Thursday Things About Politicians

• Tony Payton is an energetic young man with ideas for the N. Philly district that he hopes to represent. However, the Democratic Party is offering him no support, despite the absence of other names on the primary ballot. This is the desperation of the machine; they'd rather work for a long-shot write-in than welcome a newcomer aboard. Sad.
  
  
• Another state House primary, that pitting incumbent Angel Cruz against challenger William Cartagena, appears to mask a deeper rivalry between Cruz and Carlos Matos, who is running Cartagena's campaign and also sponsoring a fleet of committeepeople to challenge Cruz's position as Ward Leader. The feud between former allies is causing shock-waves in many directions.
  
  
• Albert offers us an interview with Valerie McDonald-Roberts, a promising candidate for the overlooked office of Lieutenant Governor. The post gives more narrative than dialogue, but that's actually helpful in getting some context for this race and for covering a lot of ground in getting to know the candidate.
  
  
• The Daily News offers a round-up of contested races (complete with ballot positions) in Tuesday's primaries.
  
  
• The Inquirer has a piece looking at the difficulty that many candidates have had in withstanding challenges to their ballot petitions and filings. Such challenges are on the rise. On the flip side, John Baer at the Daily News points out that a remarkable two-thirds of state legislators face no primary opposition, and decries the protections of incumbency.
  
  
• In non-election news, State House Speaker John Perzel defends his absence from Harrisburg last week (see prev. here), pointing to his overall attendance record and saying that no legislative business was affected.
  
  
• Finally, Philadelphia's District Attorney Lynne Abraham was on Radio Times talking about witness intimidation, for those who want to hear Tough Cookie's thoughts on the matter.