Editorial | Pa. Senate, 26th District

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, October, 2006

Running for Pennsylvania Senate in the 26th District, Democratic challenger Michael T. Farrell is going up against two powerful forces - the mostly Republican Party voter registration, and Delaware County tradition. The Springfield attorney with 10 years' experience as a U.S. Army Reserve officer seems to like it just that way.

Farrell, a solo practitioner, is trying to tap into what he views as public sentiment angling for change. He's campaigning against "political bosses" - that is, GOP kingmakers in a district that also includes two Chester County communities. What's more, incumbent Sen. Edwin B. "Ted" Erickson, 68, handed Farrell a weapon: He voted in favor of the controversial pay raise for state lawmakers because, he says, it included long-overdue judicial raises. To...