Despite loss, Bongiovanni proud of election campaign

Despite the buzz of press coverage and growing support in recent weeks, election night ended early for GOP District Attorney hopeful Joseph Bongiovanni.

Bongiovanni had gathered with family and supporters at the Republican Club in Northeast Philadelphia. Although the mood was hopeful early in the evening, Bongiovanni's loss became apparent as soon as the first returns were reported.

The GOP challenger conceded the election to incumbent Democrat Lynne Abraham shortly after 10:30 p.m.

Bongiovanni, who said he called Abraham as soon as it was "statistically impossible" to win, said he was disappointed by the loss.

"Frankly, I thought we would do better," Bongiovanni said.

As of 3:30 a.m. this morning, Bongiovanni was in second place with 15 percent of the vote, compared to Abraham's 67 percent.

Although Abraham, who has held office for 10 years, was widely expected to win, her broad support of the death penalty and antipathy towards her in the city's minority communities seemed to bolster Bongiovanni's campaign.

And last week, Bongiovanni received the endorsement of both of The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.

Bongiovanni said that in this election the GOP had tried to reach out to Philadelphia minorities, and that minority voters had been "somewhat responsive."

Late last night, Bongiovanni was still hopeful that some symbolic damage may have been inflicted on Abraham, predicting that she would not win a plurality.

"Probably, the other candidates collectively got more votes than she did," Bongiovanni said. "It will be interesting to see what the final results are."

Bongiovanni, who last ran for office in the 1970s when he vied for a seat on City Council, said that he does not have plans to run again for DA in 2005, but wants to again be a consultant for local Republican campaigns. Bongiovanni had served in this role for several campaigns in recent years.

Although he lost the election, Bongiovanni remained upbeat at his rally last night.

"It's been an interesting experience," Bongiovanni said. "It's something everyone should do once in their life."

But some supporters of Bongiovanni were less positive about the loss. Randy Robinson, a consultant to Bongiovanni, said that Philadelphians have let an opportunity to change city law enforcement "slip through our fingers."

Education Party candidate Leon Williams and Green Party candidate Richard Ash came in third and fourth, respectively, last night. Williams amassed 12 percent of the vote, coming in only a few points behind Bongiovanni.

Ash did not even break into double-digits, receiving 6 percent of the vote.

Williams, who watched the returns from his campaign headquarters in North Philadelphia, said his presence as an African-American candidate was helpful.

"If it wasn't for the Education Party, we would have an election with three white candidates who would be debating the death penalty involving predominantly African Americans," Williams said.

Williams said his party received a boost from the campaign, even though he did not win.

"There were no losers in this room tonight," Williams said. "Nobody is a loser in this room tonight.... There was a big winner tonight, and it's not Leon Williams. It's the Education Party."

Ash, watching the returns from Old City, also had a positive attitude about the election, even joking about his loss.

"It sounds like we're going to win by a landslide," Ash said early in the evening. "They don't even need to count the votes."

But Ash went on to say that he was pleased with the way he had conducted his campaign given limited recourse. Furthermore, he noted that Philadelphia minorities had been particularly receptive to his campaigning.

"I found particularly receptive the African Americans that I spoke to," Ash said. "They seemed to have a deep dislike for the incumbent -- her emphasis on the death penalty which they recognize preys upon the poorer minorities, mainly the African Americans."

Daily Pennsylvanian staff writers Mary Clarke-Pearson and Richard Mo contributed to this report.

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