Al for Congress
Northeast Philadelphia/Montgomery County voters are rather blessed this year to have a field of five outstanding candidates from which to choose their next delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Democrats Allyson Schwartz and Joe Torsella and Republicans Ellen Bard, Melissa Brown and Al Taubenberger have impeccable credentials, and any of them likely would serve the 13th Congressional District very well in Washington, D.C.
Next week, the Northeast Times will announce its recommendation for the Democratic nomination in the April 27 primary.
Today, we turn to the Republican contest.
Bard, a state representative from Montgomery County for 10 years, has been an able and visible legislator. She has led the fight for medical liability reform to help keep doctors in Pennsylvania and sponsored legislation to reduce the cost of prescription drugs for senior citizens; she was named legislator of the year by the Pennsylvania Orthopedic Society; she sponsored measures that crack down on graffiti and created the DARE license plate.
This elegant, soft-spoken lady could be a bit more willing to reveal her positions on some of the more pressing social issues of the day, but the voters would not be ill-served if she were to be elected to Congress.
Bard, who is endorsed by the Montgomery County Republican Committee, is going for broke in this race — she opted not to run for re-election to her state House seat, though running simultaneously for both the state and federal posts would have been perfectly legal. It’s a gutsy move and she deserves kudos. It is also worth noting that Ellen Bard has never lost an election.
Also worthy of kudos is Brown. The ophthalmologist and former nurse from Flourtown is a smart cookie who nearly toppled two-term Democratic incumbent Joe Hoeffel on the shoulders of anti-Section 8 sentiment in Northeast Philadelphia in the 2002 general election. Brown is endorsed by the Philadelphia Republican City Committee.
Although she wrongly opposes a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage, she takes the right positions on issues that matter most to senior citizens — a voting bloc that strongly supported former Rep. Bob Borski for two decades.
Brown is calling for a Seniors Bill of Rights and wants to kill the death tax on inheritance, and she wants to repeal the 1993 tax on Social Security benefits. She also wants to make President Bush’s tax cuts permanent — a move that would help young and old alike.
Here too, voters in the 13th district would make no mistake were they to send this doctor to the House, although they have bypassed her twice before.
For Northeast Philadelphia Republicans, however, we wholeheartedly give the edge to the one candidate who actually lives in Northeast Philadelphia — Taubenberger.
When Taubenberger became president of the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce in 1991, the chamber had 348 members. Today, it has more than 900 members. That says something about Taubenberger’s salesmanship and leadership skills. He is a businessman’s businessman who knows the movers and shakers in the wonderful world of commerce — and yes, Northeast Philly has plenty of businesses — and in the political world. He has connections to the mighty and powerful and is conservative on many issues — not a bad fit for largely conservative Northeast Philadelphia.
The 50-year-old business leader is no political lightweight. His resume is impressive — board member at the Philadelphia Parking Authority, vice chairman of the Tax Reform Commission, aide to U.S. Rep. Charlie Dougherty and City Councilman Jack Kelly.
Al Taubenberger is a gregarious fellow who says what he feels and feels what he says, and he is right on many of the issues near and dear to the hearts of Northeast Philadelphians. Unlike Bard and Brown, Taubenberger is a strong supporter of the planned extension of Woodhaven Road to Philmont Avenue. Of the five candidates, Taubenberger is the only pro-life candidate. While that inflexible position could make him vulnerable in the general election, he is a man of conviction and principle — Washington could sure use more of that.
Taubenberger is also exactly right on the touchy issue of President Bush’s proposed amendment to ban same-sex marriages, and while he says he would vote for such an amendment if elected, he is realistic enough to admit that as a freshman member of Congress, he would not be so bold as to introduce the measure — he would let someone with more seniority do it.
Taubenberger, the son of German immigrants, has the potential to be Northeast Philadelphia’s modern-day version of Bill Barrett, the popular South Philly congressman who was legendary for returning to his home district from Washington every night. In fact, Taubenberger, president of the Burholme Civic Association and Town Watch, vowed to continue to patrol in the local Town Watch if elected.
Not to be outdone by candidate Brown, Taubenberger vows that if elected, one of his first official acts would be to introduce legislation that would authorize the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to limit the number of Section 8 houses on a given block.
“Maybe we will just have to undo an act,” he says. “Laws can be changed.”
With Hoeffel setting his sights on Arlen Specter’s U.S. Senate seat this year, the 13th district seat is opening up. The district could use some continuity, and Taubenberger conceivably could serve the district for many years to come.
Thanks to a misguided and very unfortunate redistricting hatchet job by the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Legislature following the 2000 census, Northeast Philadelphia has been carved into four congressional districts. Be that as it may, it is OK for Northeast Republicans to be parochial in the primary election and go for one of their own to carry the Grand Old Party flag against Schwartz or Torsella in November.
Al Taubenberger’s election to Congress would be the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s worst nightmare, but the chamber’s loss would be the country’s gain. ••