A Facebook faceoff: Novice vs. incumbent

State Rep. Mark Cohen hasn't racked up 40 years in the Pennsylvania legislature by taking his political opponents lightly.

When he heard that Numa St. Louis, 31, an Olney educator, was planning a run against him this spring, Cohen discovered they were both Facebook devotees - St. Louis with more than 700 friends, Cohen with more than 5,000.

Not only that, St. Louis had created a campaign page - Team Numa - and many of Cohen's colleagues in the state House were listed as Numa's friends.

"They might have agreed to be Facebook friends, but they were not supporters of his candidacy," Cohen said. "He's included people on his page who are very strong supporters of mine. . . . This thing is fraudulent."

Cohen started a campaign of his own, urging his allies to get themselves off St. Louis' page.

"I called them, I sent them Facebook messages, I also talked to them in person," said Cohen, 62, ranking Democrat on the House Human Services Committee and a Castor Gardens resident. "I'm a candidate for reelection, and I take that seriously."

St. Louis, a former public schoolteacher and counselor whose most recent job was working with homeless families at Travelers Aid Family Services, called Cohen's actions "pretty childish."

St. Louis acknowledged that an intern on his staff had moved friends from his personal Facebook page onto his campaign page, without their advance permission.

"Anybody who opts not to be part of it is perfectly OK," he said. "I think it's unfortunate that Mr. Cohen is spending so much time on Facebook when he should be focusing more on issues facing the district." - Bob Warner
Unanimous honor for Johnny Doc?

Put this news in the dog-bites-man category: City Council is about to honor John J. Dougherty, the leader of the city electrical workers union and the biggest fund-raiser in local politics, for his selection as grand marshal of the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, scheduled for Sunday, March 11.

A Council resolution honoring Dougherty was introduced Thursday by Councilman Bobby Henon, the union's former political director, and Councilman Mark Squilla. Both enjoyed strong support from Dougherty and the union as they won their seats in last year's elections.

Dougherty is not the first grand marshal to be honored by Council, and he won't be the last. But the resolution puts at least one councilman in a curious position:

How will David Oh vote after Dougherty spent tens of thousands of dollars on mailings and radio trying to derail Oh's bid for a Republican council-at-large seat?

The resolution is likely to come up for passage Thursday.
- Bob Warner