Mayoral candidate Chaka Fattah yesterday was endorsed by a union whose members include hundreds of private security officers and commercial office-building cleaners throughout Center City.
Local 32BE of the Service Employees International Union represents 5,000 members in the Philadelphia area.
Fattah "has stood by us in our fight to raise standards for security officers and we stand by his vision for Philadelphia," said Wayne MacManiman, the union's district chairman.
It was Fattah's second major union endorsement. He is also supported by Local 8 of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees
Chaka Fattah got the SEIU endorsement yesterday that Metro first reported this weekend. Fattah traveled to the union's offices, in the heart of Nutter Country (they're in the same building as Michael Nutter's campaign headquarters), and picked up the endorsement of the 4,000-member local union and his very own purple shirt.
"There's no more important an endorsement than the endorsement that I'm receiving here today," Fattah said.
He then traveled to the Center City District's board meeting/mayoral forum to discuss bringing business to Center City. Fattah kept to his line that he's interested in improving the economic prosperity of all, not just those in Center City. But he took a minute to clarify his statement from last Monday's forum, where he said, "I'm interested in rebuilding the lives of people and not just the skyline."
He told the audience, as he told Metro in the elevator going up to SEIU's headquarters, that he's focused on improving the city's planning process and addressing planning concerns.
The best part of the forum, though, was when Fattah and Tom Knox got into it on stage over Fattah's idea to lease the airport to pay for most of his centerpiece "Fattah Opportunity Agenda."
“What I’m criticizing you about is that we can’t” lease the airport, Knox said.
“Would you like to bet $1 million on it?” Fattah said, still wearing the purple shirt over his collared shirt and tie.
Knox, making sure to point out that he has $1 million, said that his campaign has a white paper that says leasing the airport is unlikely.
“They said that sometimes you can separate people from money,” Fattah said. “Let’s see if you’re willing to gamble.”
Fattah wanted to put $1 million up for his CORE Philly program. Knox didn't go for it.
Check out tomorrow's Metro for more on the airport deal and another piece of campaign financing news.
Also tomorrow, the Ethics Board is scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. Make sure to check back for a meeting that could yield some juicy campaign finance news.
Fattah to get first major union support
April 15, 2007
According to the lovely office cleaning staff here at Metro HQ, SEIU Local 32BJ (the local janitors' union) is going to be the first second union to pin its endorsement on Chaka Fattah.
32BJ endorses Chaka Fatah for mayor.
A press conference is scheduled for Monday at the union's headquarters, which, ironically, is in the same building as Michael Nutter's campaign office. Zing.
Fattah's camp says only to expect a "major endorsement" Monday. The endorsement would be the first from a major union (or any at all) for the congressman.
Bob Brady has racked up endorsements from local unions, including the FOP and firefighters, and Dwight Evans has three nice-sized endorsements, including the Transit Workers.
SEIU is fairly politically active. You see its members at events around town in their purple and yellow shirts. They definitely stand out in a crowd.
