One gun a month bill is far from the answer (Ed Dixon's Letter)

One gun a month bill
is far from the answer
State Rep. Dennis O’Brien, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has not allowed a vote on "one gun a month" legislation simply because the votes are non-existent.How can he convince his colleagues in the House chamber of a state that has been described by political pundits as "Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Alabama in-between" that there is a necessity to pass said legislation?The vast majority of the state is not experiencing Philadelphia’s violence epidemic; therefore, voting for the subject legislation would provide more rural constituents a disservice by impeding on their Second Amendment rights. However, let us assume that Rep. O’Brien could secure the votes needed to pass the "one gun a month" legislation. Although it would create a more complicated environment for straw purchasers from an administrative perspective, eventually, the same amount of guns would surface on the street. Crime lords, drug dealers, etc. would formulate a new method of accumulating weapons via identifying sellers in alternate states and accumulating more straw purchasers statewide. Many city officials, as well as the Northeast Times May 18 editorial, are citing guns as the core problem in the city’s recent increase in homicides, but such a mindset is so shallow and shortsighted. The issue is not guns; it’s the culture behind those utilizing guns. Take away guns and the issue could be an increase in homicides due to stabbings. Take away knives and the cause could be an increase in baseball bat beatings.Only through education will individuals realize that there are alternatives to careers in crime. And for those who defer to such a life, a larger, better-equipped police force as well as a more stringent legislative and judicial environment is the answer. Ed DixonBustletonNote: Mr. Dixon is a member of the Neighborhood Civic PAC, a medium for like-minded Philadelphia residents to carry out public service initiatives. For information, call 215-292-3926 or e-mail neighborhoodcivicpac@yahoo.com

Doc Inching Closer to GOP?

With John Dougherty no longer a member of Democratic City Committee Leadership, and Bob Brady pandering to the likes of Carol Campbell, is it inevitable that John will become a Republican? The Evening Bulletin thinks so:

Lamp Lighter

Is
John Dougherty feeling out Philadelphia Republicans about running for
Mayor as a Republican? It is well known that Doc is looking to run for Mayor and
now that the Democratic door is closing and Bob Brady is asserting his
leadership in Philadelphia Democratic Establishment and excluding John
Dougherty, the only realistic other possibility is the Republican
party.

Ward Fights Accross the City

Ward-leader dramas play out
It was an evening of arguments and police presence, though no beatings or arrests, as Democrats picked 69 leaders.

Emilio Vazquez lost his second race in as many weeks. He was with the establishment as was shown in his race for Bill Reiger's Old seat where he was supported by several Democratic Ward Leaders, including Dan Savage, Marge Tartaglione and Carlos Matos. Does Bob Brady feel that the Democratic Party is dead? No, but it may have been resurrected with new people assuming roles once held by the old guard.
"

Nobody got beat up and nobody got locked up," said U.S. Rep. Robert Brady,
chairman of the Democratic City Committee. "People say that the Democratic Party
is dead, but I say it's alive and kickin'."
Still, party leaders now have to
sort through several complaints of unfairness from losers in the fights, Brady
said.

One complaint seemed sure to come from the 43d, where acting leader Tom Logan
defeated Emilio Vazquez, 28-17. Before the meeting, men and women were screaming
at one another over who could be admitted to the room to vote.
"They don't
have certificates!" a Vazquez supporter yelled, arguing that Logan was packing
the room with bogus committee members not elected in the May 16 primary.

They are even denying their own people the right to vote.

"They disenfranchised our committee people," Vazquez said, looking at a tally
sheet on the sidewalk outside.
"They say your vote counts - not in there,"
said Kimberly Lambert-Tores, who voted for Vazquez. "These are the same people
who've done nothing for the neighborhood."

In other areas, democracy was alive and kicking as well. Remember it is not the voters that decide an election, rather it is those that count that votes.

Former 33d Ward leader Donna Aument told Brady that she defeated incumbent
Candido Silva in a replay of their grudge match of four years ago.
But Silva
said, "I beat her by one vote," before declining further comment. "Let me enjoy
my victory with my family."

The same party that is alive and kicking saw one of their own, City Councilman Juan Ramos, go down in defeat.

Incumbent Helen "Lynn" Farrell won, 20-12, [against Ramos] despite heavy
lobbying by Ramos and fellow Council members.

In a battle that is going to help shape next years 6th Councilmanic District race.

In Mayfair's 55th Ward,lawyer Robert Delavella won a battle that centered on
nepotism and accusations that his opponent was the pawn of State Rep. Michael
McGeehan. Delavella bested Michael Lowry, the son of retiring ward leader
Vincent Lowry, 34-22.

Rival Democrats in Philadelphia charge intimidation, harassment, and improper assistance being provided to voters in the May Primary. One side also cl

Payton is winner in the 179th - for now
The political newcomer has won the Pa. House seat. But the party-endorsed write-in candidate says he will fight.
By Thomas Fitzgerald
Inquirer Staff Writer

Round one in The Outsider vs. The Machine goes to Tony Payton Jr., by 19 votes.

But the bout promises to continue in court.

Completing a count of the ballots cast two weeks ago in the Democratic primary for the 179th State House District, the Philadelphia city commissioners declared yesterday that Payton had withstood the extraordinary write-in campaign waged by party power brokers on behalf of their choice, Emilio Vazquez.

The tally was 962 votes for Payton to 943 votes for Vazquez, following a painstaking review of paper tapes taken from electronic voting machines as well as provisional and absentee ballots.

Vazquez's lawyer immediately vowed to appeal the city commissioners' count in Common Pleas Court, arguing that some votes for his client were improperly disallowed. The campaign has until Monday to ask for court review.

"I'll take it," a relieved Payton, 25, said of his narrow victory. "I'm eager to serve the people and will be glad to put this behind us. At the end of the day, 962 people voted for change."

Payton was the only qualified Democrat on the primary ballot in the North Philadelphia district. The courts had disqualified Vazquez for failing to list his employer, the Philadelphia Parking Authority, on an ethics disclosure form required with nominating petitions.

Much of the city Democratic establishment snubbed Payton, endorsing Vazquez. Powerful Democrats, led by 62d Ward leader Margaret Tartaglione and her son-in-law, 19th Ward leader Carlos Matos, ran a write-in campaign for Vazquez, complete with rubber stamps to make it easier for voters to mark their ballots.

"It's not over," Vazquez said, adding that he would keep working in the community regardless of how the courts decide.

"I'm a hands-on guy. I'm not going to stop, whether I'm in or not," he said.

Vazquez, 38, is known for community activism, especially projects to remove graffiti and spruce up vacant lots. He ran in the Democratic primary for the state House seat two years ago, but finished fourth in a field of four.

This time, however, the unusual write-in campaign appeared successful; after election night, the category "write-in" led Payton.

But Vazquez's total shrank under the scrutiny of several days of commissioners hearings. It became apparent that, in some cases, the write-in button was pushed but no name was filled in, or voters' stamp marks were illegible. In addition, some votes that appeared to be for Vazquez were disallowed because they were stamped on the space provided for write-ins for other races, including Congress and ward committee seats.

A total of 212 Vazquez stamp marks were found in other spaces, but it is clear that the voters' intent was to vote for him for state representative, lawyer Ralph Teti argued.

"This is not a case of voters' remorse," Teti said. "Due to a variety of factors - machine malfunctions, wrong instructions - people wound up putting the stamp mark in the wrong place, negating their vote."

If the stray stamp marks had been counted, Vazquez would have won "in a walk," Teti said.

Both camps also have raised complaints of intimidation, harassment, and improper assistance being provided to voters, among other things.

The winner of the postelection battle will be the favorite in the fall general election against Republican Troy Bouie to replace 40-year incumbent Rep. William Rieger. The North Philadelphia district is overwhelmingly Democratic.

Vazquez also is about to enter another election - for Democratic leader of the 43d Ward, to be decided by ward committee members Monday night. The acting leader of the ward, Tom Logan, bucked top party leaders and supported Payton.