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Philadelphia – Former Philadelphia Mayor Edward G. Rendell, once dubbed “America’s mayor” by former Vice President Al Gore, has taken a big step forward in his bid for another title: Pennsylvania governor.

Rendell won the Democratic nomination for governor last Tuesday after a hard-fought primary battle in which he promised sweeping changes to revive the state’s economy and schools. He defeated state Auditor General Robert P. Casey Jr., the son of the late governor who beat Rendell in the 1986 gubernatorial primary.

In another primary race in Pennsylvania, Rep. John Murtha capped his bitter battle against Rep. Frank Mascara with a victory, trouncing his fellow Democratic incumbent in a district redrawn by Republicans.

Rendell advanced to the November general election against Attorney General Mike Fisher, who was unopposed in the GOP primary. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Rendell had 693,969 votes, or 56 percent, and Casey had 535,414 votes, or 44 percent.

Rendell received overwhelming support in Philadelphia and its suburbs and overcame a mistrust of Philadelphia politicians among voters in other parts of the state.

Fisher congratulated Rendell on his victory, but also characterized his general-election opponent as a classic tax-and-spender.

Rendell, a darling of New Democrats, also is a former Philadelphia district attorney and served as general chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 2000.

In the congressional primary, the GOP’s redistricting plan placed Mascara’s home in the new 18th District, where he was encouraged by fellow Democrats to campaign. But he chose to run in the 12th District against Murtha, a 14-term veteran with a substantial fund-raising edge.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Murtha had 60,421 votes, or 64 percent, and Mascara had 33,480 votes, or 36 percent. During the campaign the candidates traded attack ads over everything from Social Security to prescription drug costs.

“There are hard feelings,’ Murtha said. ‘I don’t usually take it personally, but I’ve taken this stuff personally.’

The Mascara-Murtha race was the product of a controversial redistricting plan made necessary by Pennsylvania’s reduction from 21 to 19 Congressional districts. The 2002 election is being held under boundaries created by Act 1 of 2002, which has been held invalid by a special panel of the federal Middle District Court. A new set of boundaries will have to be set for the 2004 elections, to conform to that court’s opinion.

Fisher Charges Bucks County Attorney With Repeated Election Law Violations

Harrisburg – A Bucks County attorney is accused of election code violations for the alleged forgery of signatures on the 2001 nominating petitions for district attorney, Bucks County Common Pleas judge and district justice, Attorney General Mike Fisher announced last week.

Fisher said that William T. Roshko, 46, of Warrington, on Feb. 26, 2001, filed five nominating petitions for the three offices – three for district attorney as a Republican, one for district justice as a Democrat and one for district justice as a Republican – with the Bucks County Board of Elections. He also filed 12 nominating petitions for the common pleas judgeship – six as a Democrat and six as a Republican – with the Pennsylvania Department of State, Fisher said.

Upon interviewing people whose signatures on the petitions appeared to be forgeries, Fisher’s agents determined that at least 205 signatures appeared to have been forged. The alleged forgeries are approximately evenly distributed among all the petitions.

Fisher said Roshko had been charged with 17 counts of perjury, violation of the election code provision regarding insertion and alteration of entries in documents, false signatures and statements in nominating petitions and papers, and violation of the election code provision regarding nomination petitions.

“I am looking forward to trial,” Roshko said. “I have no doubt that I will be vindicated. This is all about politics. I gave a voluntary statement to the Attorney General’s Office in early 2001, and after 15 months, they decide to file charges – not coincidentally just before the statute of limitations runs out. I look forward to disclosing my side of the story.”

The Attorney General’s charges were filed with District Justice Ruth Dietrich of Perkasie, and the case will be prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Patrick Blessington.

Prior to the May 2001 primary election, Roshko was removed as a Republican candidate for the common pleas bench seat. Republicans Frederick Gudknecht, Daniel Wassmer and Darrin Hoffman filed suit in Commonwealth Court, challenging his nominating petitions. They alleged that numerous signatures on Roshko’s petition were invalid because they were signed by Democrats or unregistered voters and that several were duplicates – including a person whose name was signed three times.

Days before the Commonwealth Court hearing on the issue, Roshko agreed not to dispute the information in the challenge and voluntarily withdrew as a Republican candidate in the judicial race. The Commonwealth Court panel filed an order directing state officials not to certify Roshko as a GOP candidate. A similar suit was filed in Bucks County Common Pleas Court, and Roshko was removed as a Republican candidate from the district attorney and district justice races.

Roshko, however, cross-filed as a Democrat for both the 2001 common pleas judge race and the district justice seat. Neither was challenged, and his name appeared on the ballot as a Democratic candidate in the 2001 election. He did not secure a bench seat.

Thomas J. Profy of Begley Carlin & Mandio in Warrington, attorney for the plaintiffs in the Commonwealth Court suit against Roshko, also claimed that Roshko misled people by showing campaign literature to the signers that may have led them to believe they were endorsing him for a seat on the Warrington Board of Supervisors rather than for a judgeship.

Profy expressed approval of the AG’s charges. “This indictment validates the position of the Bucks County Republican Committee,” Profy said. “Our purpose was to have him removed from the ballot, everything and anything above that is in the realm of the Attorney General.”

Fumo Staffer: I Was Fired Over Rendell Button