Friday, May 05, 2006

Anthony DiSalvo

Anthony DiSalvo

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/01/2006 | Scandal, rival put a Pa. lawmaker in fight this time

Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/01/2006 | Scandal, rival put a Pa. lawmaker in fight this time: "Posted on Mon, May. 01, 2006email thisprint this
Campaign 2006
Scandal, rival put a Pa. lawmaker in fight this timeBy Michael Rubinkam
Associated Press
TUNKHANNOCK, Pa. - Retired dairy farmers Ben and Phyllis Cole have been arguing over the dinner table about their congressman, Don Sherwood.

Ben Cole, 69, who has known Sherwood for decades, doesn't much care that the four-term U.S representative recently settled a $5.5 million lawsuit that accused him of abusing his former mistress. Cole plans to vote for him in the Republican primary anyway.

But Cole's wife said Sherwood had lost her support. "I'm very upset with him for what he did," said Phyllis Cole, 69. "I don't think it's an example for our youth. I don't care what he's done for our area."

Angry constituents are just part of the fallout from Sherwood's admission last year that he had a five-year affair with a woman 35 years his junior. For the first time in six years, Sherwood, 65, has major-party competition.

Though still regarded as the favorite to win a fifth term, Sherwood said he was taking nothing for granted. "I know there are some people who are disappointed and I understand that, but we are going to fight this campaign on the issues," he said in an interview with the Associated Press.

Sherwood's former mistress, Cynthia Ore, claimed in a lawsuit last year that he choked her while giving her a back rub at his Capitol Hill apartment in September 2004. Sherwood denied the abuse but conceded the affair, apologizing for the "pain and embarrassment" he had caused his family and supporters.

Sherwood, a married father of three, reached a confidential settlement with Ore in November and hoped to put the scandal behind him.

But his challengers won't let him.

Political newcomer Kathy Scott, who faces Sherwood in the May 16 primary, said she got into the race because she was disgusted by Sherwood's behavior. Scott, 59, concedes she is a huge underdog but says she believes "a lot of people will vote for me because they are disgusted with him."

If Sherwood survives the primary, as expected, he would face a former Pentagon intelligence analyst running unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Chris Carney, now a political science professor at Pennsylvania State University's Worthington Scranton campus, appears to face long odds for the 10th District seat, which has been considered safely Republican.

A conservative on social and fiscal issues, Sherwood is a well-known name in Northeastern Pennsylvania. He has owned a successful Chevrolet dealership since 1967 and spent 22 years on the Tunkhannock school board before his ascent to Congress.

He won two tough races against Patrick Casey, son of late Democratic Gov. Robert Casey, before his district was reconfigured after the 2000 census. Now Republican voters outnumber Democrats by 55,000; lacking a Democratic challenger in 2004, he collected 93 percent of the vote.

Sherwood has almost six times as much money in the bank as Carney.

But Carney, a 47-year-old married father of five, still believes he is in good shape.

"Constituents know what integrity is, they know what leadership is, and they want people who reflect their values," said Carney, who plans to make an issue of Sherwood's character. "Perhaps at one time Mr. Sherwood did that, but he certainly does not any more."

Many voters seem willing to forgive Sherwood.

Tammy Carney, 35, of Meshoppen, Pa., said Sherwood helped secure funding for her husband's volunteer fire department. "He's done a lot for us," said Carney, who is no relation to Chris Carney. "People make mistakes. He's human like the rest of us.""