Williams: Race for gov. needs to address concerns of blacks

If nothing else, state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams (D., Philadelphia) says, he wants to raise the awareness of the four remaining Democrats running for governor that they need to start openly addressing the concerns of black Pennsylvanians.

Whether it be President Obama or Gov. Rendell, Democrats win statewide elections only when they generate a large voter turnout in Philadelphia - and that means exciting African American voters to believe they have a strong stake in the outcome, Williams said.

So far, he said, none of the Democratic gubernatorial candidates - Allegheny County executive Dan Onorato, state Auditor General Jack Wagner, Montgomery County commissioner Joe Hoeffel, or Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty - has directly addressed the rampant joblessness and poor educational opportunity facing many black Philadelphians.

If they don't do it, Williams said today, he just might enter the governor's race himself. He says he is at least thinking about running now that the man he was supporting, Philadelphia businessman Tom Knox, has dropped out.

The current Democratic candidates, all white men, appear afraid to talk plainly about race, he said - as if they'll get caught in some backlash. He said they tell him, "Well, I'm talking about jobs." Williams said that that's fine, but that they've got to be more direct.

Williams' father, the late Sen. Hardy Williams, was the first politically viable black candidate for Philadelphia mayor in the 1970s.

Democratic State Rep. Dwight Evans, of Philadelphia, was a serious candidate for governor in the 1994 Democratic primary. There has been no major Democratic black candidate at the governor level since then. Former Pittsburgh Steelers star Lynn Swann was the Republican nominee for governor in 2006.

"People have called me and said, 'Are you going to do it?' " Williams said. "Some people want to sign up."

He said he'll be talking with at least two of the current Democratic candidates this week.

Political analysts said that, at this late stage, with the May 18 primary less than four months away, it would be hard for Williams to compete with the other candidates financially.

But the popular Democrat from West Philadelphia, the head of an organization of Philadelphia black elected officials, could certainly help drive the agenda and the debate in the election.