Trio to square off in 174th

Campaign Bits
By Tom Waring

Three candidates will compete in the March 14 special election in the 174th Legislative District.
The candidates are Democrat John Sabatina Jr., Republican Charles R. Ebsworth Sr. and the Green Party’s Traci Confer.
The seat has been vacant since the beginning of January, when Alan Butkovitz resigned to become city controller.
Sabatina, a 35-year-old former assistant district attorney from Rhawnhurst, is the overwhelming favorite in the heavily Democratic district.
Republicans are not expected to make a concerted effort to win the race. The GOP struggled to find a candidate by last week’s deadline. Glenn Romano, an attorney who faced Butkovitz in 2002, declined to run because of work obligations, so the party turned to Ebsworth, who lives on Benton Street in Bell’s Corner.
Confer, a computer consultant from Castor Gardens, ran for the 2nd Senatorial District seat in 2002, receiving 1 percent of the vote against Democratic Sen. Tina Tartaglione and Republican Gary Feldman. If elected, she would focus on issues such as health care, the environment and neighborhood development.
The winner will serve the remaining 11 months of Butkovitz’s term and will have to run in the May 16 primary for a full two-year term.

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Former Lt. Gov. Bill Scranton, a Republican candidate for governor, last week called on the Republican State Committee to not make an endorsement in the race.
The committee is scheduled to make an endorsement on Feb. 11. Former Pittsburgh Steelers great Lynn Swann is also seeking the party nod. Jim Panyard, former president of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association, is not going for party backing but will run in the May 16 primary.
Scranton called for an open primary because Swann has declined to debate him until after the committee makes its endorsement.
Earlier, he had said a primary would be a waste of money that would be better spent against Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell. Now, he believes Pennsylvania Republicans need a candidate who is tested.
"Running against Ed Rendell is not entry-level politics," he said. "The Republican nominee must withstand the toughest questions and be ready with real answers and real solutions."
In other Scranton news, the candidate said he supports an amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution to protect traditional marriage. A group of state lawmakers last week introduced a bill to establish marriage as between a man and a woman. Rendell opposes the amendment.
Meanwhile, Scranton fired his campaign manager, former state Department of Environmental Protection secretary Jim Seif, for comments he made about Swann. Appearing on a live, statewide broadcast of PCN Call-In on the Pennsylvania Cable Network, Seif labeled Swann "the rich white guy in this campaign." Swann is black.

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Patrick Murphy, a Democratic candidate in the 8th Congressional District, celebrated the 33rd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion.
Murphy is an attorney who taught constitutional law at the U.S. Military Academy.
"When I’m elected to Congress, I will aggressively fight to protect a woman’s right to choose," he said.
Murphy is one of three Democrats seeking the right to challenge freshman Republican Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick. The others are Andy Warren and Fred Viskovich.
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The Committee of Seventy has information on its Web site about how to run to be a ward committee person.
The Democratic and Republican parties have two committee people in each of the city’s 1,681 divisions. Committee members will be elected in the May 16 primary. To be a committee person, an individual must be at least 18 years old.
To run, candidates need 10 signatures of registered voters from their party. Petition forms are available by calling 215-686-3460. Signatures can be collected from Feb. 14 to March 7.
More information on the electoral process is available by contacting the Committee of Seventy at 215-557-3600 or www.seventy.org ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com