U-Turn: East Falls attorney to challenge Delissio in 194th
East Falls lawyer Sean Stevens has filed paperwork with Harrisburg to run for state representative in Pennsylvania's 194thdistrict, saying that he's not afraid to roll up his sleeves and work hard for the people in the 194th.
"I'm there, I want to be able to listen, and I want to be able to work for them," he said in an exclusive video interview with U-Turn.
Stevens, 49, is married with two children and hails from Kensington. He's a Temple University product having achieved four degrees from the school, including a BA, MBA, JD and LLM. A trial attorney with substantial government experience, he's done stints as an assistant district attorney as well as an assistant city solicitor.
The terror attacks in Paris this past weekend struck home with Stevens, who, as a grad student, studied at Temple's Paris campus. "I lived in the West Bank of Paris. I wasn't far away from where [Ernest] Hemingway and [James] Joyce lived. This [attack] hit at heart of French life. Friday night is when friends get together and go to restaurants and sit in outside cafes," Stevens told U-Turn, adding, "It was a touching tribute that the capital [in Harrisburg] broadcast the lights of the French tri-colored flag to show support."
Stevens is seeking to defeat incumbent Democrat Pam Delissio, who is widely expected to seek a fourth term in office. Stevens filed to run for the seat in 2014, before ultimately withdrawing and endorsing Democrat Dave Henderson. Delissio defeated Henderson in a close primary race before besting Republican Bill Pounds in the general election.
Stevens says he withdrew from the race in 2014 because "it became clear that Dave Henderson was going to get the Philadelphia support, and I didn't want to split the vote with him and have Delissio retain the seat."
What happened as a result is, well, quite remarkable.
Stevens and Henderson became best friends.
How does that happen? U-Turn wanted to know.
"I didn't know him before the race, and we have a big age difference. But we quickly became best of friends," Stevens said. "We have wings at Billy Murphy's [Irish Saloon]. We talk at least once a week. Our kids love his son. We all went trick-or-treating together. It was his son's first Halloween. He went as a little Army guy."
The love is returned by Henderson, who told U-Turn, "(a)side from being just a genuinely good person and family man, Sean is a servant of the community and a proven performer across a whole host of issues. He has fought for working class families and development within our community for decades. We would be fortunate to have him in office. He's ready to work (and I mean really work!) for us."
Stevens told me that he had not planned to run for the office until Henderson announced through a Facebook posting on Oct. 5 that he would not be seeking the seat in 2016. In that posting, Henderson said that he wanted to be closer to his wife and newborn son.
When asked by U-Turn about the one item that may surprise the voters in his district, Stevens said he's been an extra in several locally shot movies, including Fallen and Creed, the Rocky movie which debuts Nov. 25th.
"They pick me cause I'm like every guy," Stevens chuckled.
The entire U-Turn interview with Stevens can be viewed here.
Contact John Featherman at john@featherman.com