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Politics & Government

State House Race: The Endorsement Game

In the contest for the 194th district seat, what's an endorsement really mean?

The world of endorsements can be tricky terrain for a well-intentioned politician to navigate. Without the fundraising boost and the block of voters that a meaningful endorsement brings it can be difficult to compete. But suspicions persist, not entirely baselessly, that endorsements skew incentives: That politicians, once elected, are beholden to the endorsers, not their constituents and that this is true whether the election in question is to fill the presidency, or the seat of the 194th District in Harrisburg.

For Democrat Pam DeLissio and Green Party candidate Hugh Giordano managing the endorsement tightrope is dicey.

"I'm very picky and choosy about my endorsements. When you have a lot of endorsements, all of a sudden you owe people favors, and I'm not in this to owe anybody any favors," said Giordano, a Roxborough resident with the ubiquitous billboard presence. Giordano added that he only accepts endorsements from parties whose values and beliefs are aligned with his.

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This effectively and factually means he only accepts endorsements from unions: He's been touted by the Iron Workers 401, Iron Workers 405, Teamsters 77, American Federation of Teachers 1260 (from Community College of Philadelphia), Brick Layers 101, and his former employer, the UFCW 152.

He explained his support thusly, "I've gotten these endorsements—which is a big deal because I'm not a Democrat—because I'm pro-labor and pro-union. I'm running on a platform that stands for the people, the middle class, the working poor."

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He also spoke out against receiving funds from corporations, which he says is a distinction between himself and DeLissio.

"I don't take any money or endorsements from corporations. I won't take money from anybody who stands against the middle class or the poor. I would worry about anybody who has a ton of endorsements. That's a lot of favors."

However, according to her most recent financial disclosure forms, DeLissio mostly received contributions from individuals. The only donations not from people came from the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors and political action committee EMILY's List, which funds prochoice, female candidates. 

DeLissio does have many more marks in the endorsement column—she is publicly supported by Mayor Michael Nutter, Planned Parenthood, The National Organization of Women, the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors, and State Rep. Kathy Manderino, who the candidates are running to replace.

Though the fact that a Democrat has more endorsements than a third-party candidate doesn't really say a great deal about either. And DeLissio, for her part, rejects the notion that she is or will be preoccupied with the interests of anyone but her constituents.

"That's absolutely not the case. I'm in no way beholden to anybody who has lent me any support."

DeLissio added that her endorsements are representative of the diversity of her constituency. Her appeal isn't limited to a niche group. "My endorsements are very broad based, as is the constituency," said DeLissio, also a Roxborough resident.

Rich Costello, the political coordinator of the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 5, said the FOP has a process it uses to evaluate candidates—determine a person's willingness and ability to stand up for the things the FOP thinks need standing up for—and that after meeting with both candidates it decided that person was DeLissio.

"One view is that there is pervasive corruption in Harrisburg, and we need some new legislators who are going to clean the place up. A lot of Mr. Giordano's ideas made sense, but we felt like the Democratic Party was in a better position than the Green Party to make change happen," Costello said.

He added that just eliminating or—more realistically—reducing the corruption and resulting inefficiency in the capital would go a long way towards solving budgetary woes, and emphasized that he felt DeLissio had both the insight to recognize the problem and the tenacity and wherewithal to do something about it.

Republican Timothy Downey is also on the ballot, though the Roxborough resident hasn't been as visible on the campaign trail or in the hunt for endorsements since his May primary victory. Party affiliation helps, but sometimes endorsements are based on different qualifications.

The Pennsylvania Women's Campaign Fund endorsed DeLissio, because she is a woman.

"We think the complexion in the state legislature would benefit from more women," said Letty Thall, a regional vice president for the fund, "and there's evidence that states that have more gender balance in the legislature experience economic benefits."

While Thall was referring to a study performed by Sarah Grove, a political scientist at Shippensburg University, there have been a host of studies of late that have demonstrated more generally that having more women in a group positively affects group dynamics. A study coauthored by MIT suggests that women increase a group's collective intelligence.

Giordano has also been the beneficiary of an endorsement based on who he is as much as what he stands for.

"His granddad was a member for 47 years. Who could better understand the plight of the working class than one of us?" explained Iron Workers 401 business manager Joe Dougherty of his group's endorsement of Giordano. Dougherty added that he was and is impressed with the candidate's education and passion for union issues.

Irrespective of their logic, endorsements can be very influential on the outcome of an election. Costello argued that the FOP endorsement carries the promise of support from a substantial block of voters.

"We distribute endorsements to our 14,000 members, and they pass it along to their families. How many votes? Multiply 14,000 by about three… yeah, it's pretty big."

For more information on Giordano or DeLissio, visit their respective website.

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