Saidel Slammed In Campaign Robocall Linking Him To KKK
Former City Controller Jonathan Saidel, a candidate yesterday for lieutenant governor, was targeted by a robocall around the city Monday that linked him to the Ku Klux Klan. The woman who made the recorded calls claimed she was supporting another candidate in the Democratic primary election, former Commonwealth Court Judge Doris Smith-Ribner. Ribner tells us she had nothing to do with the call.
Saidel Slammed In Campaign Robocall Linking Him To KKK
Chris Brennan
Former City Controller Jonathan Saidel, a candidate yesterday for lieutenant governor, was targeted by a robocall around the city Monday that linked him to the Ku Klux Klan. The woman who made the recorded calls claimed she was supporting another candidate in the Democratic primary election, former Commonwealth Court Judge Doris Smith-Ribner. Ribner tells us she had nothing to do with the call.
PhillyClout has obtained a partial recording of the call, in which the woman asks if "Saidel is running for controller or for grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan."
Here's the rest of the script: "It is no secret that Saidel has not been a friend of our community. But now, he thinks he can buy off a few ward leaders and we will all vote for him. Not me. I am voting for one of us: Doris Smith-Ribner. Doris has fought racial stereotypes all her life, rising to be the first African American elected to the Commonwealth Court. Please join me in voting for Doris Smith-Ribner for lieutenant governor. This call paid for by Pat Wilson."
So who is Pat Wilson? We're still trying to find out. Ribner says she'd like to know. "Many people have been wondering who this person is," she told us. "I don't know what to say. I have no idea who this person is."
Saidel is locked in a still-undecided race with the third candidate in the primary, Scott Conklin. Saidel spokesman Marty Marks said his campaign doesn't know who ran the robocall. "To suggest that Jonathan Saidel, of Jewish heritage and a champion of civil rights for his whole career, has anything to do with the KKK is disgusting," Marks said. "It’s politics at its worst"
The root of this political attack may have been a racially tinged dust-up from 1993, when Saidel told a mostly white crowd in Northeast Philly that he opposed school busing plans that shipped kids to "parts of the city that look like East Beirut." Then City Councilman Michael Nutter made a speech in Council a few days later, saying he thought Saidel was "running for city controller, not grand wizard."
Of course Smith-Ribner's fingerprints are all over this . The 1993 incident that is the basis for this KKK smear of Saidel involved Smith-Ribner as the judge ready to impose forced busing on Philadelphia public school students . She only backed off because she was running for the State Supreme Court that year. And she actually issued an order that parents were prohibited from discussing her proceedings or they would be held in contempt . She somehow completely missed the First Amendment while in law school at Pitt.— publius sempronius tuditanus- as if the northeast was something nice to begin with. beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.— schultzy
- Rascism is like farting...it's gross and usually whoever smelled it, dealt it.— navigator
- Come on Jonathan is Jewish; the KKK hates Jews just as much as it does Blacks and Catholics! Get real!— cher326
- indeed tdoc, unless KKK stands for kuriously karpeted krown...— bobcitydoc
Comment removed.- KKK so what, nothing has changed anyway. Look at the tortured Slave on that site toyotarunaway org. Slavery is still legal under the Constitution under certain circumstances anyway.— molouis
- Comment removed.
- Makes me want to vote for Saidel on purpose..just because of the call!!!— Phillygrlatheart
- I know judge Ribner-Smith isn't involved in this dumb stuff. She's too classy (and professional) to stoop that low.— bmp02
- Comment removed.
- Doris "Psycho" Ribner-Smith-Pat-Wilson knows whats going on. She was "committed" to running for the US Senate - then "Committed" to running for Lt. Governor -now we all know she must be "committed" with her husband, who is a real time "Bernie Lomax" "Weekend st Bernie's". Why in the world should anyone vote for you Former Judge Psycho Smith? You are a hypocrite preying on racism. GO BACK TO PITTSBURGH YOU NIT WIT!— OldSchoolG
- Comment removed.
- That is a strong claim. I hope she has proof to substantiate her claim. Otherwise her "Palin-like" tactics is an embarrassment to the democratic party and black people. I truely hope she is not lying. This would undermine the persistent instances of racism in our city. Notice I never assume she was telling the truth or lie. Just because a candidate is black doesn't mean they are good for the community— OwlMan
- Not a big fan of Saidel, but this is not fair to him. Hope they find the person and prosecute for hate speech. Saidel has been around to long to be destroyed by this lie.— Live
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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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