WELCOME BACK: Local politicians gear up for fall election season

While students are gearing up for school, local politicians will be getting ready for their last big push before the November elections. This spring, all incumbent candidates running for state offices in University City won their party's nominations by a "comfortable margin," a spokesperson from the Philadelphia Board of Elections said. The incumbents, all Democrats, will take on the Republicans in races for the state senate and state assembly. On the national level, incumbent Senator Arlen Specter faces Democrat Lynn Yeakel in a widely publicized senate race. Specter is currently serving second senate term. Before becoming a senator, Specter, a University graduate, serves as District Attorney of Philadelphia and also on the Warren Commission to investigate the assasination of President John Kennedy. The Republican came under fire last summer for his role in the Senate Nomination hearings of the then Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. Yeakel is president of Women's Way, a coalition of organizations which raises funds for women and their families. The Democratic won her first election in the April primary where she defeated Lt. Governor Marc Singel for the nomination. Her campaign focused heavily on women's issues and the need for a national economic plan. This November, all 203 State Assembly seats will be up for re-election. Half of the State Senate seats will be up for re-election. In the 7th Senate District, which includes all University dormitories, incumbent Chaka Fattah faces Republican Lawrence Watson. Fattah, a Wharton graduate, failed in his bid for a U.S. House of Representatives seat as an independent candidate last fall. He was first elected to the State Assembly in 1982 and to the State Senate in 1988. The 186th Assembly District, which includes Hill House, covers the southeast corner of University City. Incumbent Democrat Harold James faces Republican F. Malana Pettite. Hanes, a formere Philadelphia police officer, is running for his third term in the Assembly. The 188th Assembly District is defined by a choppy diagonal line which runs through the middle of campus. The Quadrangle, Stouffer College House, High Rise North, DuBois College House, Graduate Towers and Kings Court/English House are all within the District. In the 188th, Republican George Forrest takes on incumbent Democrat James Roebuck for the Assembly seat. Roebuck, a former Drexel University professor, was first elected to the Assembly in 1984. Democrats Vincent Hughes in the 109th and Frank Oliver in the 195th both ran as unapposed incumbents in the April primary. Hughes will face Republican Edward Howell and Oliver will take on Republican David Thomsen in November.

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