Warren wants Fitzpatrick’s seat

Campaign Bits
By Tom Waring

Andy Warren opened a campaign office last week in Penndel as part of his effort to oust U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick.
Warren, Patrick Murphy and Fred Viskovich are the Democrats seeking the right to challenge Fitzpatrick (R-8th dist.) in a district that includes Bucks County, the Far Northeast and a small portion of eastern Montgomery County. The primary is May 16.
Warren was a Republican when he served with Fitzpatrick as a Bucks County commissioner before taking a job as district administrator with PennDOT, where he worked for a decade.
When Jim Greenwood decided in 2004 to drop his re-election bid, the Republican Party chose Fitzpatrick as his replacement on the ballot.
After Fitzpatrick won the congressional race, Warren sought his vacant commissioner’s seat, but the county’s Common Pleas Court judges didn’t select him. He then switched to the Democratic Party.
On the day he opened his campaign office, Warren — who served 16 years as a commissioner — said he switched parties because of Republican corruption and extremism.
"This will be a banner year for Democrats across the country — starting right here," he said.
Warren hired Brent Welder as campaign manager. Welder helped Democrat John Kerry beat President George W. Bush by about 9,000 votes in Bucks County in 2004.
The candidate acknowledged his recent party switch, but said he’ll bring integrity to the campaign trail and the same spirit of personal concern and commitment to Congress as he did to the job of commissioner.
"I remain the same Andy Warren," he said.

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The International Union of Operating Engineers has endorsed Fitzpatrick, who is seeking his second term.
Vincent Giblin, general president of the union, cited Fitzpatrick’s support for construction workers in making the endorsement.
Specifically, the union is appreciative that Fitzpatrick went against Republican leaders on provisions of a transportation bill. He objected when leaders tried to deny prevailing wage rates for workers on transportation construction projects.
The union also credited Fitzpatrick with successfully lobbying President George W. Bush in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to make sure that government contractors were reporting their expenses, hiring a local and legal work force and paying a prevailing wage in the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast region.

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Republicans are still looking for a candidate to challenge U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-13th dist.). The district includes most of the Northeast and much of Montgomery County.
Two candidates seeking the endorsement of the city and county party machines are businessman and former Apprentice 2 star Raj Bhakta and Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce president Al Taubenberger.
There is also a movement among some people to draft Iraq War hero Scott Rutter into the race. Rutter, 43, retired in November 2003 as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He helped cripple the Iraqi Special Republican Guard forces at Baghdad International Airport.
Rutter, a George Washington High School graduate, unsuccessfully sought the congressional endorsement in 2004. He’s a former Fox News senior military analyst who now works for a defense contractor. He also speaks to young audiences as part of Young America’s Foundation, a conservative group.
Vito Canuso, chairman of the Republican City Committee, said he wants to endorse a candidate "as soon as possible" so that person can begin to raise money.
Canuso would be willing to wait until the Montgomery County Republican Committee endorses, because there are more GOP voters in the suburban portion of the district.
Canuso would also like to avoid a fiasco similar to 2004. That year, the city organization backed Melissa Brown, only to watch the squabbling county group endorse Ellen Bard. Those two bashed each other throughout the primary, and Taubenberger decided to stay in the race. Brown edged Bard in the primary, then lost to Schwartz in the general election.

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Scranton has named a former state official as his campaign manager.
James M. Seif, a Blue Bell resident, served as secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection from 1995-2001.
Seif joins the campaign after retiring as vice president of corporate affairs for PPL Inc., an Allentown-based Fortune 500 electric energy company.
Scranton, who served as lieutenant governor from 1979-86, visited all of the state’s 67 counties in 2005. He is one of three Republicans hoping to challenge Gov. Ed Rendell. The others are former Pittsburgh Steelers great Lynn Swann and former Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association president Jim Panyard.
The Republican State Committee will endorse a candidate on Feb. 11.

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PACleanSweep is encouraging citizens to run for a seat in the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2006.
"After criss-crossing the commonwealth for the past few months, I’m convinced that Pennsylvanians are ready for a real change," said Russ Diamond, founder of PACleanSweep.
"But change cannot take place unless the incumbents have challengers. We need honest, hard-working citizens willing to go to Harrisburg and do the right thing."
PACleanSweep was formed last summer after legislators voted themselves a large pay raise in the early-morning hours of July 7, then took the money in unvouchered expenses. The uproar caused Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Russell Nigro to lose a retention vote, and the legislature ultimately repealed the raise.
Individuals who want to run for the state legislature must collect nominating petitions from Feb. 14 to March 7. So far, PACleanSweep has recruited 106 candidates, including 70 who will challenge incumbents in the primary. Their names have not been released.
Candidates interested in running can visit www.pacleansweep.com/helpwanted.html on the Internet. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com