A credible challenger to Vince Fumo

It's not often I use this forum to promote a Democrat, but when a candidate is on the right side of issues, I don't care what their party affiliation is.

State Sen. Vincent Fumo (D-Philadelphia), facing a 139-count federal indictment for fraud and corruption, is running for re-election next spring.

Fumo has been a power-broker in Harrisburg for decades. He's become rich and powerful and Pennsylvania taxpayers have suffered in the process. The main allegation in the federal indictment, according to The Associated Press, is that Fumo used Senate staff and contractors to tend to his personal needs, as well as for political gain. The alleged fraud cost the Senate more than $1 million. Fumo's philosophy, the AP reported, was spend "other people's money," which he referred to by the acronym OPM.

Fumo is innocent until proven guilty of the federal charges, but his trial won't start until after the April 2008 primary election.

Voters in Senate District 1, which Fumo has held since 1978, have a credible alternative when they go to the polls in 2008. She is Anne Dicker, a community activists running on a reform platform. Read about her credentials and where she stands on the issues at her Web site, http://annedicker.com

Dicker is already spending money to get her message out. Her campaign ran its second full-page ad in the Philadelphia Daily News today publicizing Fumo's mingling of public/private dollars. You can see a copy of the ad at her Web site.
The effort to clean up the cesspool of corruption in Harrisburg began in 2006 when 55 new legislators were elected. The job is not finished. Voters must remove dozens more lawmakers in 2008 if there's any hope of cleaning up state government.

Philadelphia voters can send a strong message against business-as-usual in Harrisburg by replacing Fumo. Electing Anne Dicker to the state Senate is a step in the right direction.