Perzel keeps his seat; Democrat Boyle wins by 20%

Democratic presidential candidates come and go, win or lose, in Pennsylvania, but state Rep. John Perzel just keeps chugging along with victory after victory.

Eight years after surviving a close-call election in voter turn-out intensified by Al Gore vs. George W. Bush, Republican Perzel hung on last night to the seat he has held in Northeast Philly's 172nd District since 1979.

Perzel, deposed from the state House speaker post last year, easily defeated by a 2-to-1 margin Democrat Rich Costello, former president of the Fraternal Order of Police in Philadelphia.

Perzel financed campaign ads for Republican Matt Taubenberger, who was seeking the neighboring 170th District seat being vacated by his retiring boss, state Rep. George Kenney.

Taubenberger was defeated by Democrat Brendan Boyle, who won by 20 percentage points.

Perzel last night rattled off a long list of Republican candidates across the state that he helped with campaign cash. He was seeking to return Republicans to power in the House. He also had his eye on becoming speaker again.

"I was involved in races all over Pennsylvania," Perzel said. "I wanted to win a majority. I'm interested in leadership."

The state Democratic Party focused resources on Costello's campaign but failed to give Perzel a significant challenge.

"They were eager to take me on because they know I raise an enormous amount of money," Perzel said. "I spent more money outside my district than inside my district."

Costello last night called on the District Attorney's Office to investigate the election results, claiming that his poll workers were intimidated and that Perzel's campaign team tinkered with an election machine in one precinct.

The Taubenberger-Boyle battle centered on property taxes. Taubenberger ran full-page newspaper ads calling Boyle a tax cheat. Boyle struck back with his own full-page ads, calling the claim a lie. The city's revenue commissioner issued a letter saying a clerical error made it look like Boyle owed taxes on a rental property when he didn't.

Boyle, who challenged Kenney in 2004 and 2006, called last night's victory a validation.

"The Taubenberger campaign was literally 100 percent negative," Boyle said. "None of it was why people should vote for him. It was all about me. The great message was that it really backfired." *