Hollin fails at bid to unseat Rep. Blackwell

In a race that at times resembled a boxing match, with incumbent Democrat Lucien Blackwell and Republican challenger Larry Hollin trading verbal jabs and accusations, Hollin was unable to deliver the knockout punch when it mattered most -- Election Day. But Hollin, a 1981 College and Wharton and 1984 Law School graduate, refused to go down early in the race for the U.S. Congressional seat in the 2nd District. Even after a Blackwell victory had been projected -- and hours after Blackwell gave his victory speech -- Hollin did not concede. Instead, he took the opportunity to throw a few more punches at his challenger. "The most negative aspect [of this race] was my opponent," Hollin said last night. He called Blackwell a "very vindictive person" and added, "He's a very sad person to have representing the city of Philadelphia in Congress." Hollin said Blackwell divides and polarizes his constituents rather than try and unify them. Hollin added that comments made about him in Blackwell's victory speech were "more worthy of a three-year-old than a congressman." But Hollin said "it's important to focus on the positive." "No matter what the outcome is, we can be very proud," Hollin said. "When the final tallies are shown we will have pulled an historic margin." Friends and supporters who gathered at the Rittenhouse Hotel with Hollin shared his positive outlook and seemed to expect their candidate to lose. They watched for the election results on a television monitor in a corner of the room, awaiting Hollin's late arrival. The crowd consisted of friends of Hollin, a calm, unemotional group who were only mildly disappointed with the loss. "We think we were very succesful, considering we were a new kid on the block," Campaign Manager Clint Abney said. "We did make an impact," said Jordan Mersky, a campaign field coordinator. "A lot of Democrats did split their ticket." "He's got name recognition now," Mersky added. "He's got solid support." Mersky said that if the Hollin campaign had had more money, it would have won the race. "We really didn't have the resources to get our message across to everyone," Mersky said. "Given all the facts, I think everyone would have voted for Larry -- including Lucien." And campaign volunteer Ida Williams said that the black population was uninformed about Hollin. Hollin will gather the support of blacks "when they see more of him and hear more of him," Williams said. She said she was supporting Hollin because "he can't do any worse [than Blackwell], that's for damn sure." Hollin volunteer Gene Lewis said Blackwell has done nothing for blacks, while his candidate is offering programs to help everyone. "His campaign should have been a little stronger," Lewis said.

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