Friday, March 12, 2010

The 'issues' in the 7th Dist. race

I had a visitor bright and early yesterday morning here in the office.

It was Pat Meehan. I had an inkling why he was here.

The former U.S. attorney and former top Delco lawman was doing a little damage control. Basically, he was doing what we call “getting ahead of the story.”

I had received a couple of e-mails late Wednesday and early Thursday from the Meehan camp alerting us to potential problems with his nominating petitions.

Meehan actually sent a letter to his successor as Delco D.A., his Drexel Hill neighbor Mike Green, asking him to review possible problems with some of the signatures on his nominating petitions.

The Meehan campaign had identified at lest four signatures that were “questionable.”

I don’t consider it a big deal. Of course, it did not stop a flurry of e-mails from his likely Democratic foe, state Rep. Bryan Lentz, alleging all kinds of problems with the Meehan situation, and again warning of the nefarious way the Delco GOP goes about its business.

The Lentz campaign said Meehan only took action after they began asking questions.

In other words, politics as usual. It rises to about the same level as the Meehan folks ripping Lentz for missing some votes while attending an event in Washington, D.C.

About the most interesting thing to come out of all this finger-pointing is a blast from the past. Apparently right in the middle of the Meehan petition problems is Paul Summers, a longtime political fixture in Upper Darby and the county who has had a couple of skirmishes in his past, including being forced to resign his post with the county convention and visitors bureau when this newspaper discovered he had been doing political work on the job.

The other oddity about all this is that Meehan at one time prosecuted people in the county for problems with nominating petitions.

It’s not going to make much difference. Meehan has more than enough signatures to stay on the ballot.

No doubt the name-calling and finger-pointing will continue on both sides.

I guess the issues will just have to wait.

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