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Joe Hoeffel Considering a Governor Run
Submitted by Dan U-A on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 2:44pm.
From PA 2010 (via the twitter page of Tom Fitzgerald):
Joe Hoeffel, a guy I really like, is apparently mulling over whether to run for Gov:
Five years after he gave up his Congressional seat in an unsuccessful run for Senate, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel is mulling a run for Governor, two Democrats who have spoken with him told pa2010.com.
Hoeffel would be the only elected official from the Philadelphia region in the Democratic primary—Tom Knox is from Philadelphia but doesn’t hold office—and his supporters say he would be a genuine progressive in a race that seems to be lacking them.
“He’s going to spend some time testing the waters,” one Democrat familiar with Hoeffel’s thinking said. “I’ve spoken with him personally and I can tell you he’s thinking about it.”
I like Hoeffel. He had a tough task when he ran against Arlen Specter in 2004, especially with labor supporting Specter. (Ooops.) Basically everyone I know who has worked with Hoeffel in the past has had nice things to say about him, and he is a a pretty progressive guy.
This would be a pretty cool addition to the Democratic race.
It would be nice to have a SE PA Dem of stature
in this race, Especially one that people did not either immediately say "who?" or snicker to. I'm not going out of my way to knock Knox but I'm not sure "I was in the Rendell mayoral administration for about a year and then spent an obscene amount of money to run for Mayor myself and lost" is a very convincing resume for Governor.
-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.
Is there an office set up for the exploratory bid?
I would love to get in on the ground floor of a Hoeffel bid and work for the campaign. (Being laid off a couple of days ago doesn't hurt either.)
Historic Run
If Joe Hoeffel runs for Governor he will have run for every office in the Commonwealth. State Rep, State Senator, U.S. House and Senate, County Commissioner, Lieutenant Governor and Governor.
State Senator?
The State Senator run escapes me. When did that happen?
Joe Missed State Senate Run
I think Joe missed a run for state senator. I remember inquiring to Joe whether or not he would be interested in succeeding Allyson Schwartz in Harrisburg after she succeeded him in Congress, and the answer was no.
Joe also missed running for auditor general, state treasurer, and attorney general.
He's a pretty good guy. He's a major figure in Montgomery County Democratic County history, raising the Democratic flag when others thought that doing so was foolish or impractical.
If Joe Hoeffel had not become involved in Democratic politics in Montgomery County, and had not won election there in four successive decades beginning in the 1970's, the Democratic plurality that now exists there --and the record Democratic Monto strength in the state house--would likely not exist.
Some readers of young philly politics might recall Joseph Clark and Richardson Dilworth. Joe is their counterpart in Montgomery County--the tenacious party spear bearer who never gives up.
have you seen the latest?
Gerlach's going to quit to make a run for Gov himself! If nothing else, perhaps that means we can finally get that seat into Democratic hands!!!!
acm
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
— Margaret Mead
Interesting news, bad strategy for him maybe
but as you say good for suburban Dems. An open seat is an easier seat for Dems to take in a swing district and Gerlach in the gubernatiorial primary is going to take some of the wind out of Corbett's sails. Seems odd that the GOP is not leaning on Gerlach to try take out crazy Pat Toomey because the conventional knowledge is that a SEPA GOP "moderate" would be stronger candidate in the general for Senate, whereas Corbett is percieved to be at an advantage for Gov. as he is already widely known state-wide.
But conventional wisdom does not take personal ambition into consideration.
-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.