Defeated incumbent
will keep seat warm

By Diane Villano-Prokop
Times Staff Writer

Two workers heading out of the 23rd Ward post-election party wished City Councilman Dan Savage (D-7th district) congratulations a little before 10 p.m. Still smiling, he had to break the news to the couple that things didn’t look so good.
"You had our vote," said Juniata Park resident Alberta Vellon.
About 10 minutes later, Savage, 36, took the stage and conceded the race to Maria Quiñones-Sanchez.
"With eighty-five percent of the vote in, she’s up two-thousand. There’s no way I can win. Everything happens for a reason. But we still have until January (in office) and I promise to fulfill every promise, especially to the neighborhoods," Savage said.
Less than an hour earlier, the Rocky theme song had played as Savage worked the room at Regency Caterers in Bridesburg, thanking the nearly 100 campaign and poll workers assembled, some of whom wore white T-shirts with Vote Savage #90 in big red letters.
Savage said he had been optimistic after seeing the 56th Ward’s preliminary tally, where he beat Quinones-Sanchez. He also took the 53rd Ward and the 23rd, where he is ward leader.
The Northwood resident spent Election Day much the way he had in November, visiting all the polls. The only difference, he said, was "then I knew I was going to win."
Savage had been chosen by party leaders in 2006 to run on the Democratic ballot in November’s special election to fill the seat vacated by Rick Mariano, who is in prison after his conviction on federal corruption charges. Savage beat out Gary Grisafi by a 6-to-1 margin.
This time around, Quiñones-Sanchez beat the incumbent with 7,788 votes to his 6,146. Marnie Aument-Loughrey trailed with 1,017.
Savage credits Gov. Ed Rendell’s endorsement of Quiñones-Sanchez earlier this month in part for his opponent’s victory. In an article in the Daily News, Rendell also said that he had been disappointed that Savage had been given the nod to run in the special election by his fellow ward leaders.
"Rendell’s endorsement hurt me. He was misinformed, uninformed about me, but I’m holding true to who I am. I think I ran a good, clean race," Savage said.
Savage’s chief of staff Liz McCollom-Nazaria agreed that Rendell’s endorsement of Quiñones -Sanchez hurt Savage.
"I think it’s a big loss for the seventh. We had a good plan. We just didn’t have four years [to see it through]. They haven’t heard the last from Dan Savage," she said. ••