Despite third-place finish, Abraham upbeat

Lynne M. Abraham was feeling great.

She had just lost the Democratic mayoral primary, but she was relentlessly upbeat. After a long day, a long six months, Abraham shook hands, flashed wide grins, and said she "had a wonderful day," and "was proud of the campaign we ran."

Though the former district attorney, famously described by Mayor Frank L. Rizzo as "one tough cookie," finished a distant third behind James F. Kenney and State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, she was at peace, she said.

In her concession speech, she offered her help to nominee Kenney.

That Tuesday night was likely the 74-year-old's political swan song did not seem to bother Abraham. But she wanted her last race to mean something.

"The important thing that I wanted to stress is that women are substantial people and should be encouraged to run for office," Abraham said in an interview at the Olde Bar in Society Hill, where more than 100 supporters gathered. "I'm the second woman in 334 years to run for mayor. That's a disgraceful record.

"I'm glad that I got a chance at the bat," she added, saying more women "ought to get the gumption and grit to go for mayors' jobs."

She got to know Republican mayoral candidate Melissa Murray Bailey, a neighbor, a bit on the campaign trail, and said Bailey was a good candidate. But the GOP needs a shake-up, too, Abraham said.

"It's important that the Republican Party be revitalized so we have a two-party system," she said. "This is a wake-up call."

Abraham had strong name recognition, having spent 19 years as the city's district attorney, beginning in 1991. She ran a campaign based on issues, she said.

"I don't run away from my past or record," Abraham said.

Ultimately, she said, she was done in by opponents who owed much to others. The role of "dark money, outsiders' money," cannot be overstated, she said.

Jeffrey Kolansky first met Abraham in 1978, when she was a judge and he was a young assistant district attorney. He and his wife, Maggie, became friendly with Abraham, and they joined her Tuesday night.

The city missed out in failing to elect Abraham, Maggie Kolansky said. "She would run the city - it wouldn't be other people running things behind the scenes," Maggie Kolansky said. "Lynne is just good people."

The crowd skewed a little resigned, a little melancholy, but not Abraham. "I feel like Edith Piaf," she said, smiling broadly. "I have no regrets."

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