Two from area seek nod for treasurer

The race for the Democratic nomination for state treasurer is heating up as two Philadelphia-area candidates prepare to lobby for the endorsement of the party's state committee this weekend.

Rob McCord, a Montgomery County venture capitalist, has begun circulating results of a poll showing that his background in the financial world would give him an electoral advantage over Bucks County Democratic chairman John Cordisco, a trial lawyer and former state legislator.

At least two other Democrats are considering entering the April 22 primary.

McCord's campaign also says it will file state financial reports this month showing he raised $3.1 million last year, though at least $1 million of it is a loan from his personal fortune.

Cordisco argues that McCord would be beholden to campaign contributors from the financial industry, and that an early poll comparing two people who are little known statewide is meaningless.

The poll pointedly asked how respondents felt about legislators who raised their own salaries.

When Cordisco was in the state House in 1983, he voted to raise lawmakers' salaries from $25,000 to $35,000. "The polling shows that John Cordisco is effectively unelectable," said Mark Nevins, a spokesman for McCord's campaign. "In this environment, if you vote to raise your own pay, you pay."

Cordisco chuckled and said, in effect, bring it on. He said he was on track to raise $1.3 million by the end of the month.

"I think he's got a nerve," Cordisco said of McCord. "Where is his money coming from? People who have a vested interest in the Treasurer's Office. You're either on the public's side or Wall Street's side."

Former Treasurer Bob Casey, a Democrat, resigned after being elected to the U.S. Senate. The current treasurer, Democrat Robin Wiessmann, was appointed to fill his term with the promise that she would not seek to be elected.

At tomorrow's state committee meeting in Lancaster, members will consider a party endorsement, but it takes a two-thirds vote to win the nod. Whether or not the party chooses a candidate, any Democrat can file nomination papers for a spot on the ballot.

Though Cordisco and McCord have been running quietly for months, they may not have the primary to themselves. State Rep. Jennifer Mann (D., Allentown) also is considering the race.

A former owner of a small business, Mann said her strength as a candidate would be "really understanding Main Street and putting the taxpayers first."

Tom Flaherty, the controller of Allegheny County, has also expressed interest in the race.

Businessman Tom Knox, who ran for mayor of Philadelphia in last May's Democratic primary, has been reported to be considering a run for governor or treasurer, but he has not announced his intentions.

"At this time we're not running for anything," said Josh Morrow, Knox's chief political aide.