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Why the wealthy candidate isn’t throwing a party
NEW YORK—There are five Democratic candidates for governor. Four of them are throwing parties of one kind or another here this weekend.
The holdout? Philadelphia millionaire Tom Knox.
It might seem a quirky decision for the one independently wealthy candidate in the race not to shell out so the state’s political insiders can party with him during the Pennsylvania Society weekend. But it actually dovetails nicely with what’s becoming a central theme of Knox’s candidacy—that he’s so rich he can’t be bought or owned by any special interest.
Parties at the Waldorf-Astoria or somewhere nearby aren’t cheap. And the receptions for candidates and elected officials are often put together with some form of corporate sponsorship.
Knox, who will be in New York along with campaign manager to rally some insider support, is forgoing that traditional part of the weekend.
“Tom is committed to spending a lot of money in this race hosting events for voters all over Pennsylvania, like the spaghetti dinner he held in Bethlehem last night to talk about the raising utility rates,” campaign manager Josh Morrow said Thursday. “But throwing a party for political insiders and special interests in New York City didn’t make sense to him.”
December 10, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Tags: Pennsylvania Society, Tom Knox
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Brian Kline
Dec 10th, 2009
Tom Knox and Joe Hoeffel are two candidates running from the Left. Whereas Hoeffel has tailored his message for more affluent liberals living in the voter-rich southeast, Tom Knox is going after the hardscrabble rowhouse voters living in areas like the Lehigh Valley.
Everyday issues like gas prices and electric rates weigh heavily on their minds. When PPL electric rate caps begin expiring in early 2010, I believe Knox has some room to grow in the Lehigh Valley and Northeastern PA. His decision to keep a low-profile in NY is smart. Media reports about politicians partying in Manhattan are not received well in places like South Bethlehem or Catasauqua.
JEP
Dec 10th, 2009
Putting aside the fact that this post is more about this weekend than the race in general, Knox’s populist bashing of public utilities may indeed prove beneficial, but to say that Hoeffel is pandering to the affluent (read: elite) is disingenuous. There is real merit to uncapping utility prices: people will realize the true cost of utilities and maybe–gasp!–use less. Then again, maybe only the affluent care about preserving the environment and conserving natural resources.
Brian Kline
Dec 10th, 2009
JEP, I was not criticizing Hoeffel. Like most candidates running for public office, Hoeffel, Knox and the entire gubernatorial field are targeting voters to save time and resources. That’s not pandering, that’s smart politics.
PoliticsPA’s PA Society Cheat Sheet… | GrassrootsPA
Dec 11th, 2009
[...] Philly millionaire Knox won’t throw a party… [...]
demdem
Dec 11th, 2009
JEP-
To paraphrase Marie Antionette “Let them use less!” I know you won’t agree, but that’s an incredibly bourgeois attitude in the middle of the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression.
Didn’t occur to you that working families are already making adjustments? C’mon…