Rendell gets Pittsburgh help

The Democratic gubernatorial race is growing more contentious as both former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell and Auditor General Bob Casey Jr. continue to rack up endorsements en route to the May 21 primaries.

In fact, Rendell -- who will be facing Casey in the primaries -- was in Pittsburgh yesterday to receive the endorsement of Mayor Tom Murphy.

At a press conference in Pittsburgh, Murphy put his support behind the former Philadelphia mayor.

"I am endorsing Ed Rendell for governor today because he has the experience, knowledge and commitment to lead our state," Murphy commented at the press conference.

Rendell's campaign maintains that Murphy's support will add to their growing success.

"Tom Murphy is a serious man who looked at both candidates and saw that Ed is the most qualified," campaign spokesman Dan Fee said. "This will have ripple effects across the race."

Additionally, Rendell received the support of National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League last Thursday in Philadelphia. Rendell is pro-choice, whereas Casey maintains a pro-life stance.

Meanwhile, Casey has received the endorsement of 19 Northeast Philadelphia ward leaders. Together, the ward leaders represent approximately 172,962 voters. Furthermore, his campaign received a big boost last month when he received the endorsement of the state Democratic Party.

"When it comes right down to grassroots campaigning, having a significant number of ward leaders in Philadelphia is definitely a positive thing," Casey campaign spokesman Troy Colbert said. "It will go a long way to ensure Casey getting elected."

As the endorsements accumulate and election day nears, the candidates' statements are becoming more negative, with each side accusing the other of mud-slinging.

"Casey has run the most negative, nasty campaign this state has ever seen," Fee said, pointing to numerous press releases criticizing Rendell's stances and actions.

But Casey's camp maintains that Rendell also has engaged in negative campaigning against their candidate, despite claims by Rendell that he would run a positive, issue-oriented campaign.

"Ed Rendell has run a negative campaign against Casey for months," Colbert said.

But Fee said that those accusations have no basis.

"The claims are simply not true," he said. "They are delusional."

One point on which both candidates do agree, however, is that the budget released by Governor Mark Schweiker earlier this month needs to be refocused. Both say that children's issues ought to be a greater priority in the budget, but ideas about which issue needs the most focus vary between the candidates.

"Education is the number one priority," Fee said. "The governor increased the education budget by only 1 percent. That will crush already-strapped school districts. One-third ran a deficit, and this will push even more into the red."

While Casey remains concerned with education, he sees the losses to the Children's Health Insurance Program as the biggest problem with the state budget. CHIP provides health insurance to children of working families unable to afford coverage.

"Bob had a very big concern that there was $10 million taken out of the CHIP," Colbert said. "A lot of people are concerned in troubled economic times that they might lose their jobs and may not be able to provide health insurance for their families."

Recent polls show that Rendell is leading the race by a four-point margin. According to a survey conducted by Survey USA for Pittsburgh's KDKA-TV and Philadelphia's KYW-TV, released Feb. 12, Rendell currently leads Casey, 47 percent to 43 percent.

Despite the recent numbers, officials for Casey's campaign maintain that they will be victorious in May.

"I think anybody that looked at this race knew that it would be a close race," Colbert said. "But the only poll that really counts is the one in May."

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