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.