Sanchez-backed candidates go 1-for-5
The councilwoman said she only needed one win for the LEAD Team to be a factor.
CITY COUNCILWOMAN Maria Quinones-Sanchez, who yesterday backed a slate of five candidates under her "LEAD Team" banner, wants to build a political empire outside the Democratic Party machine.
But Rome wasn't built in a day - and yesterday was not Sanchez's day.
The only victory for Sanchez's candidates yesterday was Jason Dawkins' upset against state Rep. James Clay Jr. But yesterday afternoon, Sanchez seemed prepared for that reality.
"All I need to do is win one," she said before polls closed. "If you win one, you're in the game."
Her husband, Tomas Sanchez, lost his bid to unseat state Sen. Tina Tartaglione, finishing third in the three-way race. Former Councilman Danny Savage was the runner-up.
Quetcy Lozada lost to state Rep. Angel Cruz, Danilo Burgos finished third in the four-way primary that took out indicted state Rep. J.P. Miranda, and Jared Solomon lost a close race to state Rep. Mark Cohen.
Throughout the day, Sanchez played the role of a mini-Bob Brady, the Philly congressman and chairman of the Democratic City Committee. She troubleshot problems reported from her field operatives and directed traffic from her husband's campaign headquarters in Kensington.
"I kind of played war room today. I wish I had been out there on the street a little more." she said. "When you're top four operatives are candidates, it's a whole different game."
Sanchez said the goal of "LEAD" - which stands for the Latino Empowerment Alliance of Delaware Valley - is to engage parts of the Latino community that are ignored by the city's Democratic machine and to raise the expectations of what government can do for those neighborhoods.
"You're challenging the status quo," she said. "There is an organized voter oppression and a minimizing of the expectations of what should happen."