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Politics Are Hyperlocal: Hotly Contested Primary Brings Two Northeast Pols to the Riverwards


When Northeast Philly’s Mike Stack became Lt. Governor a year and a half ago, the State Senatorial seat he held since 2001 finally opened up. The local Democratic party tapped State Rep. John Sabatina for the role and he won the special election with 75 percent of the vote versus Republican Timothy Dailey.

The district has been quite stable since the mid-1980s. Stack defeated Frank Salvatore in 2000, a seat he held for four 4-year terms prior to that. Now the district will see a rare primary battle between two guys from the next generation: State Rep. Kevin Boyle is challenging Senator Sabatina for the spot. Judging by ads on TV, radio, and social media, this race has been less than cordial.

Both men are well-known in their respective strongholds in the Northeast. Boyle has run unopposed in the 172nd Representative district after soundly defeating now-city-councilman Al Taubenberger in 2012. Sabatina hasn’t had a dangerous challenger for about a decade in the 174th.

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Senator John Sabatina

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Kevin Boyle

But neither are household names in the Riverwards. The common sentiment among attendees at recent Harrowgate Civic Association meetings was, “Which guy is the Democrat?” “Where is he from?” and “Why did I get some robo-call about coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts on Saturday morning?”

The lack of familiarity sets our area as a de facto “swing state” in the race. The negativity in the ads have focused on big picture issues like abortion, payday loans, taxes on fracking, and showing up for votes — and to be sure, both candidate’s teams have done a bang-up job of finding pictures of their opponent with his mouth awkwardly open, skin slightly blemished, and hair less than perfect. But local folks also want to know more about stuff that relates directly to them.

Will the candidate put an office nearby? Sabatina said yes.

“Driving to the Northeast is a little bit far for some residents,” he said. “We’re looking in Bridesburg but haven’t decided on a specific location yet.”

Boyle also said yes. “Port Richmond or Bridesburg” is where he’s looking. “We’re trying to be centrally located to [the neighborhoods] there,” he said.

The heroin epidemic has hit epic proportions in the last decade. Local folks want to know how the candidates will tackle these problem and what kinds of tools the state can provide.

Boyle wants to enhance treatment opportunities, “Identifying [the addicts] and getting them in [programs] for the ones it can help,” he said. But also, “prosecuting the [dealers]” that are a problem.

Sabatina, a former Assistant District Attorney under Lynne Abraham, understands the situation with prosecuting dealers and said the area, “needs more police on the streets,” to battle the problem and “take back the streets.”

In an often related issue, absentee landlords and vacant lots represent an all-too-familiar problem in the ‘wards. Speculators sitting on trash-strewn lots until the real estate market “pops” and out-of-town LLC’s with nuisance tenants (human and rodent) are unreachable by neighbors, civics, city agencies, and even the court system.

Boyle wants to help with creating a registry of contacts for each property. “Corporate law limits [the ability to know] of who actually owns it,” he said. [But] we can legally mandate a contact” person.

For Sabatina the issue of a registry is “something for me to pursue,” and the problem is getting folks from the rest of the the state to understand the issues “we face in Philly.”

In terms of being proactive for the area, both gentlemen want to work on improving the region for jobs and development.

Sabatina looks to the river as strong source of potential jobs for the people who live nearby. There are many “opportunities” including “[in] the Tioga terminal” with international shipping. The state can use funds to “improve” facilities to draw companies to the Delaware river. “We have advantages over other ports” he said, citing specifically a “rail system in place.”

Boyle said the “initial civil planners didn’t recognize the value” of the riverfront. He wants to increase, “Public spaces [and] residential” opportunity, in addition to industrial investment.

Neither candidate finalized their election game day plans at the time of the interview. But both know it’s always a battle to get your own voters out. 2016 will probably look more like 2008 in terms of turnout. That was the last time there was a contested primary for the Democratic U.S. Presidential nomination in Pennsylvania. There were more than 38,000 votes cast in the 2008 5th district race. That’s more than three times the amount cast in 2012.

Republican Ross Eric Feinberg is running unopposed and will face the winner in November.

Election day is April 26. Polls open at 7AM and close at 8PM. It will be a busy day at the booth.

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