By Alex Roarty
PoliticsPA Staff Writer
roarty@politicspa.com
As he had done a week earlier, state Senator Anthony Williams met with a group of Philadelphia leaders Saturday to discuss his possible gubernatorial run, with the indication being he’s inching closer to declaring a late but possibly game-changing candidacy.
“When I first started talking it was 2 percent out of 100, and now it’s evolved … to more like 40 percent,” he told PoliticsPA in an interview over the weekend. “I’m still not at the tipping point. I have more work to do to see if it’s possible.”
News broke last week that the state senator was mulling a gubernatorial bid in the wake of Philadelphia businessman Tom Knox’s sudden exit from the race. Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, Auditor General Jack Wagner, Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty and Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel remain in the race, but Williams said none of them have focused their message on problems facing inner-city and African-American communities.
The senator said he wanted to enter the race to, at minimum, force the Republican and Democratic candidates to begin addressing issues such as gun-control and inner-city poverty. But his entrance, and the presumable support he’d receive from Philadelphia voters, could also change the electoral math for the Democratic field.
Williams said Saturday’s meeting, which consisted of about 15 city leaders and advocates, didn’t begin with talk about his potential run for governor. But the senator said that’s where the discussion ended up.
One of the city-leaders who participated was politically influential U.S. Rep. Bob Brady (D-Philadelphia), who took part via a conference call, Williams said.
The state senator said Brady had called him earlier in the week.
“He said if there was anything he could do to help, he would do that,” Williams said.
Three of the Democratic candidates, Doherty, Onorato and Wagner, have talked to him word got out he was thinking of running, Williams said. Wagner asked him for his support, he said, while Onorato and Doherty listened and tried to emphasize they understood his issues.
The Democratic state committee hosts its endorsement meeting this weekend, which Williams plans to attend. He conceded his candidacy would be off to a late start if he declared, both in terms of organization and fundriasing. But the senator sounded confident he could put together both soon enough to be competitive, adding that he’s garnered $2 million in financial committments from supporters if he decides to run.
One Democratic source with knowledge of the talks told PoliticsPA they now believe Williams will enter the race.
Tags: Anthony Williams, Anthony Williams for Governor, Tony Williams, Tony Williams for governor
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