Celebrating 10 years of personal art
Family Portrait: Joel Kaylor
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Three more historical figures you should know.
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PAGES 18-21
Nov. 4-10, 2011
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Vol. 35 No. 44
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Election round-up
Endorsements Mayor Michael Nutter
PGN Staff
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The House State Government Committee this week approved a bill that is part of a legislative trend said to stem the tide of illegal immigration, but that lacks protections for LGBTs among its nondiscrimination provisions. The committee on Tuesday advanced SB 637, proposed by Sen. Kim Ward (R-39th Dist.), which would require public-works contractors and subcontractors to participate in E-Verify, a federal program that allows employers to verify the eligibility status of employees in a national database. Ward’s measure includes a stipulation that employers cannot use E-Verify to discriminate based on a number of factors, including race, ethnicity, color and national origin. Pennsylvania Rep. Babette Josephs (D-
182nd Dist.) offered an amendment to add sexual orientation and gender identity or expression among the protected classes in SB 637, but Josephs’ motion was voted down. Josephs opposes the E-Verify legislation but said she offered the amendment after it became clear the measure would pass. “I figured I would try to make it better if I could,” she said. “No one should ever be discriminated against, so why should we allow an employer or anyone involved in this bad policy decision of E-Verify to discriminate against a group of people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression?” When the measure comes up for debate on the full floor, Josephs said she plans to again pursue the amendment. E-Verify authorizes employers to use a free government database to compare their employees’ I-9 forms to PAGE 14
Pennsylvania Superior Court David Wecht (D) Commonwealth Court Kathryn Boockvar (D)
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Sheriff Jewell Williams (D)
LGBT amendment defeated in worker-database bill By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
City Commissioner (vote for two) Anthony Clark (D) Stephanie Singer (D)
Court of Common Pleas Diana Anhalt (D) Jonathan Irvine (D) Angelo Foglietta (D) Barbara McDermott (D) Carolyn Nichols (D)
OUTSIDE PHILADELPHIA Delaware County Council
Keith Collins (D) Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas
Dan Clifford (D)
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BEFORE THE VOTING BOOTH: About 70 people attended a fundraiser Tuesday night at Stir for Liberty City Democratic Club, including president Lee Carson (second from right), board member Micah Mahjoubian and member Tony Brooks. The LGBT political group plans to use $5,000 it raised to support its get-out-the-vote initiatives for the spring primary. Photo: Scott A. Drake
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Council Districts 1st: Mark Squilla 2nd: Kenyatta Johnson 6th: Bob Henon 7th: Maria Quiñones Sánchez 8th: Cindy M. Bass 10th: Bill Rubin
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On Nov. 8, the city of Philadelphia will head to the polls for Election Day. In the heavily Democratic town, many of the races were decided in the primary. But there are still a few races that are not set in stone. In the City Council District races, Democrat Bob Henon and Republican Sandra Stewart are battling for Democrat Joan Krajewski’s longheld 6th District seat. In the 10th, Democrat Bill Rubin is trying to unseat incumbent Republican Brian O’Neill. Some of races that are either no contest or close to it include the mayoral, the 1st District (Democrat Mark Squilla is running unopposed), the 2nd (Democratic state Rep. Kenyatta Johnson is expected to win), the 3rd (incumbent Jannie Blackwell is expected to win) and the 8th (Democrat Cindy Bass is expected to win). Democratic incumbents in District seats 4, 5, 7 and 9 are unopposed. Though low turnout might not impact many of these, there are a few races where votes will matter: at-large council seats, city commissioners and judiciary. For the at-large seats, the real contest will be who wins the two non-majority seats. In Philadelphia City Council, the top seven votegetters fill the at-large seats, with two held for non-majority members. Citizens can vote for five candidates, from any party. Thus, the first five seats will go to the top five candidates who won the Democratic primary in May. Assuming that Republicans will likely vote for their full slate of five candidates, it will be independents and Democrats who mix candidates who will decide this race, likely by slim margins. The other race to watch is for city commissioners, who oversee city elections. For this, there are three seats, and no party may hold more than two seats. In the primary, Democrat Stephanie Singer beat longtime commissioner Marge Tartaglione. The incumbents are Anthony Clark (D) and Joseph Duda (R). Both Singer and Republican candidate Al Schmidt are framing themselves as reformers, challenging the establishment. For our interviews this PAGE 8
City Council-at-Large (vote for five) Blondell Reynolds Brown (D) Bill Green (D) William K. Greenlee (D) James F. Kenney (D) Dennis H. O’Brien (R)
Doylestown Borough Council, Ward 1:
Marlene Pray (D)
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