Sources say Fumo is lobbying for Farnese

State Sen. Vince Fumo has joined the battle over his successor, trying to derail a bid by union leader John Dougherty to secure an endorsement from the district's Democratic ward leaders.

Sources said that Fumo had talked this week with a number of ward leaders, trying to get them to support lawyer Larry Farnese or, at least, to abstain from a Dougherty endorsement.

Dougherty backers have been pushing for an endorsement meeting - a sign that the leader of the electricians union feels he already has lined up the necessary votes.

Norman Berson, the lawyer who heads Center City's 8th ward, has scheduled a meeting of the district's ward leaders for lunchtime Monday at the party's headquarters on Walnut Street.

Fumo's closest political allies moved into the Farnese camp shortly after the senator withdrew from the Democratic primary race on March 12, citing the difficulties of seeking re-election while facing a federal corruption trial in September.

The Farnese campaign announced this week that it's secured endorsements - and a pledge of $250,000 in campaign support - from a group of 13 Democratic senators, most of them considered close to Fumo.

But Fumo himself has made no public endorsement of Farnese, beyond calling in his withdrawal speech for "new, young leadership" - a description that could apply either to Farnese or the third candidate in the race, anti-casino activist Anne Dicker.

Farnese said in a telephone interview yesterday that he hadn't asked Fumo to make calls on his behalf, nor asked for the senator's advice or support.

"If the senator wants to support my campaign in any way, I'll treat him the way I treat any other supporter," Farnese said. "Three points. One, there are no strings attached. Two, I'm my own person, I make my own decisions. And three, I answer only to the people."

Farnese confirmed that he had visited Fumo's house in Fairmount recently, to speak informally with a group of senators visiting Fumo after his withdrawal. Farnese said he'd been invited not by Fumo but by state Sen. Sean Logan, a lawmaker from suburban Pittsburgh whom Farnese credited with organizing this week's endorsement by two-thirds of the Democratic caucus.

"I'm running against a union boss who has access to a tremendous amount of [campaign] money," Farnese said. "I want to do whatever I can to elicit the kind of support I need to win."

Dougherty's campaign raised questions about a black-tie dinner dance that Fumo's political action committee has organized for April 12. The invitations seek $2,500 a couple for cocktails, $3,500 for dinner or $5,500 for cocktails and dinner combined, at the Society Hill Sheraton.

Fumo's invitation letter, dated March 19, says that he struggled over whether to proceed with his annual fundraising event, the Harry S Truman dinner, but decided to go ahead with it.

"[W]e need a new generation of leaders," Fumo said, "and they will need our support. It is not easy to mount a campaign for public office, especially for someone new and young, who is committed to honor and integrity."

Fumo's letter did not identify which candidate or candidates he intends to support.

"The dinner is just another example of the thinly veiled effort by Fumo to direct money and human resources to Farnese," Dougherty spokesman Frank Keel said in an e-mail. *