By Alex Roarty
PoliticsPA Staff Writer
roarty@politicspa.com

Hours after Philadelphia businessman Tom Knox ended his campaign for governor Friday, some of his former staffers and several city leaders met to discuss their mutual frustration over the gubernatorial race thus far.

The group was upset that none of the candidates, Republican or Democrat, seemed willing to talk directly about issues plaguing Pennsylvania such as inner-city poverty, according to state Senator Anthony Williams.

The Philadelphia Democrat said that led one meeting participant to ask him what might become a fateful question:

“Well, why don’t you run for governor?”

“I didn’t say ‘no’ and I didn’t say ‘yes,'” Williams said during an interview Friday night, adding that the question surprised him.

Although he still hadn’t decided hours later, he told PoliticsPA even if he doesn’t run, somebody else will. Some new candidate will emerge to talk directly about issues hurting many of the state’s citizens, he said.

“If it’s not me, it’s going to be somebody to talk about it,” Williams said.

Allegheny County Executive Director Dan Onorato, Auditor General Jack Wagner, Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty, and Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel are the remaining candidates. Onorato, primarily because of the $8 million he’s raised so far, is the early front-runner and received Knox’s endorsement Friday.

Any candidate joining the race now faces an uphill battle to put together a campaign and raise money, which the other four candidates have done for months, if not longer. Although Knox’s departure means the field lacks a Philadelphia candidate, even one from the city faces long odds to be competitive.

But Williams seemed less interested in capitalizing on a political opportunity than genuinely frustrated with the level of discourse so far in the still early gubernatorial race.

“I want somebody to talk about where people are in Pennsylvania,” he said. “They are jobless. They are overburdened with taxes.

“We’re afraid to talk about ethnic divide in this state,” the senator said. “We’re afraid to talk about responsible gun ownership in this state.”

Some candidate needs to start discussing those issues, Williams said.

He emphasized repeatedly he still has no plans to run as of right now, but acknowledged news of consideration will likely “take on a life of its own.”