Tag John Perzel

UPDATED- Taubenberger: Still considering whether to enter 172nd District race 1

Feb8

 

Al Taubenberger at the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. File Photo/Morgan Zalot

Editor’s Note: This post has been updated with comments from incumbent Pa. Rep. Kevin Boyle, D-172nd).

State Rep. Kevin Boyle has already announced his re-election bid for the 172nd Legislative District.

And if Al Taubenberger accepts the endorsement the Republican City Committee has offered, the two will square off in the general election.

Taubenberger, of Burholme, told NEast Philly today he’s still considering the endorsement and weighing whether he’ll run. We spoke with him after the Public Record reported he’d already decided to enter the race. continue reading »

Kevin Boyle announces re-election bid for 172nd District seat 2

Jan18

Just a year after taking state office, Rep. Kevin Boyle has announced his re-election bid for the 172nd District seat.

“Despite being in office only a year, I promised and delivered on many of my 2010 campaign issues,” the Fox Chase resident said. continue reading »

Fox Chase attorney weighs run against Kevin Boyle in next state election 0

Nov11

Fox Chase attorney Robert Nix hasn't decided if he'll run for the 172nd Legislative seat in the next election. Photo by G.E. Reutter

Fox Chase attorney Robert S. Nix had been mulling over a run against freshman State Rep. Kevin Boyle in next year’s race, but it seems unlikely he’ll go for it.

“Before I would make such a decision, my considerations include, first and foremost, my family,” he said. “It was an incredibly enriching and fulfilling experience to run for state Senate in 2008, but it was also highly demanding on my wife and three daughters. I would fully expect that at least several qualified Republicans in the new 172nd District will seek the nomination, and if so, I will not run.” continue reading »

“Let me be your ambassador to the Northeast:” state Rep. Kevin Boyle tells Young Involved Philadelphia 0

Oct18

Calling for a wave of young civic engagement in Philadelphia, state Rep. Kevin Boyle followed Mayor Michael Nutter in speaking at the State of Young Philly final showcase Friday night.

The close to the two week event series, organized by Young Involved Philadelphia, was held in the cavernous and ornate Gershman Y in Center City. Boyle, 31, was invited to represent a younger order in state representation.

continue reading »

Former Perzel aide testimony: technology used to get Perzel re-elected 0

Sep30

This is part of ongoing coverage in “District 172: The Politics of Change after State Rep. John Perzel,” a collaborative effort with Philadelphia Neighborhoodsfunded by J-Lab.

With Perzel and three co-defendants having already pled guilty to their roles in a corruption scandal, Perzel’s former campaign aide Don McClintock testified in court Tuesday that state-paid technology staffers, computer software, and equipment were routinely used to fuel Perzel’s reelection campaigns over a decade.

In what’s expected to be a weeks-long trial, McClintock solidified his guilty plea in court when he explained how the “Computergate” scandal worked to use taxpayer money to further Perzel’s GOP campaign for his seat in the 172nd District, now occupied by Rep. Kevin Boyle.

 

 

Perzel, Boyle give statements on Perzel’s guilty pleas 0

Aug31

This is part of ongoing coverage in “District 172: The Politics of Change after State Rep. John Perzel,” a collaborative effort with Philadelphia Neighborhoodsfunded by J-Lab.

John Perzel, former Pennsylvania House Speaker and 172nd Legislative District rep, pleaded guilty today as expected to eight of 82 counts of corruption, conspiracy, theft and conflict of interest.

Both Perzel and Rep. Kevin Boyle, who defeated Perzel in last fall’s election, have released statements about the plea:

“I have decided today that my fight has come to an end,” Perzel said in court. “The truth is that as the legislative leader of my caucus, I oversaw the spending of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds, and I bear the responsibility for the improprieties that occurred in the spending of those dollars.” continue reading »

Perzel expected to plead guilty to public corruption 0

Aug30

This is part of ongoing coverage in “District 172: The Politics of Change after State Rep. John Perzel,” a collaborative effort with Philadelphia Neighborhoodsfunded by J-Lab.

John Perzel, former 17nd District representative and former House Speaker, is expected to plead guilty tomorrow to charges of public corruption. He was set to go to trial this fall. continue reading »

District 172: Three with ties to Perzel to plead guilty 2

Aug17

This is part of ongoing coverage in “District 172: The Politics of Change after State Rep. John Perzel,” a collaborative effort with Philadelphia Neighborhoods funded by J-Lab.

UPDATE: Stokes and McClintock have pleaded guilty to one count each of criminal conspiracy Wednesday, and Stokes also pleaded guilty to one count of conflict of interest. Friday, Towhey pleaded guilty to one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of conflict of interest.

Three men linked to and charged in connection with the John Perzel corruption trial are expected to plead guilty this week. The former state representative’s brother-in-law, Samuel “Buzz” Stokes, former campaign aide Don McClintock and former chief-of-staff Paul Towhey are set to enters pleas between today and Friday. continue reading »

District 172: Announcing our grant project 0

Jul20

Earlier this year, we announced NEast Philly would take on an investigative project through a J-Lab Enterprise Reporting Fund grant and our partnership with Philadelphia Neighborhoods.

We’ve been publishing pieces of that project throughout the year, and yesterday’s article about community building post in Mayfair capped our series. With more than 10 articles, several videos and a handful of interactive pieces under our belt, NEast Philly marks the unofficial end of the grant assignment. continue reading »

Community building in the future may be without heavy government investment 1

Jul19

This is part of ongoing coverage in “District 172: The Politics of Change after State Rep. John Perzel,” a collaborative effort with Philadelphia Neighborhoods funded by J-Lab.

Joe DeFelice has put a lot of effort into that little playground. And a few hundred residents and supporters have all helped in small ways.

In fall 2009, DeFelice, the Mayfair Civic Association president and now a new Mayfair CDC board member, kicked off a $50,000 fundraising campaign to renovate and reopen the Mayfair Memorial Playground at Rowland Avenue and Vista Street. More than a year and a half later, the Mayfair Civic Association has $20,000 and is seeking the opening on a smaller scale.

That fundraising was done dollar by dollar and almost exclusively by volunteers, like himself.

If fundraising for the playground, which closed in April 2008 after a young girl was injured on out-of-date equipment, was kicked off while powerful state Rep. John Perzel was still at the height of his influence, in the middle of this decade, DeFelice says the process would have been quite different.

Instead, in October 2009, Perzel was a month away from an 82-count indictment of corruption and a year away from losing his three-decade grip on a statehouse seat to a freshman Democrat who had never held public office before.

“When Perzel was in power, the CDC was buying houses, [a] movie theater, building [a] rec center, etc., so I’m sure that a little playground wouldn’t have been that difficult to come by,” DeFelice said. “So in the old days, a check may have been written, but now you have a large amount of neighbors who didn’t previously know each other coming together for a common good and coming up with new, innovative ways to raise funds.”

So what’s the biggest impact from Perzel’s indictment, the historic state budget deficit and a shake up of community leaders in a tight knit neighborhood like Mayfair? Perhaps nothing short of a change in how residents improve their blocks forever.

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