Tag: David Thornburgh

For years before he was indicted last month, Electricians union leader John J. Week after week, small-dollar donations withdrawn from the paychecks of members of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers piled up in the bank account of the union’s main political action committee, Committee on Political Education, or COPE. From 2002 through 2018, the union collected just under $41 million to invest in helping elect allies to local, state, and national offices, according to an Inquirer analysis of Local 98 member contributions to the political committee. Under the leadership of John Dougherty, Local 98 of the electrician’s union has collected millions from its members through payroll deductions, using the funds to help elect allies to local, state, and federal offices. Annual contributions to Local 98 from its members SOURCE: Analysis of Pa. campaign-finance reports Staff Graphic The 159-page indictment returned by a federal grand jury entangled only one elected official — Councilman Bobby Henon — and didn’t charge anyone with making or receiving improper campaign donations. Perhaps the crowning moment came in 2015, when union money helped Democrats take control of the state Supreme Court by electing three justices, including Dougherty’s brother, Kevin, whose campaign got $1.5 million. After the indictments, it’s possible that Local 98 will keep spreading political money around as Philadelphia holds elections for mayor and City Council this year. The money comes from union members. Dougherty took control of Local 98 in 1993 and made his first political move two years later, helping electrician-turned-politician Rick Mariano unseat City Councilman Dan McElhatton in the 1995 Democratic primary. Mariano, who spent five years in federal prison and emerged a critic of Dougherty’s and the union’s leadership, compared the members’ payroll deductions to what is known as “macing,” when political bosses require public employees to donate to the party.