAN— featherman
- God, you reek of desperation, hanging out on message boards, waiting for the next story about Brady to be posted so that you post some nonsense about how much integrity you have, or whatever. No one cares.
By the way, the Philly Dems are corrupt as hell, but the Philly GOP are even worse. You know that they run the Parking Authority, right? The most predatory, unethical, money-grubbing department in the city, and they run it. I wonder what they'd do if they ran the rest of the city.... - Golly Gee, Brady is the living embodiment of the old school politician. He is good for mediation among scoundrels. He does roll up his sleeves and get settlement on stuck negotiations. Well maybe not actually roll up his sleeves, the last time I saw him on TV I thought that is what it was but it was actually a suit coat that didn't fit and was about 5 inches too short in the arms....but you all know what I mean. Brady is bad because he is full of those old school tricks that gave good-old-boy pols their bad rep.
- There are people that truly care about this city and know it could be a better place if not for the same old, same old every election. I'd love to see Featherman get in office just so the jerks of the world would have to work a little harder. — gemini48
- The words "politician" and "integrity" should never be used in the same story.— tonyS
Comment removed.- I would vote for Featherman rather than Brady.
Brady has no ethics and Featherman has to be better than Brady. Anybody would be better!— Ralph 1 - This is outrageous! Cozen O'Connor should sue Bob Brady, their client. He hired them. Cozen, O'Connor is making an attempt to raid the city's meager treasury, either by wearing the city down legally to settlement or getting their cronies on Commonwealth Court to order the city to pay. Honestly, you need a sleaze meter to deal with politicians and/or lawyers.— Anne Arkey
- Cozen's legal work for the campaign was clearly an in-kind contribution, if nothing else. The firm would have billed anyone else for their time spent working on legal issues--how is this any different? Judge Tucker ruled correctly.— ShaJones
- Cozen 'forgives' $400K bills for everyone, right? Meathead Brady is a crooked skunk.— Steve-Oh
- Bob Brady (aka Tony Soprano) ran one of the worst campaigns for mayor in the history of this city. He got 15% (to Knox's 29% and Nutter's 37%). Brady got spanked. Listening to Brady try to answer policy questions was funny.— Alex W
- Brady wasn't running for mayor to win, he was running to spoil Tom Knox. Before Brady got in, you had Knox, Nutter, Fattah, and Evans, or, as many voters saw it, one white guy and three black guys. Knox would have gotten the vast majority of the white working class vote and might have come up with enough to beat Nutter. Brady came in and got the blue collar unions and enough ward leaders to endorse him and took enough votes away from Knox to give the election to Nutter.
That was the plan, all along. Brady didn't want to be mayor. He likes running the City Committee and being the guy who mediates between the unions and the mayor. If Knox had won, Brady wouldn't be allowed within 500 feet of City Hall. - half a mill, boy Bobby. That will bust your hump.— TheShadowKnows
- Brady can borrow the $448,648 from Arlene Ackerman.— Disco Dave
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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