Bob Brady fumes at Working Families Party as Democrats endorse candidates

Philadelphia Democratic Party chair Bob Brady keeps asking the same question as big names in his party — Gov. Josh Shapiro and U.S. Sen. John Fetterman — endorse Working Families Party candidates seeking two City Council at-large seats.

Which of the five Democrats also seeking at-large seats should voters cut from their ballot?

The Working Families Party won’t say. But Democrat Nina Ahmad believes she’s one of them and sent out fundraising messages this week claiming the WFP is “poaching” Democratic voters.

“To hell with them,” Brady said this week about the Working Families Party. “They’ve got a whole lot of people upset and I think it’s going to backfire. They’re taking the easy way out. Why didn’t they run in the primary like everyone else?”

» READ MORE: Working Families Party Council candidates can stay on November ballot, Commonwealth Court rules

The colorful language came after a screenshot purporting to show text messages between a voter and a Working Families Party canvasser floated around political circles this week. In the screenshot, the canvasser said voters should pick Working Families Party candidates Kendra Brooks and Nicolas O’Rourke, plus Democrats Isaiah Thomas, Katherine Gilmore Richardson, and Rue Landau.

That would leave Ahmad and rookie Councilmember Jim Harrity the odd ones out.

But here’s the thing: The Working Families Party says the text was clearly fabricated. For one thing, it shows a conversation between two iPhone users, but WFP volunteers send texts from a computer program. That means green texts, folks. Not blue ones.

“We are asking Philadelphians to vote first for the WFP candidates and then any three Democrats they like,” said Eric Rosso, a spokesperson for Brooks and O’Rourke’s campaigns. “Our preferred outcome is Kendra and Nicolas working alongside all five Democratic-endorsed candidates next year.”

Still, Harrity and Ahmad aren’t thrilled.

Harrity lamented that Shapiro and Fetterman don’t fall under the local or state bylaws for party officials, which bar supporting a third-party candidate in the general election.

“I think that’s a cop-out,” said Harrity, who worked to elect Shapiro and Fetterman. “But it’s their decision.”

Ahmad said the progressive third party should work for recognition by the state, like the Green Party and Libertarian Party have in the past, and then focus their efforts in Republican-controlled parts of the state where liberal policies are less popular.

“What they’re doing now is poaching,” she said. “We already have good, progressive people in the city. Why are they angling for this? To me, it’s easy pickings. It’s a lazy approach.”

We’ve been here before.

Allan Domb and Derek Green, two Democrats who held at-large seats, said while seeking reelection in 2019, that Working Families Party volunteers told voters to cut them and back Brooks and O’Rourke instead.

The Working Families Party denied that at the time. Domb and Green, who both ran for mayor this year, were reelected in 2019 while Brooks won a seat and O’Rourke fell short.

Philadelphia City Council President Darrell Clarke said in February that he would “continue to be involved in public service” while announcing the looming conclusion to his four-decade career in City Hall.

Now we know Clarke’s next gig, if the state Senate signs off.

Gov. Josh Shapiro appointed Clarke on Sept. 1 to a four-year term on the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. That appointment was referred to the Senate on Monday.

That doesn’t mean a vote is imminent. Council still has a dozen weekly meetings scheduled this year, with the last on Dec. 14. And Mary Isenhour, former Gov. Tom Wolf’s former chief of staff, is still on the three-member board — although her term expired this summer — until her replacement is confirmed.

Shapiro spokesperson Manuel Bonder emailed Clout, noting Clarke’s long service in Philadelphia and adding that “we hope the Senate confirms his nomination to the PLCB so that he can continue that service after his term on the Philadelphia City Council is up.”

Clarke, a Democrat, made an early endorsement for Shapiro in the competitive 2016 primary for state attorney general and was a significant booster as Shapiro ran for governor last year.

Republicans control the state Senate, where Clarke needs two-thirds of the 50 members to support his appointment.

Clarke, through a spokesperson, declined to comment Tuesday.

The new job would mean a significant pay cut for Clarke, who turned 71 this week. The LCB post pays $89,648 per year. His current job pays $194,934 per year.

But Clarke will depart from City Hall with a hefty pension, having worked his way up the ladder of power since starting in 1980 as a constituent service staffer for then-Councilmember John Street.

And the LCB should be a more relaxed workload. The board, established at the end of Prohibition in 1933, meets two days per month to regulate the sale of wine and liquor in a network of about 600 stores the agency operates, while also licensing restaurants and bars.

The board is chaired by former U.S. Rep. Tim Holden, a Democrat from Schuylkill County. The third member is former State Sen. Randy Vulakovich, an Allegheny County Republican.

Shapiro announced this week that Pennsylvania will now automatically register eligible voters when they get a driver’s license or ID card.

He rolled that out on MSNBC twice Tuesday and on CNN Wednesday after the Washington Post gave him a big splash. Vice President Kamala Harris gave him a shout-out during a stop Tuesday in Reading.

That’s some politically potent exposure for a guy who seems to have been running for president since high school.

Inquirer staff writer Sean Collins Walsh contributed.

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