Borough President Paul McConnell Seeking Democrat Nod to Run for State Rep

Borough President Paul McConnell (D), as reported by PoliticsPA.com, is putting his name into consideration to replace Mike Gerber on the ballot in November for the position of State Representative in the 148th District.  As reported earlier this month, Gerber is taking his name off the ballot to take a position in the private sector.  Since Gerber has already won the primary, there will not be a formal election to replace him on the ballot.  An internal Democrat Part process will determine who is placed on the ballot.

In addition to McConnell, there are a few other names being considered, including Bob Hart, a Whitemarsh Supervisor, who we reported about last week.  Here is a full list of those being considered as reported by PoliticsPA.com:

Mary Jo Daley. There’s considerable buzz around Daley, a former Narberth Borough Councilwoman and local committee co-chair who works at (and holds a degree from) the University of Pennsylvania.

Bob Hart. The Whitemarsh Township Supervisor and attorney has been one of the most aggressive prospective candidates; he’s already emailed supporters about a bid. He’s Montco’s First Deputy Treasurer.

Brian Gordon. The Lower Merion Commissioner briefly considered a run for Congress in 2010. He was first elected in 2005 and is an attorney and partner of the firm Gordon & Ashworth, P.C.

Paul McConnell. He’s served on the Conshohocken Borough Council since 2007 and is currently its President. He chairs the committee on buildings. Update: McConnell confirms to PoliticsPA that he’s going for the seat. He works for pharmaceutical company AmerisourceBergen as Director of Training.

Bob Wegbreit. He’s a Narberth Borough Councilman and the Sales and Marketing Director for Conshy-based GF Data Resources, a company that caters to private equity firms.

Whoever ends up on the ballot will face Conshy native and veteran Mike Ludwig (R).  Ludwig had the daunting task of unseating Gerber, who has easily defeated two consecutive Republican opponents since unseating the previous incumbent.  However, there were rumors last week that Ludwig might be asked to step aside for a more seasoned candidate now that there is not a popular incumbent to face.

I spoke to McConnell on Sunday and asked if he planned to resign from Council if he has his named placed on the ballot.  He does not plan to resign to run, however, if he does have his name placed on the ballot and wins, he would leave Borough Council at the end of the year.  If that were to happen, Borough Council will go through the appointment process to fill his seat that it just went through in the 4th Ward and would have to select a new Borough Council President.

Keep you posted.