Election 2010: Onorato Pushes Policy, Shrugs Off Challengers

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato was in City Hall this morning, pushing his plan to fight crime in Pennsylvania by cutting down on recidivism of prison inmates and using the savings to pay for more policing.  You can read more about that here.

With a strong western Pennsylvania base, Onorato has been spending a lot of time courting support in and around Philadelphia.  That will continue, he told reporters today.  With $6.5 million in the bank as of Dec. 31, Onorato is well ahead of his competition in resources to run campaign commercials for the May 18 Democratic primary election. But he ducked questions on when those commercials will start.

"We have a strategy to run a real race in the primary," Onorato said. "And somewhere along the line -- it's nine weeks until the election -- you'll see a full-blown campaign."  Onorato also declined to say how much money he has raised so far this year.  The next campaign finance reports are due April 6.

State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, a late entry in the primary, has said he has quickly raised close to $2 million. That puts him well ahead of the two other Democrats in the race, state Auditor General Jack Wagner and Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel.  Onorato also didn't want to talk about the impact Williams, from a well-known political family in the city, could have on his support in Philadelphia.

"I'm not going to get into whose in or how much they have," Onorato said. "I'm focused on what I have to do as a candidate."