Marks hopes for clear-cut win

When University alumnus Bruce Marks ran last year in the State Senate's second district race, he could never have predicted the outcome. One year and several court cases later, Marks is hoping the past will not be an indication of the future. Marks, a Republican, faces opponent Christina Tartaglione tomorrow in an election which may determine the party balance in Harrisburg. On election day last November, Marks led opponent William Stinson in the polls 52 to 48 percent after all votes cast on that day were totalled. Yet after the absentee ballots were counted for the seat vacated when Senator Francis Lynch died, Stinson was proclaimed the victor in the special election. A civil suit filed by Marks to investigate fraudulent absentee ballots amounted to a 37-page decision verifying his claims. U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Newcomer ruled Feb. 21 that Stinson was to vacate his seat and be replaced by Marks. Fraud was so extensive, the judge said in his decision, that none of the 1,757 absentee ballots cast could be counted. Newcomer also alleged in his ruling that Democratic City Commissioners Margaret Tartaglione and Alexander Talmadge, Jr. and Elections Supervisor Dennis Kelly were directly involved in the effort to accumulate fraudulent absentee ballots. City Commissioner Margaret Tartaglione is the mother of the current candidate Christina Tartaglione, a relationship of which Marks, in his campaign, is all too aware. In addition to citing housing and education as some of his primary issues, Marks includes in his platform a proposal that would eliminate nepotism in government hiring. "This would prohibit public employees from hiring a close relative - mother, daughter, brother or sister," he said. "I don't think elected officials should be able to do that." When Marks took office on Feb. 25, Republicans gained control of the Senate, 26-24. Meanwhile, on March 16, a federal court invalidated Newcomer's decision that all absentee ballots were invalid, giving Marks the chance to prove that at least 162 of the ballots were filed illegally. In the third and final decision, a federal appeals court upheld the ruling of Newcomer after Stinson claimed Newcomer overstepped his authority. Terming the case more than a "'garden variety' election dispute," Judge Morton Greenberg wrote in the opinion on Aug. 18, "?the record makes it clear that the election was stolen from Marks and that [city election officials] made this possible by disregarding Pennsylvania law?" In tomorrow's election, both Tartaglione and Marks face a community largely affected by its gross misuse in partisan politics. Many of the ballots Stinson's campaign toyed with involved the area's Latino voters. "Latinos were hoodwinked," community leader Wilfredo Rojas said in an interview on National Public Radio. "We have to go out in the street and instill a sense of trust." This is exactly what Marks intends to do, positioning himself as "independent of the corrupt Democratic political machine." "It's unfortunate that the mayor is afraid to put partisan politics aside to do the right thing," Marks said. "I think Rendell should bring a suit against Tartaglione, Talmadge and Stinson. The city has spent hundreds and thousands of dollars representing people who violated the law -- an excess of half a million dollars. The people who violated the law should be the ones who pay." New allegations against Marks, which have surfaced during the campaign, include violations of the Pennsylvania Election Code by Senate Republican employees while working on his campaign, a request of $1,082,510 from taxpayers to cover legal expenses from his suit against Stinson and a misuse of his authority in the representation of fire victims. The majority of these complaints have been expressed by Senator Robert Mellow, the Senate Democratic leader. "My opponent tried to make a political issue out of the tragedy," he said in reference to the Sept. 19 fire that destroyed the old Quaker Lace Company plant. Marks was accused of "ambulance chasing" by offering legal representation to the 50 people displaced by the damage. Marks said he was specifically asked by one of the victims to be introduced to Paul Rosen, a partner in Marks' law firm, as Rosen has a "good reputation in the community." "It is a shameful irony that is happening," he said. "My opponent is criticizing me when her mother committed a legal [crime]." Neither Margaret nor Christina Tartaglione could be reached for comment.