Campaign bits
By Tom Waring
State Sen. Allyson Schwartz has taken care of a potentially distracting issue in her congressional campaign.
Schwartz, a Democratic candidate in the 13th Congressional District, last week made settlement on a house in Jenkintown.
The lawmaker had lived in Mount Airy, which is not part of the 13th district. She was able to run for the seat because the law allows an individual to run for any seat in his or her state.
Her opponent, Joe Torsella, was planning to make the residency issue one focus of his campaign. Had Schwartz won the primary while living outside the district, Republicans would surely have labeled her a carpetbagger.
Schwartz had few places to choose when looking for a new house, since state law requires a legislator to live in his or her district. The only towns that overlap Schwartz’s 4th Senate District and the 13th Congressional District are Jenkintown and Abington.
Ken Morley, Schwartz’s campaign manager, said it was a tough decision for her to leave Philadelphia, since she had lived in the city for more than 25 years. She has not sold her Mount Airy home.
Morley said issues, not residency, will be the focus of the campaign. He pointed to Schwartz’s 13 years in the Senate. Torsella, former president of the National Constitution Center, is making his first run for office.
“This election is going to be about experience, who has the legislative background to get the job done in Washington,” Morley said.
Torsella’s response to Schwartz’s move?
“Welcome to the district,” said Torsella, who lives in Flourtown.
Schwartz will officially declare her candidacy later this month.
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Torsella is calling for the creation of a national crime victim notification system.
He wants to protect citizens by setting up a federal inmate real-time status and status-change notification service.
Crime victims would be able to register online, through a secure Department of Justice Web site, to receive an instant phone or e-mail notification when the perpetrator changes status, such as being released, obtaining parole or escaping from prison.
A similar notification system is in place at the state and local levels in Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas and Ohio.
“We can’t continue to put individual and community safety at risk. Let’s get victims the information they need to keep themselves safe,” said Torsella, pointing to Philadelphia’s rising murder and robbery rates.
Torsella proposes to pay for the system implementation by increasing defendant fines and assessments at the sentencing stage.
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Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is staying neutral in the primary race between Schwartz and Torsella.
“One benefit of being chairman of the party is you can never get in a primary,” he said last week during an appearance at a Center City news conference backing Joe Hoeffel’s Senate bid.
McAuliffe said he likes all Democratic primary congressional candidates equally.
The party chairman, whose chief concern is the presidential race, said he was not paying much attention to the three-way Republican primary in the 13th district.
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Pennsylvania House Speaker John Perzel has agreed to serve as honorary chairman of Melissa Brown’s congressional campaign.
“Melissa Brown is the only candidate with a message that resonates with voters in both Montgomery County and Philadelphia,” Perzel said. “Her ability to listen to voters and connect with them is what makes her such a strong candidate.”
Perzel (R-172nd dist.) plans to raise money and build grassroots support for Brown, who faces state Rep. Ellen Bard and Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce president Al Taubenberger in the April 27 primary.
Jim Matthews, a Montgomery County commissioner and chairman of the Brown campaign, called Perzel’s support “invaluable.”
“No one knows how to win campaigns in Northeast Philadelphia better than John Perzel,” said Matthews, who grew up in Somerton.
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Bard has decided against seeking reelection to her state House seat. She made the announcement on Monday morning at the Montgomery County Courthouse.
Elected in 1994, Bard has focused on issues such as health care and law enforcement.
“Now it’s time to take my proven track record of promises made and promises kept to a higher level,” she said in announcing that she would focus on the congressional campaign.
Bard enjoys the endorsement of the Montgomery County Republican Committee.
In the race for her current seat, the Democratic candidate is Josh Shapiro, former chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Joe Hoeffel, who is running for the Senate.
The Republican candidate for Bard’s seat is expected to be former state and U.S. Rep. Jon Fox. ••