TOM FERRICK JR. ANALYZES THE RESIGNATION OF pENNSYLVANIA STATE SENATOR VINCE FUMO

You know you are in trouble when suffering a heart attack serves as welcome break from your campaign for re-election.

But, so it went during this winter of discontent for state Sen. Vincent Fumo. He had major back surgery in February, a heart attack in early March.

In the April 22 primary, Fumo faced three opponents seeking to deny him re-election to First State Senate District.

No wonder he decided to quit the race today. With Gov. Rendell at this side, Fumo said he would retire at the end of his current term in January.

Fumo said it was because of the stress caused by the "cloud" of his federal
indictment on corruption charges.

I think it was more a case of him facing reality.

Even if Fumo won the Democratic primary he would still face trial in September and the possibility of competition in the November election against the popular Joe Vignola, running as an independent.

Fumo is a bright man –one of the smartest pols I have ever met. He could do the math.

He knew the odds of his surviving as senator were minimal. If not taken down by the voters first, the feds were likely to get him. All the government needs is to make a handful of its 139 charges against him stick and he would be forced out of the Senate.

So, at age 64, with a sore back and a heart on the mend, who needs the agita of an election campaign?

Not even the combative politician like Fumo.

"To be frank," a subdued Fumo told reporters today (Wed., March 12), "the stress of being under indictment has taken a very real emotional toll."

Let me add other factors that may have helped him make the decision:

It was dawning on Fumo how difficult it would be even to get through the primary election.

Conventional wisdom is that even a weakened incumbent should win with three opponents splitting the vote – labor leader John Dougherty, lawyer Larry Farnese and anti-casino activist Anne Dicker.

Also, Fumo was the guy with the money. He had $625,000 in his campaign account at the beginning of this year. Farnese had about $50,000; Dicker $12,000. Only Dougherty, with access to political funds from labor unions, had a chance to compete in the money game.

But, the First District is not what it was 30 years ago, when Fumo was first elected to the Senate. In 1970's, it was more South Philly-centric. Today, due to reapportionment, nearly 60 percent of the voters live outside South Philadelphia, most of them in Center City and environs.

These are voters with zero tolerance for corruption. They are not inclined to vote for a politician under indictment – even one willing to spend $1 million or more on his primary campaign.

Could Fumo have gotten the 30 to 35 percent share of the vote he would need to win the primary? I am not sure. He certainly wouldn't get it from his Center City wards.

There is another factor. The senator is a wealthy man, but his legal fees in the federal case are likely to run $1 million or more.

By dropping out of the race now, Fumo may be able to use the balance in his campaign fund to help pay for his legal bills.

(Last year, Fumo used $400,000 from his Fumo for Senate fund to pay for legal fees associated with the federal charges.)

Fumo said his health issues were not a factor in his decision.

But, he confessed that the days spent in the hospital gave him a chance to think about his future.

As he put it in his statement: "There are a number of reasons why I have chosen to retire, but above all – I simply don't think it is right for me to ask the voters….to vote for me one more time while there is a cloud hanging over my head."

Let me put it another way:

Lying in his bed in Hahnemann Hospital, Vince Fumo came to the realization that he had no chance of political recovery. His wounds were mortal. It was time to let go.

Tom Ferrick can be reached by e-mail at:

The Committee of Seventy is a non-partisan, non-profit organization. Analytical pieces written for this website by Tom Ferrick Jr., the award-winning former columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, represent his personal views.