Campaign reports show electricians' financing power

The electricians' union continues to leave the biggest footprints in city political races, reporting donations of at least $10,000 to five different City Council candidates and steering even more to a favored few.

Campaign finance reports filed Friday with city election officials showed Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers took advantage of a loophole in the city's contribution limits to send at least $55,000 in support to its political director, Bobby Henon, who is running for a Council seat in the Northeast.

Henon reported $624,925 in fund-raising since January - a figure unprecedented in a Council race and more than three times the amount raised by his opponent, banker Marty Bednarek.

Political action committees are barred by city ordinance from donating more than $10,600 a year to a municipal candidate.

But besides its own $10,600 contributions, Local 98 was the primary source of money for four other PACs that distributed $10,000 or more to Henon's campaign - the Blarney PAC, Philadelphia Phuture, Building a Better Phila, and Concerned Irish Americans of Philadelphia.

Mark Squilla, a candidate for the First District seat now held by Frank DiCicco, surfaced Friday as another beneficiary of the loophole. He accepted $10,600 directly from Local 98's primary PAC, the Committee on Political Education (COPE), plus $5,000 each from two PACs receiving heavy Local 98 support - Blarney and the Friends Across the Keystone PAC, based in Delaware County, which got a $40,000 donation from Local 98 in mid-March.

A Squilla spokesman, Josh Cohen, said Squilla had a long relationship with the treasurer of Blarney, restaurateur Mike Driscoll. Squilla saw nothing inappropriate in taking advantage of the loophole, Cohen said, up to the time last month that Council took steps to close it.

Councilman-at-large Bill Green accepted at least $40,000 this year from PACs with ties to Local 98 - $10,000 each from COPE, Philadelphia Phuture, and Building a Better Phila, plus $5,000 from Blarney and $5,000 from Friends Across the Keystone - donated on April 13, the day before Council voted to change the ordinance.

In the Seventh District, stretching from North Philadelphia through Rhawnhurst, incumbent Maria Quiñones Sánchez cashed in on political allegiances, raising more than $235,000 through Monday, nearly double the money raised by her opponent, Danny Savage.

Sanchez received $10,600 from Mayor Nutter, and $10,000 each from City Council President Anna C. Verna and Councilman Curtis Jones Jr., the West Philadelphia councilman who is unopposed for reelection. She also received $2,500 each from former Gov. Ed Rendell and U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah.

Savage collected more than $124,060, including $30,600 in recent months from local and national PACs associated with the electricians.

In the First District, covering South Philadelphia, Center City, and the river wards, Squilla, the Democratic Party favorite, took in more than $231,000, with strong support from unions and $10,600 from Nutter. His three competitors - Jeff Hornstein, Joe Grace, and Vern Anastasio - raised about $100,000 each.

In the Sixth District, where Henon and Bednarek are battling to replace retiring Councilwoman Joan Krajewski, Henon has spent more than $480,000, mainly on television advertising and mailings. The Henon camp has been airing a commercial since April 26.

Krajewski and Nutter are backing Bednarek, a former member of the School Reform Commission. Bednarek raised about $135,600 this period, including $10,600 from Krajewski, and has $58,551 remaining - less than half what Henon still has at his disposal.

In the Second District, now held by Verna, real estate developer Barbara Capozzi raised more than $60,000 and added $40,000 of her own money.

A campaign finance report for her main rival, State Rep. Kenyatta Johnson, was unavailable. However, his campaign said he had raised $72,700, including $10,600 from Laborers Union Local 332 and $10,000 from the Make a Difference PAC. He had $14,100 cash on hand.

Johnson spent less than $10,000 to get elected to the state House in 2008. Nutter endorsed him Thursday.

In the seven-way race to replace Donna Reed Miller in the Eighth District, the top fund-raisers are Cindy Bass, an aide to Fattah, and Howard Treatman, a lawyer and businessman.

Bass raised $139,000 since the beginning of the year and had $124,700 remaining. Treatman raised $65,000 and threw in $100,000 of his own money, reporting a balance of $51,000 after airing a TV commercial.

Verna Tyner, a longtime Council staffer, is another high-profile name in that race, but her filing showed that she raised just $14,000 this period and had less than $10,000 on hand.

Among the Democratic candidates for Council at-large, Green led the pack, raising $253,000 since the beginning of the year and carrying a $255,752 balance even after a strong advertising campaign.

Challenger Andy Toy raised $253,220 and had $137,079 headed into the campaign's closing weeks. Ed Nesmith reported a $132,868 balance including $100,000 of his own money.

Councilman Jim Kenney has raised nearly $139,000 and spent most of it, leaving him less than $27,000 for the final run to Election Day.

Incumbent Bill Greenlee reported a $58,177 cash balance, and incumbent W. Wilson Goode Jr., $11,647.