Inquirer Endorsements Fall 2007

With the election of a new mayor Tuesday, Philadelphians have good grounds to anticipate a new day for their city - one that's full of hope, and one that charts a clearer course toward meeting the city's many challenges.

There's just one more detail: Don't forget to vote for Democratic mayoral candidate MICHAEL NUTTER. The odds-on favorite happens to be the far better choice over the genial Republican, Al Taubenberger.

Nutter promises to find a police commissioner capable of getting the most out of his officers and the communities they patrol. Fiscally, Nutter is determined to cut the onerous business privilege tax to encourage new employers to come to Philadelphia.

Nutter also promises that, if elected, Philadelphia will give more money to the schools. Politicians are prone to make promises, but with Nutter, you believe he's for real.

On other election contests in the city and across the region, the Inquirer Editorial Board has made the following recommendations:

For Pennsylvania Supreme Court, voters have solid choices in SEAMUS P. McCAFFERY, a former Philadelphia police officer elected in 2003 to Superior Court, and DEBRA M. TODD, also elected to the same court after a stellar career as a corporate lawyer.

For Superior Court, the state's hardest-working appellate bench, voters' best choices are Philadelphia Judge JOHN M. YOUNGE, who headed the state trial-judge organization; CHRISTINE L. DONOHUE, a stand-out commercial litigator; and Allegheny County Judge CHERYL L. ALLEN, a former school teacher with 16-plus years of varied experience on the bench.

In Philadelphia, City Council is due for a minimal make-over with several new members. The best at-large choices are Democratic incumbents JAMES F. KENNEY, W. WILSON GOODE JR., and BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN; Republican incumbent FRANK RIZZO JR. and Republican newcomer DAVID OH.

In contested district Council races, newcomers worth supporting are the REV. JESSE W. BROWN JR., an independent, in the Eighth District, and Democrats MARIA QUIÑONES SÁNCHEZ in the Seventh and CURTIS J. JONES JR. in the Fourth. District incumbents recommended for reelection to Council, some with reservations, are: Democrats FRANK J. DiCICCO in the First, ANNA C. VERNA in the Second, JANNIE L. BLACKWELL in the Third, and JOAN L. KRAJEWSKI in the Sixth, and Republican BRIAN J. O'NEILL in the 10th.

In city judicial races, most judges seeking new terms merit retention. But voters should steer clear of Traffic Court candidate Willie Singletary, who ran up $11,000 in tickets.

Also vote NO on retaining three Municipal Court judges, Georganne V. Daher, Deborah S. Griffin, and Teresa Carr Deni. City bar association officials took the rare step last week of criticizing Deni's decision in a sexual assault case as an "unforgivable miscarriage of justice."

City voters should reject three proposed City Charter amendments that seem aimed at maintaining full employment for City Council members, both in and out of office, and others. Vote NO on Question No. 1, which requires candidates for district Council seats to be residents of the district for one year. Also vote NO on Questions 2 and 3, which create $100,000 positions in City Hall for two new advocates for public school families and the disabled.

In the Pennsylvania suburbs, the best choices for county commissioner in Montgomery County are Republican JIM MATTHEWS and Democrat RUTH DAMSKER; in Bucks, GOP incumbents CHARLES MARTIN and JAMES CAWLEY; and in Chester, GOP incumbent CAROL AICHELE and challenger Democrat KATHI COZZONE. For Delaware County Council, we recommend Republicans ANDY LEWIS, CHRISTINE FIZZANO CANNON, and TOM McGARRIGLE.

To meet New Jersey's crucial challenges, voters need to choose wisely in races for Senate and Assembly, and county freeholder.

In the Eighth Senatorial District, we recommend Republican PHILIP HAINES. In the Seventh, we support incumbent Republican DIANE ALLEN. In the Sixth, incumbent Democrat JOHN ADLER has an exemplary record. For the Fifth, Democrat DANA REDD will be an advocate for Camden. In the Fourth, first-term incumbent Democrat FRED MADDEN deserves reelection, as does incumbent Democrat STEVE SWEENEY in the Third.

South Jersey's most competitive race for freeholder is in Burlington County, where Republican incumbent Vince Farias is retiring. The Inquirer endorses JOE DONNELLY, 40, a township committeeman and sales executive.

In Camden County, we endorse incumbent Democratic freeholders ED McDONNELL and CARMEN RODRIGUEZ.

In Gloucester County, two freeholder seats are up for election. The Inquirer endorses Democrats JOE BRIGANDI JR., the incumbent, and JEAN DUBOIS of Mantua, the longtime county treasurer.

New Jersey voters will also weigh in on four ballot questions.

On the first question, voters will be asked whether the state should dedicate 1 percent of the sales tax to the Property Tax Relief Fund. Vote NO. Lawmakers need as much leeway as possible every year when charting the right fiscal course for New Jersey.

Question No. 2 asks whether the state should issue $450 million in bonds for grants to fund stem-cell research. Vote YES to keep New Jersey a research-friendly pioneer.

Another bond issue question seeks $200 million to buy and develop land for recreation and conservation, to preserve farmland, and to fund historic preservation. With open space becoming an ever scarcer commodity, voters should have no trouble saying YES.

Finally, voters are asked to rewrite the New Jersey constitution, changing its language about denying the right to vote to an "idiot and insane person." The new wording would deny the vote to a "person who has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting." Vote YES, but feel free to bemoan the lack of elegance in the phrasing, and wonder why there isn't a similar competency clause related to the act of governing.