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Charles W. Bowser, 79, en seig talsmann for rasemessig rettferdighet og en innflytelsesrik kommunal leder som to kampanjer for Philadelphia ordføreren inspirerte en generasjon av afrikansk amerikanske politiske ledere, døde mandag av komplikasjoner av Alzheimers sykdom på HCR Manor Care i King of Prussia.

For nesten 40 år f rom på midten av 1960-tallet på, var Mr. Bowser en styrke i byens samfunnsliv, mens veiledning og enco uraging stort sett alle store sorte valgt tjenestemann som har dukket opp i siste 25 år.

Fra kjemper for å avslutte bruk av blackface ved Mummers å tjene o n kommisjonen som etterforsket MOVE bombingen, viste Mr. Bowser en bestem ned og intellektuelt begavet politisk advokat og offentlig tjenestemann.

Men hans mest varig arv kan bli funnet på kontoret han aldri klarte å oppnå for Homs elf.

Mens Mr. Bowser var ikke den første African American å kjøre for ordføreren i Phi ladelphia ble hans-kampanjer i 1975 og 1979 det første å styrke svarte stemme rs. Ved å gjøre dette, utfordret de forestillingen om at en svart kandidat ikke kunne vinne .

"Charlie Bowser overbevist om den afroamerikanske samfunnet vi kunne gjøre dette, sier John F. Street, byens andre svarte ordfører.

W. Wilson Goode, Philadelphia første svarte borgermester, delte det følelser.

"Charles Bowser banet vei for meg, sier han. "Det faktum at han var i stand til å løpe og gjøre så godt ga folk absolutt tillit til at jeg kunne lykkes i min 1983 kampanjen."

Mr. Bowser's kampanjer lært det grunnleggende av po litics til klassen for unge svarte ledere som fulgte. Goode trent voluntee rs for Bowser kampanjene. Street var en frivillig, som var State Rep Dwight E varebiler, nå leder av staten House Bevilgninger Committee, og US Rep Ch aka Fattah, sammen med medlemmer av bystyret og innehavere av andre valgte Offi CES.

"Han var den ledende uavhengige politisk kraft i byen," sa Fattah. Gjennom årene, selv om nume Rous svarte politiske tallene kom til makten i byen, var Mr. Bowser en av de store arkitektene av afroamerikansk empowerment, sa han. "Han var en kraft å regne ed med over levetiden på fem eller seks ordførere. "

Gov Rendell kalte ham «den mest effektive afrikanske Americ en politiker og leder som aldri hadde kontor."

"Vi har mistet en stor leder og en moralsk kompass for Philadelphia, noen som kjempet for andre, "Rendell sa.

Han sa at mens forholdet løp varme og kalde o ver årene, var Mr. Bowser en av hans sterkeste støttespillere i 2002 gubern atorial rase.

«Han har aldri solgt ut, han aldri kompromittert sin stilling," Rendell sa. "Han kjempet hardt og utrolig effecti fritidskjede som aktivt for mennesker. Hans moralske lederskap vil bli savnet. "

Henry Nicholas, president av Nation al Union of Hospital og Helse Ansatte Local 1199, var en livslang venn av Mr. Bowser's.

«Philadelphia tapte et ikon, en visjonær, en leder som elsket rettferdighet mer enn selve livet, sier han. "Han tilbrakte Majo r del av livet sitt prøver å flytte en sosial agenda som omfatter alle."

Voldsomt comp etitive

Mr. Bowser vokste opp fattige i Nord Philadelphia. En svært konkurranseutsatte ma n, spilte han fotball på Central High School, der han var en stjerne backplass.

Betw een lavere grads studier og jusstudier ved Temple University, var han to ja rs i hæren i Korea-krigen. En "ammunisjon avhending ekspert, sier han ryddet minefelt og uskadeliggjort bomber.

A fter gikk ut fra jus i 쌥, gjorde Mr. Bowser seg i en verden Almo st ugjenkjennelig etter dagens standarder. Afro-amerikanere hadde liten rolle i offentlige anliggender, t Han yrker, og absolutt politikk.

Adrion Howell, en politisk advokat og eier av en regjering konsulentfirma, b elieves sin karriere erfaring vil hjelpe ham med å forbedre kontoret operasjoner dersom han er e tes kontorist av kretsen retten i Prince George's County.

"Jeg ønsker virkelig å skape en profesjonell og eff icient arbeidsmiljø som kommer til å levere kvalitet kundeservice til borgere av fylket, "sa Howell.

Howell foreslår å benytte frivillige og bringe en i ternship program for å gi ekstra arbeidskraft til å håndtere ordrereserven ved innleveringer, mens holde kostnadene innenfor budsjettet.

Howell, 40, av Glenn Dale løp uten hell igjen st Marilynn Bland for District 9 County Council sete i 2002 og mot og Rea Harrison i den spesielle valget for District 5 County Council sete i to 008.

Snarere enn å løpe igjen for et konsil sete, sa Howell han trodde han kunne b Etter satte sin erfaring som politisk advokat til å bruke som ekspeditøren på circui t domstol.

Som en lobbyist, har Howell representert i fylke og selskapene ved å gå før fylket planlegging styret.

Han sa at hans erfaring i Annapolis og Øvre Marlboro ber lovgivere for støtte og pengene vil være fordelaktig å søke et større budsjett for kontorist kontor.

Senking av etterslep av saken registreringer, noe som gjør innleveringer tilgjengelig på nettet og redusere bruken av papir på kontoret er blant Howell sine mål.

Pensjonere d Circuit Court Judge James Taylor, en venn av familien, sier Howell erfaring som politisk l awyer vil sette ham i takt med behovene til kontorist kontor.

"Han er kvalifisert faglig for stillingen," Taylor sa. "Med den juridiske trening at han har, ville han gå inn i jobben og ikke føler meg som en fremmed. "

Før etableringen Howe ll og Associates i 2007, sier Howell han også jobbet på lovgivende staber for amerikanske Reps. Charles Rangel (DN.Y.) og Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), jobbet som juridisk edito r for Skatt Notes Magazine, som utgis av den ideelle organisasjonen Tax A nalysts, internert i Det hvite hus under Clinton-administrasjonen, og jobbet som en domstol kontorist i Alexandria, Virginia, mens i juss.

Adrion Howell

Stilling søkes, affiliat ion:

Clerk av Circuit Court, demokrat

Bosted: Glenn Dale

Tid i fylket: 25 år

Alder: 40

Fødested: Washington, DC

Nåværende yrke: F ounder av og lobbyist for Howell og Associates, en regjering relasjoner rådføre ing fast.

Utdannelse: Norfolk State University, bachelor i statsvitenskap Howard University School of Law i Washington, DC

Community foreninger: grunnleggerne av Afric en amerikansk demokratiske Club of Prince George's County, medlem av NAACP, medlem av Norfolk Stat e University og Howard University alumni foreninger, medlem av Omega Psi Phi Brorskap, medlem av Union Bethel AME Church i Brandywine.

Familie: Kone, Sharo n, og datter, Aaliyah.

Kampanje kontoradresse og telefon: 5209 Ashleigh G len Court, MD Glenn Dale 20769; 202-684-1098

Nettside: www.adrionhowell.com

anoble @ Gazette. net

W OBURN - Defense advokat Robert LeBlanc har blitt beordret av en dommer for å skrive en unnskyldning brev til andre advokat Pamela Saia-Rogers for å gi henne en bearhug i et tinghus nesten to år siden.

LeBlanc, en 65-år gamle tidligere Methuen bydelen leder som er godt kjent i borgerlige kretser, ble belastet med en enkelt telling av overgrep og batt eri for den 18 november 2008, klem.

Saia-Rogers sa Lawrence politiet Officer Kevin S chiavone at hun pratet med tre andre advokater i lobbyen på Lawren ce District Court klokken 08:45 den dagen, da LeBlanc grep henne bakfra, "innpakket hans ar ms rundt henne midsection like under brystet hennes og trakk henne tett til ham pre ssing hans bekken mot henne baksiden "i en bearhug, ifølge Schiavone rapport.

"Hun sier han staten d høyt for kolleger står der, "Er ikke hun en vakker republikaner? »Heter det i rapporten. "Saia-Rogers fastslo hun følte seg flau og krenket, men holdt henne fatningen på grunn av t han arbeidssituasjon hun var i."

The incident happened 14 days after Democrat Barack Obama defeate d Republican John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. LeBlanc is a member of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, according to his resume.

LeBlanc and Saia -Rogers both practice law locally. Cases that involve people who work in local c ourts are typically moved to a court they don't normally work in, and this cas e was transferred to Woburn District Court. Middlesex County District Attorney G erry Leone's office prosecuted the case.

At a hearing last Friday, Judge Timot hy Gailey placed LeBlanc on pretrial probation for six months, according to Cara O'Brien, a spokeswoman for Leone.

“If the defendant violates the terms of his probation, th e commonwealth can bring the case back to the trial list,” O'Brien said.

The terms of LeBlan c's probation call for him to write an apology letter to Saia-Rogers and “refrain from speak ing to the media regarding the case,” O'Brien said.

Neither LeBlanc nor Saia-Rogers returned a call seeking comment.

The case will be disposed of if LeBlanc successfully co mpletes his probation, O'Brien said.

LeBlanc was Methuen's town manager from 1976 to 1981, serving as a town councilor afterward. He's a familiar face at political and charitable events, and he is involved with many community groups.

His involvement includes being a past president of the Holy Family Men's Guild , a member of the Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board, and deputy legal counsel for the Massachusetts Democratic Party.

To see more of The Eagle-Tri bune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.eagletribune.com/.

IF Gobind Singh wasn't also a politician, the picture of him storming out of the coroner's chamber last Monday, enraged by what he saw as the untiimely introduction at the inquest into Teoh Beng Hock's death of a docu ment many have come to believe to be a suicide note, might have been convincing to a lot more people.

But because he is a politician and quite a controversial o ne, too, the question had to crop up – was that the politician playing to the gallery?

Gobind isn't the only politician in Malaysia who is a political lawyer by profession or training, but he is a fairly prominent one by virtue of who daddy is and, unfortunately, by a stunt he threw in Parliament in March last year.

His father, Karpal Singh, is t he DAP strongman and has been the driving force behind the Opposition for decade s.

Gobind is a first-term Member of Parliament, having won the Puchong seat in a blaze of glory in the 2008 general election. Unfortunately — for the electora te that voted him, especially – Gobind was suspended a year from Parliament for calling a Depu ty Prime Minister a “murderer” when the House was in session on March 12 last year.

It was the kind of act a rookie MP might pull off in the hope that it would turn him into an instant her o.

Again, unfortunately, it was the memory of this stunt by Gobind the politicia n that came gushing back when you read about Gobind the political lawyer stormin g out of the inquest last Monday.

Gobind's frustration, or anger, with his counterparts repres enting the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is easy enough to underst and.

The introduction of the “mystery” note, as the newspapers called it in their headlines, caught him unaw are. The note, he insisted, should have been tendered at the start of the inques t.

The police were said to have found the note in Teoh's bag in October (there are two version s — the other is that the police found it in July, the month Teoh died), so wh y introduce it now?

Most people following the inquest are asking the same questi på. The investigating officer who found the note will take the stand next Wednes day and he is the best person to answer this and other questions being asked abo ut the note. So let's wait.

In the meantime, Gobind has called on Attorney-General (AG) Tan S ri Gani Patail to step down for holding back evidence.

In an interview, he remin ded the A-G that “we would not bow to any sort of pressure” and “if necessary we will file an application to ask the AG t o explain his conduct”.

Gobind went on to call for the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inq uiry, claiming the inquest had been compromised by Gani's failuire to tender the note at its s tart. Was this Gobind the politician talking? Sometimes it is hard to tell if it's the politic ian or the political lawyer that's talking. Perhaps one day we'll have to seriously consider the need for se paration of political lawyers and politics.

The Teoh Beng Hock case had politics written all over it from the start.

Teoh was a witness in the MACC's investigation of corrupt ion in the DAP, Gobind's own party. The DAP has held the MACC responsible for the death of Teo h, who was political secretary to a DAP assemblyman.

It did not help that the ex pert hired by the Selangor government, in which the DAP is a powerful partner, h ad ruled that Teoh's death was 80 per cent homicide by just looking at some pictures from the fiirst post-mortem.

Now, if that note is indeed a suicide note, we can imagine w hy Gobind is angry. But let's for a moment consider the possibility that it is NOT a suicide n ote. The handwriting forensics may find the document to be fake or not genuine.

The A-G himself has said that he had not been convinced of the authencity of the note at first. In fact, there is talk that Gani still has misgivings about tend ering the note as evidence.

The truth is, the AG simply has no choice but to of fer the note as evidence. If he fails to tender the note before the inquest is c ompleted, he can and will be charged for withholding evidence.

The coroner of th e on-going inquest is also left with no choice, really. He has to admit the note as evidence. Failure to do so will deny all of us the truth.

The coroner should take Gobind's father's advice and engage the services of an internationally-reputed expert in handwriting t o help him deal with the note. “What is important,” said Karpal, ” is the family of Teoh gets justice and the spirit of Te oh is appeased.”

When Meg Whitman went on the air last week with two red-meat-conservative talk show hosts, they mercilessly grilled her on what they characterized as inexcusab le shifts on illegal immigration and the state's landmark global warming bill.

The drubbing wa s so bad that many listeners of “The John & Ken Show” pronounced that they'd never vote for such a namby-pamby candidate.

Less than three months before the general election, the Republican Whitman is experiencing the p erils of what nearly every major party candidate for California governor must en dure during the fall campaign: the risks associated with dancing toward the poli tical center.

It's a necessary gamble in a state where about one-third of voters say they are “middle-of-the -road” and one in five people decline to state a political allegiance when they register to vo te, political experts say.

Still, as Whitman and — to a lesser extent her Democratic opponent, Jerry Brown — woo voters in the middle, they are discovering just how far they can go to grab as much from the center before they start alienating their more partisan bases.

And in the age of often-ideological 24-hour cable news, bloviating bloggers, ra dio broadcasts that live forever in digital form and smartphones recording a can didate's every word, “what's different is that there are just so many ways to catch you doing that dance,” said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a veteran political analyst at the University

of Southern California.

Radio showd own

Last week in their Burbank studio on KFI-AM, John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou us ed their 50,000-watt megaphone to interrogate Whitman on illegal immigration and AB 32, California's global warming law. AB 32 was heavily criticized in the Republican primar y, and many conservatives support Proposition 23, a November ballot initiative t hat would suspend the law indefinitely. But recent polls by the Field Research C orp. and the Public Policy Institute of California show most voters like the law and plan to vote against the proposition.

Pressed by her hosts, Whitman said sh e would “in all likelihood” vote no on the measure, a position that drew swift condemnation from her radio h osts. In the primary, they noted, both Whitman and her opponent, Steve Poizner, had attacked the law as a “job killer.”

Discussing Arizona's new law aimed at deporting illegal immigrants who have run-in s with police, the hosts chastised the eBay billionaire again for trying to have it both ways. They noted that Whitman has run a Spanish-language ad saying she opposes the Arizona law but recently told another conservative talk show that th e feds should let the law stand.

“States' rights have to preside here,” Whitman told Kobylt and Chiampou.

Brown, the attor ney general, also has drawn criticism from his base as he steers toward the cent er.

In San Francisco in late July, Latino activists protested outside the attorn ey general's office, calling on Brown to renounce his support of a federal program that has le d to the deportation of thousands of immigrants.

Brown had rejected the county o f San Francisco's request to opt out of the program, called Secure Communities, which requires state and local law enforcement authorities to inform US. immigration enforcem ent agents when illegal immigrants are booked into local jails. Brown also has c riticized San Francisco for calling itself a “sanctuary” for illegal immigrants.

“It could be that he's taking the (Latino) community fo r granted,” said Renee Saucedo, a political lawyer with La Raza Centro Legal in Oakland. “He has to be held accountable for what he's instituting.”

Still, the “dance” is a lot tougher for Whitman, simply “because she had a competitive primary and Jerry Brown didn't,” said John Pitney, a politics and government professor at Claremont McKenna College. That meant she had to ensure victory in the primary by taking hard-line conservative positions that now need finessing.

In addition, analysts say, Whitman may be dealing with a less forgiving base, determined to push its candidate beyond the “post-partisan pragmatism” of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Whitman faces another problem that Brown doesn't — talk radio, where conservati ve hosts rule the airwaves.

“Their goal is not electing people to office — their goal is ratings,” said John Fleischman, S outhern California vice chairman of the state Republican Party.

Some political i nsiders say Whitman should never have gone on “John & Ken” to be exposed to the in-your-face rants. Others, however, said it may have served her overriding purpose: to come across as the sane one, someone who is not such a threat to moderate independents.

Empty threat

In addition, an alysts and GOP officials say that much of the threat from the right to abandon W hitman is hot air — that hard-core conservatives will hold their noses and return to the fold in November, particularly since Brown is the alternative.

But if Whitman, who is moderate on social issues such as abortion and gay rights, continues to anger r ed-meat conservatives, the GOP could see fewer foot soldiers willing to walk pre cincts or work the phones on Election Day, Fleischman said.

Mark DiCamillo, dire ctor of the Field Poll, and Mark Baldassare, president of the PPIC, say Californ ia’s independents in recent years have consistently told pollsters that they lean Democratic.

“And therein l ies the challenge for the Republican in the race,” Baldassare said.

USC's Jeffe said that Whitman can keep h er base energized by continuing to stress her fiscal conservatism and holding th e line on taxes.

“She's not talking about abortion. She's not talking about guns or same-sex marriage — only if asked,” Jeffe said.

Brown also irked l iberals by refusing to support Proposition 19, the ballot measure to legalize ma rijuana. And his pension reform proposal — which includes requiring larger employee contributi ons and boosting retirement ages — also has triggered some griping from another core constitue ncy — labor. But any backlash won't amount to much more than grumbling, said Dave Low, a lobbyist for the Ca lifornia School Employees Association and chairman of a coalition of labor group s studying pension reform.

“Even if we are somewhat unhappy, what are we going to do?” Low said, “Rush into Meg Whitman's arms?”

Contact Ken McLaughli n kmclaughlin@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5552.

STATEMENT BY MARK WHITE, ATTOR NEY FOR VICTORYLAND

Today the Alabama Supreme Court, denied the attempt by John Tyson and theGovernor to circumvent Alabama law and procedure. Mr. Tyson and the Governor onceagain attempted to avoid proper legal remedies in this matter in a n effort to pursue animmediate illegal raid on VictoryLand and its electronic bi ngo operations. Circuit JudgeTom Young had the courage and intellectual honesty to stand up to the Governor and Mr.Tyson. The correctness of this decision was c onfirmed today by the unanimous vote ofthe Alabama Supreme Court.

No court in o ur State has ever ruled electronic bingo operations at VictoryLandillegal. The G overnor and Mr. Tyson continue to threaten raids at the great expense of thetaxp ayers of this State and at the greater expense of the almost 2,000 individuals t hat donot presently have ajob at VictoryLand because of these continued threats. Every citizenof Alabama, looks forward to the day when there is an end to the p olitical show put on bythe Governor and Mr. Tyson. We commend the Alabama Suprem e Court for making Mr.Tyson and the Governor comply with the laws of our great S tate. Victory land will makean additional statement Thursday morning regarding t he 5:PM Thursday reopening.

Baltimor e County will resume enforcement of rules limiting the size of temporary politic al campaign signs, after a federal judge rejected Wednesday a Towson 's man's request that officials be barre d from applying the restrictions before his claims of constitutional violations were resolved.

County Attorney John E. Beverungen said yesterday that “there's no legal reason” why the rules cannot be e nforced. “We feel are on very solid grounds,” he said

The county had suspended enforcement in the spring af ter Stephen V. Kolbe of Dulaney Valley Road filed suit. He claimed that his free -speech and equal-protection rights were violated by an county order that he rem ove a sign supporting former Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

The county cited Kolbe for putting up a 32-square-foot sign in a zone where only 8-square-foot signs are allowed. Kolbe claimed that th e rules inhibit political debate and discriminate against homeowners, because la rger signs are allowed on vacant land.

In a six-page decision denying Kolbe's request for ap reliminary injunction, US District Judge Catherine C. Blake — who heard oral arguments on the request last Friday in Baltimore — ruled that Kolbe “has not yet shown he is likely to succeed on the merits of his constitutional claim.”

She rejected arguments made by Kolbe's political lawyer, Michael J. Pappas of Towson, that the sign regulations specifical ly target the content of political signs. Blake wrote that the size limit “applies regardless of the content of the temporary sign.” She added that courts have upheld limits on the size of signs that did not target content and said that Kolbe had not cited any case in which a “content-neutral” size limit had been struck down.

Judge Blake set Aug. 31 as a date for a confere nce call among the parties to decide next steps on the case.

Kolbe og Pappas c Ould ikke nås for kommentar på vedtaket. De har muligheten til å klage dommen til Circuit Court of Appeals.

arthur.hisch @ baltsun.com

Tekst NYHETER til 70 701 for å få Baltimore Sun lokale nyheter tekstvarsler

Dette gerrymandered distriktet inkluderer St. Petersburg, en del av Hillsbor ough County og en smal stripe av Manatee County gjennom sentrum Palmetto og B radenton i nord Sarasota.

Til hans kreditt, Rouson, en St. Petersburg bosatt en nd tidligere president i St. Petersburg NAACP, er en vanlig besøkende her og mai ntains avdelingskontor i Bradenton.

Hans prioriteringer er å utvide skatten bas e, kjemper illegale rusmidler og oppmuntrende jobbskaping.

Under sin tjeneste på th e Tax & Budget Reform Commission, forfektet han håndhevelse og innkreving av Floridas sal es skatt på Internet kjøp og eliminering av noe salg skattefritak € "Som begge rane staten sårt trengte inntekter.

Under Legislature € ™ s vårsesjonen, styrte Rouson sin regning begrense detaljhandelen salg av narkotika brukerutstyr til passasjen - dette etter hans såkalte "bong bill" hadde previo usly mislyktes.

Han har også sikret $ 1 million i delstaten Department of Juvenile Justice midler til en pilot program skape sommerjobber program for utsatte ungdommer i Tampa Bay-området. Arbeidsstokken Florida så matchet dette beløpet.

Rouson andre etappe islative seiere inkluderer en regning å fremme tros-og karakter-baserte fengsel pr ograms og en sterk stå på midler for rusbehandling som resulterte i Senatet acquiescing til Huset € ™ s høyere utgiftsnivå.

Han er rightf ully stolt av sin suksess i løpet av økten, og sier han vet nå hvordan du maneu ver lovgivningen gjennom prosessen. Hvis hea ™ s riktig om å oppnå politisk c apital med kraftige lovgivere, kan vi se frem til flere seire du ring et nytt begrep.

Han kastet den eneste demokratiske stemme i favør av statsbudsjettet, laget i stor grad i hendene på de fleste republikanerne, men han favoriserer en bipart Isan tilnærming til styresett og misliker partipolitikk.

Et tidligere medlem av t Han republikanske partiet, fastholder Rouson noen prisverdig konservative verdier - Smal ler, mindre påtrengende regjeringen og skatteinsentiver for å utløse jobbskaping blant tho se. Han opprettholder tette bånd til guvernør Charlie Crist også, å ha tjent på hans overgangen team og sverget støtte for Crist uavhengige amerikanske senatet campaig n.

I år Rouson sponset turer til Tallahassee for grupper av lokal ungdom en d tro ledere slik at de kunne skyggen sitt lovarbeid for en dag, observere Lovgivende forsamling i møte og møte med Crist og andre statlige tjenestemenn.

Kudos til at og hans løfte om å fortsette turene i fremtiden.

Rouson har oppnådd en retur n til Tallahassee. Vi anbefaler Darryl Rouson i det demokratiske partiet primære for State House District 55.