Progressives want to derail a Republican appointment to Philly’s elections board

Progressive groups eager to score a seat traditionally held by Republicans on the board that runs Philadelphia’s elections fought an opening skirmish in that battle Thursday.

That led to a City Council stalemate. For now.

Those groups and five Democratic allies in the state legislature called on City Council to reject the nomination of a Republican, Seth Bluestein, to complete the term of former City Commissioner Al Schmidt, who resigned at the start of this month.

But two of those lawmakers — State Reps. Chris Rabb and Joe Hohenstein — quickly abandoned that position, which is all about Bluestein’s political party and not his well-established record as an experienced elections administrator.

They sent a letter last Friday with State Reps. Rick Krajewski and Elizabeth Fiedler and State Sen. Nikil Saval calling for Council to reject any Republican.

“As state legislators, we see attacks on the integrity of our election system every day by the Republican majority in Harrisburg,” they wrote.

What the letter didn’t mention: Bluestein and Schmidt, his former boss, were the target of vicious and violent threats for their roles in running and defending the 2020 presidential election in the city.

Rabb later acknowledged on Twitter that he had put “process over people, and that was wrong.”

Hohenstein told Clout he heard from people in the City Commissioners Office and on Council who said “Seth is someone who has been through the wars with them” and has their support.

Saval and Krajewski stood by the letter. Fiedler, a former journalist, didn’t respond to several requests for comment.

City Councilmember Kendra Brooks of the Working Families Party, who in 2019 captured an at-large Council seat set aside and historically held by Republicans, on Tuesday criticized Mayor Jim Kenney’s appointment of Bluestein without “due consideration to third-party candidates.”

Eric Rosso, a special projects director for the Working Families Party, said progressive groups expect to win the seat when it’s up for election next year.

One of the three seats is reserved for a member who isn’t part of the majority political party in Philadelphia, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by 7-1.

“This is not about any individual,” Rosso said. “It is squarely about the Republican Party in this moment.”

Reclaim Philadelphia, the 215 People’s Alliance, Make the Road PA, and the Philadelphia chapter of Democratic Socialists of America have all called on Kenney to appoint a third-party candidate to the post.

Bluestein was expected to be confirmed in a Council vote Thursday, but that was punted to a future meeting. He and Schmidt, who asked for his former aide to take over his seat and now runs the good-government group Committee of Seventy, declined to comment.

The Republican primary for governor took some strange turns after one candidate, Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, suggested the state House should impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner because of soaring gun violence in the city.

State Sen. Doug Mastriano — another GOP candidate and no fan of Corman or Krasner — quickly dismissed that as a “political grandstanding” in an interview with the conservative outlet Newsmax, noting that Krasner won a second term in November with 70% of the vote.

Yet another candidate, former U.S. Attorney (and frequent Krasner sparring partner) Bill McSwain, told a local conservative radio host Wednesday the House is unlikely to act on Corman’s request and predicted it would fail if it reached the Senate.

“We have to do more than just virtue-signal,” said McSwain, who called for larger criminal justice reforms. “Jake Corman hasn’t done anything for Philadelphia public safety in his 22 years as a state senator.”

Corman, in an email to Clout, returned fire McSwain’s way: “Unfortunately, Bill is just showing us he doesn’t have any idea of what’s been done in Harrisburg to give the tools district attorneys need to protect their communities. He should study up.”

Corman cited continuing efforts to give state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the only well-known Democratic candidate for governor, concurrent jurisdiction for prosecution of crimes in Philadelphia. That topic has caused plenty of friction between Krasner and Shapiro.

Speaking of Krasner, it sounds as if his record as the city’s top prosecutor will also be a factor in the special election for the state Senate’s 5th District in Northeast Philadelphia. The Republican Party has selected Sam Oropeza, a former mixed martial arts fighter who works in real estate, as its candidate.

He will face Shawn Dillon, 56, the Democratic leader of Ward 66A, when the special election is held during the scheduled May primary. They’re seeking a seat vacated when former State Sen. John Sabatina Jr., a Democrat, became a judge this month.

Oropeza, 36, a Delaware County native who lives in Bridesburg, said he’s seeking the support of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, the local police union and a major Krasner critic.

“The crime is out of control,” he said. “Families don’t feel safe in Philadelphia.”

State Rep. Martina White, chair of the city’s Republican Party, said Oropeza will bring “the perspective of a young professional and parent that is so needed in Harrisburg.”

Clout provides often irreverent news and analysis about people, power, and politics.