Dan Onorato

Onorato first in Chester tally

By Peter L. DeCoursey
February 20, 2010

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato led the Democratic gubernatorial field in the endorsement vote by the Chester County Democratic committee Saturday morning.

Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel won the endorsement of the Lancaster County Democratic Committee Saturday afternoon.

Hoeffel, Onorato and Auditor General Jack Wagner spoke at both events. They also each wooed committeemembers individually as each sought to break free from what polls say is a tight pack with all well behind "undecided."

The fight for Philadelphia suburban votes is one of the keys to this Democratic primary, the candidates and local officials said. That is why the three candidates spent their morning and afternoon working the two county committees, after state committee did not endorse in the race two weeks ago. Wagner won just over 50 percent of the vote at Democratic State Committee.

The Lancaster County Democratic Committee endorsed Hoeffel on its second ballot, after Wagner finished third on the first ballot and was dropped off.

In the first ballot, Hoeffel got 56 votes, Onorato 47 and Wagner 23. Wagner had gotten all of the state committee votes from the county two weeks ago.

In the second ballot Hoeffel won 78 to Onorato's 47 and two abstentions. All of Wagner's votes appeared to go to Hoeffel.

At the Chester County committee meeting, with 133 votes, 55 percent, needed to win the endorsement of the committee, Onorato rolled up 103, Hoeffel, 95, 52 for Wagner and one for Sen. Anthony Williams, D-Philadelphia. Williams did not appear at the county committee meeting or have his name placed in nomination. There was no second ballot.

U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Delaware, won the Lancaster County Democratic Committee endorsement 101-27, over U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., according to county chairman Bruce Beardsley.

Specter spoke at the Chester County meeting but not at the Lancaster meeting. Sestak led Specter 126-119 at Chester County Democratic meeting, but fell short of the 133 votes needed for endorsement. No second ballot was held for U.S. Senate or governor in Chester.

Sestak said "the closer we get to the people, the better we do. ... Look, I understand we still have some challenges in name recognition, but I think people understand how hard we work and our principles, and I was very honored today."

Before the Chester U.S. Senate vote, Specter said he believed his transition to the Democratic Party, after four-plus decades as a Republican, was going well, and that he would run hard to ensure he won the primary.

His campaign manager, Chris Nicholas, issued the following reaction by e-mail after the Chester Democratic Committee's vote: "Cong. Joe Sestak failed to gain the endorsement of the Chester County Democratic Committee at their Convention today, despite the fact that his 7th Congressional District includes significant portions of the County. Sestak's home area failure comes two weeks after the Democratic State Committee of Pennsylvania overwhelmingly endorsed Senator Arlen Specter by a 77[%]-23% margin."

Nicholas wrote that Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-Chester, whom Onorato credited with helping his campaign in Chester, "spearheaded the Specter campaign's Convention efforts."

In Chester, former Philadelphia City Controller Jonathan Saidel won the endorsement unanimously. In Lancaster, former Commonwealth Court Judge Doris Smith-Ribner out-polled him 62 to 59, but fell short of the 65 votes needed for endorsement, Beardsley said.

Hoeffel supporters said his record and campaign as the most liberal of the candidates helped him in Lancaster and finish second in Chester, which neighbors his native Montgomery County.

Chester County Democratic Committee members said Onorato's campaign and his local support from Dinniman, among others, helped him do better with the whole county committee than he did two weeks ago with the Chester County Democratic State Committee members.

Wagner won that state committee tally and won just over half of the Democratic State Committee's total endorsement votes. But with two-thirds required for a state committee endorsement, none was made.

Now, two weeks later, Onorato hailed the Chester County result and his showing in Lancaster.

"Obviously we can see the amount of time we have spent in the southeast and the field effort we have here were reflected in today's results," Onorato said. "This shows the momentum my campaign has, and this shows where this campaign is going."

Wagner said: "It would have been nice to get more votes, but obviously the dictate of that committee is the same as the state committee, that we have an open primary. We have done well in Chester County in the past running as auditor general and we will continue that in the primary. ... And we will do well in Lancaster."

Hoeffel said Chester showed he has strong support among a good field of candidates and Lancaster highlighted his campaign's momentum and appeal.

Wagner said his campaign would do well in both and noted a Lancaster Democrat told him former Gov. Bob Casey "was never endorsed by us, either."

Williams also was not nominated and did not appear at the Lancaster Democrats' meeting at the Lancaster Host Resort.

Onorato, Wagner and Hoeffel all spoke to both committees. The Chester event was held in the auditorium of the Stetson Middle School here in suburban Westchester.

Hoeffel and Onorato both said they would protect the environment and increase funding to safeguard waterways endangered by natural gas drilling. Onorato said he would veto any bill that sought to restrict abortions. Hoeffel said he would protect abortion rights and has said he would try to reduce current abortion restrictions that he has said "unfairly discriminate against women and the poor."

Wagner said the big issues are government reform and that he has identified problems in current state government and highlighted solutions to them.

The fight for votes in Philadelphia's suburbs is considered a key in this Democratic gubernatorial primary election.

Almost two voters in five in the Democratic primary live in the Philadelphia TV market and most of them live in the city or its four big suburbs: Chester, Bucks, Montgomery and Lehigh. So that region is considered a huge battleground region.

Dinniman said he is supporting Onorato and believed he would win, adding that among voters he hears from so far, none of the Democratic gubernatorial candidates had yet emerged from the pack.

"Issues and and appeals have to be made differently here," said Dinniman. "You have to appeal to the same issues, but not in the same rich versus poor, have versus have-not way you do in Philadelphia or Allegheny County. You have the same goal and voters support it, but in the suburbs you have to say it differently, make it the fairness argument, the opportunity argument.

"You have to learn to speak suburban-ese to win here among Democrats, independents and moderate Republicans. And our candidates are learning, but none of them are really there yet."

Saidel said of the gubernatorial candidates: "None of these guys are known in the east. Nobody. And that includes Tom Corbett. Nobody is ahead yet."