Feature Article |
The Maybe Mayor
By Dan P. Lee
And his apparent steamrolling of "best friend" Jon Saidel, whose own commitment to running back in November seemed absolute. Saidel had quit his job after 16 years as City Controller to be eligible, had raised more than a million dollars, and, at the end of the month, opened a campaign headquarters near his home in Northeast Philly, an event at which he delivered impassioned remarks calling for a new day in this city.
Suddenly, a few days later, Saidel quit the race. His campaign floated the utterly unconvincing reason that he had realized running would zap his already dwindling personal finances. A source close to Saidel paints an ugly picture of what really happened:
Brady summoned Saidel to his office the Monday before Thanksgiving. There, Brady, who had for many months intimated to Saidel and most others that he wasn't interested in running, asked Saidel to get out of the race. Saidel had been feeling some breath on his back for a while by then, with State Senator Vince Fumo — who is extremely close to Brady — and those close to Fumo doing everything they could to cut off Saidel's fund-raising. Feeling betrayed and resigned, Saidel acquiesced.
The next day, Saidel was summoned to Fumo's mansion in Fairmount. Accounts of that meeting vary wildly, but the point of it seems to have been to allow Saidel to bow out without looking stupid. It has been reported that an offer was discussed about Rendell naming Saidel to take over newly elected U.S. Senator Bob Casey's job as state treasurer, but Rendell denies he was ever contacted about that.
According to the Saidel source, the next day, Brady, either pathologically indecisive or trying out for a role in Hamlet, called Saidel and said he'd suffered a sleepless night and had decided not to run. Saidel said, "Fine, I am." But over the next few days, Saidel kept hearing that Brady was running. Saidel donors began backing out of a major upcoming fund-raiser. "The Fumo people had been actively calling Jon's donors," says the Saidel confidant. "People were saying not only would they make sure that he wouldn't win the race, but that he'd have trouble finding work in Philadelphia, period."
Suddenly, a few days later, Saidel quit the race. His campaign floated the utterly unconvincing reason that he had realized running would zap his already dwindling personal finances. A source close to Saidel paints an ugly picture of what really happened:
Brady summoned Saidel to his office the Monday before Thanksgiving. There, Brady, who had for many months intimated to Saidel and most others that he wasn't interested in running, asked Saidel to get out of the race. Saidel had been feeling some breath on his back for a while by then, with State Senator Vince Fumo — who is extremely close to Brady — and those close to Fumo doing everything they could to cut off Saidel's fund-raising. Feeling betrayed and resigned, Saidel acquiesced.
The next day, Saidel was summoned to Fumo's mansion in Fairmount. Accounts of that meeting vary wildly, but the point of it seems to have been to allow Saidel to bow out without looking stupid. It has been reported that an offer was discussed about Rendell naming Saidel to take over newly elected U.S. Senator Bob Casey's job as state treasurer, but Rendell denies he was ever contacted about that.
According to the Saidel source, the next day, Brady, either pathologically indecisive or trying out for a role in Hamlet, called Saidel and said he'd suffered a sleepless night and had decided not to run. Saidel said, "Fine, I am." But over the next few days, Saidel kept hearing that Brady was running. Saidel donors began backing out of a major upcoming fund-raiser. "The Fumo people had been actively calling Jon's donors," says the Saidel confidant. "People were saying not only would they make sure that he wouldn't win the race, but that he'd have trouble finding work in Philadelphia, period."
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