Alluding to federal probe, Fumo says he won't run again

With his girlfriend, his son and Pennsylvania's governor at his side, State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo yesterday said he would not seek a ninth term, ending one of Philadelphia's most remarkable political careers.

The chief reason he was leaving the Senate after 30 years, he said, was not his recent heart attack.

"I simply don't think it is right for me to ask the voters who have put their faith in me all these years to consider voting for me one more time while there is a cloud hanging over my head," the Philadelphia Democrat said.

That cloud is a raft of federal corruption charges due to bring Fumo, 64, to court in September. He is accused of exploiting his position and his staff to live lavishly at the expense of taxpayers and of trying to block an FBI investigation into his conduct. He faces as many as 10 years in prison if convicted.

"To be frank," Fumo told reporters at a morning news conference at the Convention Center, "the stress of being under indictment has taken a very real emotional toll - a toll that does not afford me the ability to run the kind of campaign I would like to run and would have run in the past."

In a worn and raspy voice, he said: "I did not make the decision to retire because of health issues. But I did take time while recovering in the hospital last week to reassess my life and set a few new priorities."

At the request of Rendell, Fumo said, he will not step down immediately but will serve the remainder of his term. Rendell said he needed Fumo's "strong hand, strong presence, and ability to draw people in" to fulfill his Harrisburg agenda this year.

It was a stunning conclusion to a political journey that made Fumo one of the most powerful elected officials in the state and the city.

From City Hall to Harrisburg, lawmakers and political watchers spent much of the day absorbing the shock of Fumo's decision. The notion that Fumo - smart, savvy and seemingly indefatigable - would bow out was so surprising, they said, that it seemed comparable perhaps only to the sudden death of Frank L. Rizzo, then the Republican candidate, amid Philadelphia's 1991 mayoral campaign.

"There isn't any doubt that this guy was at the center of virtually every major policy compromise in Harrisburg for the last several decades," said G. Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College.

House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese (D., Greene) called Fumo "a lion in the Pennsylvania political process."

"There is no doubt that Vince is a bohemian," he continued, "but how can anybody in this building not appreciate the fact that this hardened, high-tempered buccaneer was the dominant politician from the big, bustling city of Philadelphia?

"In the immortal words of Shakespeare, his likes will not be seen again," DeWeese said.

Zack Stalberg, a former Philadelphia Daily News editor who covered Fumo as a reporter in the 1970s, called him "the smartest, most interesting, and often the most charming political figure I've encountered."

Now president of the good-government group the Committee of Seventy, Stalberg said, "He's also capable of being a bully and wrong and driving you nuts, but he is truly a unique public figure."

The Fumo on public display yesterday was not the one known for his fiery oratory and tough-guy pugnaciousness.

Rather, he was subdued, his face drained and his voice breaking as he read from prepared remarks. He stood gripping the hand of his girlfriend, Carolyn Zinni, a Delaware County dress-shop owner.

Fumo began by praising his parents, now dead - "I always miss them, but on days like this I miss them the most" - and went on to give a litany of what he saw as his successes.

And he talked about his family. "I love my children" - he has three - "and I want them to know while they may not have always come first because of my public service, for the rest of my life they will always come first."

As he spoke, some of Fumo's longtime aides huddled in a corner near the stage, arms crossed, faces drawn.

Mitchell Rubin, chairman of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and a longtime friend, was among those looking on. Fumo, Rubin said later, used "every ounce of strength not to break down."

Edward C. Coryell Sr., business manager of the carpenters union, also came to show support.

"He's brought in a lot of jobs to Philadelphia, and that has translated to a lot of union jobs for 30 years," Coryell said.

What will he do without Fumo? "I don't know."

City Councilman James F. Kenney, a former Fumo staffer, said Fumo's decision to quit the race was "the best thing he could've done for his family, health and emotional state," particularly as he awaits his trial on a 139-count indictment.

Yesterday, the three Democratic candidates seeking to fill his Senate seat - electricians union leader John J. Dougherty, Center City lawyer Larry Farnese, and activist Anne Dicker - all used the same word in describing Fumo's decision. They called it the "right" thing for himself, his constituents and the city.

Dougherty, who has feuded with Fumo, thanked him "for 30 years of service to the citizens of Philadelphia."

Farnese said: "His legal situation and health problems obviously are preventing him from devoting the time and attention that the constituents of the First District deserve."

And Dicker withdrew a call for Fumo to resign from the Senate immediately, saying she deferred "to the governor's request to have Sen. Fumo finish out his term before leaving office."

The impact of the news was not lost on one of his foes.

"He's had a long and distinguished career and, truthfully, has done an awful lot to help Philadelphia," said State Rep. John M. Perzel (R., Phila.), a longtime adversary of Fumo's. "He was someone, truthfully, to be loved and feared at the same time.

"He was tenacious in raising money to try to defeat Republicans, and you have to admire that," Perzel added.

In City Hall, several Council members mourned the loss of someone viewed as their staunchest and longest-serving ally in Harrisburg.

Citing his seniority - Fumo has represented the First Senatorial District since 1978 - Council Majority Leader Marian B. Tasco said: "Losing him in that seat will set us way back. . . . It's kind of earth-shaking."

Mayor Nutter was more measured. "It will have some impact, certainly, on the city of Philadelphia," he said. But he added: "We have a number of other senators in Philadelphia and throughout the commonwealth who are friends of Philadelphia. And I have had the benefit of many of those relationships, and so we will continue to do great things here in the city."

Nonetheless, Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. viewed the end of Fumo's political career as "the passing of . . . a living legend. You either loved him or hated him, but all respected him."

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