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Monday, July 6, 2009
Teachers endorse Saidel for LG

 

Jonathan Saidel, candidate for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, has won the endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers-Pennsylvania, the first big union to weigh in on the developing 2010 statewide campaigns.

Saidel, the former controller of Philadelphia who has deep labor ties, got the nod in a vote during the union’s biennial convention at the end of June, said AFT state president Ted Kirsch.

“We have a history with Jon,” said Kirsch, who was president of the Philadelphia AFT local. He cited Saidel’s role, along with U.S. Rep. Bob Brady (D.,Pa.), in brokering peace during tense negotiations with the city in 2000.

“Jonathan was up all night with us, and played a big role,” Kirsch said. “He’s a public school graduate who was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He is one of us.”

AFT represents 36,000 educators across the state, including in Pittsburgh and Scranton. So far, Saidel is the only announced lieutenant governor candidate, and he claims a bankroll of $1 million. The union’s executive committee will weigh in later on the governor’s race, Kirsch said.

 

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About Commonwealth Confidential
Commonwealth Confidential gives you regularly updated coverage of the state legislature, the governor and the workings of the state bureaucracy. It is written by the political reporters in the Inquirer's Harrisburg bureau, based right in the statehouse.

Mario F. Cattabiani (left) has covered state government and politics from Harrisburg since 1994, the last six years for the Inquirer. In July, he was ranked by PolitickerPa.com as No. 1 among the "Most Powerful Political Reporters" in Pennsylvania.

Angela Couloumbis (center) joined The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1998, and has covered government and politics in New Jersey, Philadelphia and throughout Pennsylvania, including Gov. Rendell’s 2006 race against former Pittsburgh Steeler Lynn Swann.

Amy Worden (right) joined the Inquirer in 2000 and has covered governors, gubernatorial races, U.S. Senate races and three presidential campaigns. When not covering politics she can be found filing dispatches from disaster scenes or digging into local stories of national import.
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