The Brief: Who Will Win the Snow Primary?
Very mayoral.
Philadelphia’s primary election will be held on May 19. But today is the Snow Primary: a solid chance for the city’s mayoral candidates and mayoral-maybes to show a little mayoral mettle on the cold, mean streets, and to shoot some solid B-roll of the candidate shoveling sidewalks or comforting the disadvantaged.
For actual mayors, snowstorms are politically dangerous events (unless you’re the probably-inhuman Corey Booker). But for candidates, who have zero actual responsibility for cleaning up the mess, it’s all upside. Keep an eye out for cheap shots at Mayor Nutter on social media (we’re looking at you, Jim Kenney). Look for Doug Oliver to demonstrate his youth and vigor (and check out the former Nutter press secretary dishing on the optics of mayoral snow management). Perhaps Lynne Abraham will rescue some lost animals. Tony Williams? Maybe he’ll opt to call it a Netflix day and fly beneath the radar, content to wait for his opponents’ gaffes, which seems to be his strategy so far. Nelson Diaz has no events scheduled.
Don’t Miss…
- Two of U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah’s longtime aides have already pled guilty to corruption charges. His son, Chaka Fattah Jr., is awaiting trial. Now a third aide is being subpoenaed by federal prosecutors, reports Jonathan Tamari for the Inquirer. How long before the feds make a move on their obvious target?
- The grand jury looking at Kathleen Kane suggests weakening the state’s press shield law. Holly Otterbein explains why that’s a really bad idea.
- In Harrisburg, Senate Republicans sued Governor Wolf on his sixth day in office, while House majority leader David Reed extended a hand, writes Amy Worden for the Inquirer. The lawsuit is over Wolf’s ouster of Tom Corbett’s last-minute appointment of longtime GOP Senate staffer Erik Arneson to the post of director of the office of open records. Arneson, who ran communications for deposed GOP Senate majority leader Dominic Pileggi, had played a significant role in drafting the state’s new and well-regarded Right-to-Know-Law, which Pileggi championed.
On Twitter…
— 5th Square (@5thSq) January 26, 2015
https://twitter.com/jenniferkates/status/559856968765284352
https://twitter.com/jenniferkates/status/559862445704216579
And…
https://twitter.com/mustafarashed/status/559862201641861120