PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Monday, June 21, 1993 Page: B01 Edition: FINAL Section: LOCAL RACE PUTS PARTY IN HOT SEAT DEMOCRATS NEED PHILA.'S 2D DISTRICT SEAT TO KEEP SENATE REINS. 3 NOMINEES VOW FIGHT FOR BACKING. By Vanessa Williams, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Philadelphia's Democratic Party, infamous for civil wars among its political monarchs and ambitious rebels, has another internal fight on its hands. How they settle it - if they settle it - may well determine whether Democrats maintain their tenuous control of the state Senate. Three Democrats, each with strong backing from different political leaders, are actively pursuing their party's nomination to run for the Second Senatorial District seat that opened up when the longtime Democratic incumbent, Francis J. Lynch, died last month. Local and state Republicans are hungrily eyeing the vacant seat in Philadelphia's Second District because winning it could enable the GOP to recapture control of the Senate. Two Republicans are interested in the seat, and the party leaders say they plan to wage an aggressive battle for the district. Democratic and Republican ward leaders will meet in the coming months to select their respective nominees for a special election to be held Nov. 2. The winner would serve the remaining 14 months of Lynch's term and then face a primary election next spring and a general election next fall for a full, four-year term. The Democrats, who hold a 2-1 edge in registration, should be assured of holding onto the seat. But they are not - partly because a Republican ran very strongly against Lynch in 1990 and partly because a bitter campaign for the nomination could provoke one of the Democrats to bolt and run as an independent, splitting Democratic loyalties. "This is a very frustrating situation for the Democrats in Harrisburg. Their fate is in the hands of a group of feudal lords they barely know and rarely understand," said David Buffington, editor of a political newsletter in Harrisburg. "It is quite possible that party division in the city can cost the Democrats the Senate." Robert Brady, chairman of the city Democratic Committee, says the party will not devour itself in this important election. But he was far from emphatic. "I don't think so," Brady said of the likelihood of an independent campaign. "I think what they'll do is probably run in the primary six months later rather than go through the hassle of changing their registration and collecting signatures and all that." Democrats who say they're running are William Stinson, leader of the 33d Ward and a former assistant deputy to Mayor Rendell; Christina Tartaglione, daughter of Margaret M. Tartaglione, who is leader of the 62d Ward and a city commissioner, and Harvey Rice, a former city worker who ran second to Lynch in the 1990 primary and who has the backing of Councilman Joseph C. Vignola. The lineup of the state Senate will be determined in two districts holding special elections. In January, when Republican State Sen. James C. Greenwood of Bucks County moved up to Congress, Democrats found themselves in control of both houses and the governor's mansion for the first time in 15 years. Lynch's death thrust the Senate back into a 24-24 tie between the two parties. Greenwood is expected to be replaced by a Republican in a special election July 13, which would give the GOP control. To preserve their leadership positions, next week the Democrats are scheduled to close up the Senate until after the balloting for the Lynch seat. For the Republicans in the Second District, the smell of a near-upset still lingers from three years ago when a young Republican challenger, Bruce Marks, came within 851 votes of unseating Lynch, a 20-year veteran. "We are committed to contesting that seat vigorously," said State Sen. Robert C. Jubelirer, minority floor leader and chairman of the Senate Republican campaign finance committee. Marks, who surprised even his own party with his strong showing, said last week that he is considering making another run at the seat. Before Lynch's death, Marks, a 36-year-old lawyer, said he had been focusing his sights on challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert A. Borski next year. State Rep. John J. Taylor said he also was interested, though he's not actively pursuing the Republican nomination. Taylor, a four-term veteran whose state House district includes portions of the Second District, said last week that he became less interested when the election was set for November. The Second District had a nearly 2-1 Democratic edge when Marks ran in 1990, but the demographics have changed somewhat since then. Gone are the more independent, issue-oriented voters in Center City and Fairmount. Marks, a former aide to U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, (R., Pa.), won points with those voters for his abortion-rights stand. Gone also is Lynch, who was criticized for his high rate of absenteeism and for having sponsored almost no legislation, making the energetic Marks an even more attractive candidate. Now the district, which takes in parts of north central Philadelphia, some river wards and the lower Northeast, is composed more of Democrats who are loyal to the party lever. Still, the wards in the northern half of the district, including Juniata Park and the lower Northeast, went for Specter over Democrat Lynn Yeakel last year. To Republicans, the strongest evidence that they had a shot at the Second District seat came when the Democrats maneuvered to have the date of the special election delayed until Nov. 2, when the race for the Senate seat will share the ballot with contests for district attorney, controller, state Supreme Court and local courts. Brady acknowledged that he had lobbied Singel to call the election for November to cash in on a higher turnout of voters who might pull the big lever to vote a straight Democratic ticket. One sure way to better the Republicans' chances would be for one of the unendorsed Democrats to launch an independent campaign. As of now, they all are running - courting ward leaders, calling in political chits and claiming the support of powerful Democratic elected officials. "I am definitely in the race," said Stinson, who recently resigned as assistant deputy mayor in charge of small-business issues. In 1990, the Democratic Party dumped the embattled Lynch and turned to Stinson as its endorsed candidate. He came in third place in the four-way race. Stinson, who owns a beauty parlor in Juniata Park and a jewelry store in Center City, also ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 1991. But this year, he said, he expects to be elected to the Senate. "I believe I have the nomination based on the ward leaders who have promised me," Stinson said. He declined to name those who have pledged their support. Marge Tartaglione is not one of them. "We're courting the ward leaders," she said of herself and her daughter, Christina, who last year ran unsuccessfully against Republican State Rep. John M. Perzel. In a brief interview last week, Marge Tartaglione would not say that her daughter would forgo an independent bid. Christina Tartaglione did not return phone calls. "We'll take it one step at a time," Marge Tartaglione said. "Call me next week." Rice, who in 1990 came in just ahead of Stinson and right behind Lynch, already has produced a slick booklet, "Harvey Rice: Keeping the Majority." It is filled with analyses of election statistics for the district, which he warns is not a "safe Democratic district" and argues that it takes the right candidate - someone like himself - to ensure victory over a Republican. A group of City Council members, led by Vignola, Rice's boss when Vignola was city controller, has scheduled a fund-raising event for him. But Rice, who runs a political consulting firm, said he would not run as an independent if he is not chosen by the ward leaders. "I think that I would be looking more toward the primary next year," he said. Both Rice and Stinson have laid claim to the mayor's support, but Rendell said he was staying out of it. "I think all three - Rice, Tartaglione and Stinson - would make fine candidates," he said. And while many prominent Democrats are saying they are not lobbying ward leaders for their favorite candidates, Rendell's assertion is most believable. "As far as me calling ward leaders, remember, I just fired a bunch of ward leaders over at the Parking Authority," the mayor said, referring to actions he took in February and April to pare about 150 workers - many of them patronage employees - from the payroll of the city's parking enforcement agency. "I don't think my calls would be welcomed." Copyright 1993 PHILADELPHIA NEWSPAPERS INC. May not be reprinted without permission.