Home run: Philliez prez donates to Meehan

The man who likes baseball also like former Pat Meehan.

Philadelphia Phillies president David Montgomery contributed $500 to the former U.S. Attorney’s GOP campaign in the 7th Congressional District. It was only a tiny drop in the $580,000-bucket that Meehan raised in the last three months of 2009. Nonetheless, Montgomery was one donor of at least two locals who could be called quasi-celebrities in the area. The other? Radio talk-show host and columnist Michael Smerconish, who also gave Meehan $500.

Meehan finished the year with about $694,000 in campaign cash on hand, according to campaign finance data, about $234,000 more than state Representative Bryan Lentz (D-Delaware), his likely Democratic opponent. Like Lentz, Meehan benefited from the support of a bevy of party leaders and insiders.

He received a $1,000 contribution from a political action committee controlled by Congressman Joe Pitts (R-16) and a $4,800 donation from Congressman Charlie Dent’s (R-15) PAC. Repeating a performance in the third quarter of 2009, Meehan tapped his longstanding connections in the regional legal community to raise money from PACs controlled by law firms and from individual attorneys. Party leaders like Republican National Committee members Bob Asher Christine Toretti contributed, as did former Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker.

Tracey Specter, the daughter-in-law of Senator Arlen Specter, gave Meehan $1,000 despite recently relinquishing her leadership of a local GOP organization to help reelect the Republican-turned-Democrat, a political mentor of Meehan’s.

Meehan had been planning a run for governor before opting to run for the seat being vacated by Democrat Joe Sestak instead. In wrapping up some business to make the transition, his federal campaign committee spent a few thousand dollars purchasing office equipment and “database records” from his state committee. His state committee is due to file a year-end campaign finance report this month.

February 1, 2010 at 9:00 am

--Dan Hirschhorn

Tags: Bryan Lentz, PA-7, Pat Meehan