>> more trouble for kathleen kane, and the philadelphia mayoral primary is right around the corner. "inside story" starts right now. good morning, everyone. i'm matt o'donnell. it is sunday, april 19, 2015. time for "inside story." let's meet our panelists of the week. pedro ramos, attorney. >> good morning. >> good morning, pedro. dom giordano, talk-show host. >> morning, matt. >> hello, dom. jan ting, law professor at temple. >> hey, matt. >> hey, jan. and renee amoore, g.o.p. state official. >> good morning. >> good morning to you all. thanks for joining us. let's get right into our top story here. kathleen kane -- the problems continue to mount for her. search warrants were served at two offices of the pennsylvania attorney general -- one in harrisburg, the other in norristown. and also, a judge has ordered kane to explain the firing of james barker. you see, he was a prosecutor in her office who had testified during a grand-jury investigation into leaks at the a.g.'s office.

meanwhile, governor tom wolf who is, of course, of the same party, has said kane can still fulfill her duties as pennsylvania's top law enforcer and does not need to agree. do you agree, dom giordano? >> no, i don't. i think this is way past it, but i thought right from the beginning, politics is hardball, but this is the most partisan a.g. that we've seen and i believe the most incompetent that we've seen, and what she did around the same-sex-marriage thing, where she just negated her office, as an example, but matt, the internal stuff like this -- i think it's six communications directors or spokespeople. and stuff happens. but i always judge politicians -- when they're constantly having people leave their office, usually not a good sign. >> pedro? >> the spectacle's just bad for the office. i don't see how the office can be functioning in any reasonably effective way. and i think the cynicism it's contributing to in the aftermath of the court scandals and all that -- it's just bad for the a.g.'s office and it's bad for pennsylvania.

>> this puts montgomery county d.a. risa vetri ferman in a somewhat difficult position. she's been called to investigate kane and possibly bring charges. what do you think's going on behind the scenes? >> that she's doing her job. i like risa ferman. i think she does a good job. she'll be fair. but i think that kathleen kane has always had issues, since day one. she was at the right place at the right time. she had the money. she got in. but she doesn't know what she's doing. and dom is absolutely right, and so is pedro. there's a problem, and it makes pennsylvania look bad. who is really in charge? what is going on? what is the top person supposed to be doing? right now she's not doing anything, and i think it's horrible, and she should step down. >> there's a big tragedy here. she was golden when she came in. if she had just kept her head down, did her job, she would have had a great political future. but she was a novice politician. she thought she was gonna be political and do her friends favors in the office, and she, in doing so, alienated the career prosecutors that were working for her.

she got in personal vendettas with people. i mean, somebody should have told her, "stay out of fights. keep your nose clean and just do your job." >> they might have told her. they might have told her, but she just doesn't listen. she doesn't listen. >> but to your point, matt about risa ferman, i think that she is a perfect person to be involved in this, and, again the gender issue is taken away a bit. and i think she's one of the most capable people in the area right now among d.a.'s and others. >> something that you brought up -- the same-sex-marriage issue. if you remember way early on kathleen kane said she's not gonna enforce this new law that was passed in harrisburg, and you also -- many people pointed to the lottery situation and the fight with governor corbett actually as two things that allowed her to start off on the right note, because she ended up on, many people say, the right side of the same-sex issue. it was early on back then. so "what happened?" is really what people are trying to explain, and it's difficult. >> people have already said it matt, as far as not having staff

around her. people don't -- she has a hard time communicating with people. as a psych nurse, i'd be more than happy to help her with her communication skills. the bottom line is she's not really treating her staff in an appropriate fashion, because they keep leaving. dom already said it. six people -- come on -- spokespeople, and then there's always different stories. she was at the right place at the right time, and that's what happened. she got in. if she'd have done what you were saying, jan, maybe she would have made it, but she was not doing anything, and she's not actively listening to people. >> this is really a horrible time for governor wolf, who's facing this huge budget fight with the legislation. this is the last thing he wants to deal with right now, right? >> it's absolutely the last thing he wants to deal with, and i think -- i don't think his position was unreasonable. he doesn't want to get himself into it, and i think he would have been in it more if he had said she should step down. he needs support. but -- but, eventually, he may have to change that view. >> how soon? >> i mean, i think most people think it's past time.

even if she is ultimately vindicated, it's bad for the office, it's bad for the justice system, and it's bad for pennsylvania. >> want to talk about the philadelphia mayor's race? >> sure. >> thank you, 'cause that's our next topic. it is april 19th. may 19th is the primary in the city of philadelphia, so one month away until we find out who's going to be the democratic nominee. we already know who the republican nominee is. >> thank you. >> yes. couple things that have come out that i'll mention, and you guys can talk about whatever you want, but anthony williams really hitting his stance on schools, trying to say he's really for public schools, even though a lot of people are suspective of him with his support of charter schools. there he is -- the state senator in pennsylvania. and, by the way, all these tv ads are being paid for by political action committees. they're not being paid for by the candidates. that's a whole nother story. james kenney's also releasing tv ads, and he's pointed to all his endorsements, some of which are african-americans, which race is

always an issue when it comes to elections in philadelphia. there's james kenney right there. what do you guys think? throw in anything about the mayor's race going on with any candidate. >> well, starting with the ads i mean, first of all, i think senator williams has had his own ads, as well as -- there have been pac ads, and i'm not sure jim kenney's put up his own ads yet. just in terms of quality of ads, jim kenney's ads are sharp. they seem to have some energy to them. and tony williams, for the amount of money being spent, i'm surprised that the ads aren't better. i mean, they're really kind of stale, sort of implied -- you know, they imply without saying. they're sort of insular. i'm surprised, but there's a lot more money out there from the pac and others to sort of get it right over time. i think the momentum -- if the election were held this week, this tuesday, i think tony williams would win, but i think most people also think that the momentum currently is

with jim kenney and absent some, you know, catastrophic, negative barrage from tony williams' camp or independent expenditure, i think the race seems to be headed jim kenney's way. >> and, pedro, that's a really interesting point, because we haven't really seen negative ads out there, now, have we? it hasn't gotten personal yet. it hasn't gotten negative. >> and this isn't a race that has energized people, i don't think, in great measure. >> is that related to one another? >> well, exactly, and i think, right, you need that. people are not following this as we might be following it, and if the big issue is schools, i think williams is trying to prove -- and i believe him. he's the one guy in this that i think has the right formula and has been about education. his opponent, kenney, i think, is just playing to the teachers' union and others, but that may be the playing field out there. that may be where people are. >> people are saying in the community it's boring, that the race is boring. you were just saying they're really not hearing anything from people. there is not any energy. people have to come out and really go door to door with these folks, make a big statement about who they are.

i agree with you about senator williams. he is for education. he is dealing with it on both sides, as far as i'm concerned. he has relationships. he's been in harrisburg. he does have experience. but he is gonna have to have more energy and come out there like you're alluding to, pedro. he has to do that. or, you know, there might be a big difference. then you have a group of african-americans who are saying, "i'm for jim kenney," you know, which people are like, "oh, my god. o.m.g." >> mm-hmm. dwight evans, one of the bigger names that's come out for james kenney. >> but a month is a long time in politics, and we're gonna see a lot of drama in the weeks ahead as the race draws to a close and i'll stick my neck out and make a prediction. we are gonna see those negative ads. >> we always do. >> i agree. i agree. >> we're gonna see a bunch of negative ads, and -- >> well, someone's got to throw the first volley. >> yeah. you just want more business for the tv station. >> oh, radio, too, now. come on. >> we're gonna see a lot more. >> but there does have to be a point where these two main contenders have to face -- williams has to face him down,

and it's hard in these debates. as a moderator, the thing i don't like -- you have at least two other candidates there that, you know, are kind of marginal and it chews up time. >> but they could be spoilers, also, though. >> here are the ones that we haven't mentioned yet, and i'll do that right now -- nelson diaz, doug oliver milton street, and also melissa murray bailey, and i mentioned lynne abraham, as well. so... can the field consolidate with a month to go -- democratic side? >> oh, okay. let's be clear. >> because the republican side cannot consolidate any more. >> well, they have another democrat who's masquerading as a republican, but what the heck? >> well, i think you're pretty close to the point of no return, because if you're gonna spend money, you will have spent it or you're pretty close to having already spent it. >> so, you might as well stay in? is that what you're saying? >> so, two weeks out, you pretty much have spent, you know -- or pretty close to have spent whatever you're gonna do, so i don't know why any of them would get out at this point. >> mm-hmm. >> they're not gonna get out. this gets their name out, so i wouldn't get out, either. >> and in terms of endorsements, i don't know what they have to

offer. lynne abraham may be able to offer some votes, but... >> i'm sure we've discussed what happened with the debate. long gone? past news? >> same thing happened to senator roth in delaware in his last campaign, he had a fainting spell in public, and, uh... >> bob dole fell off the stage in 1996. >> absolutely. >> you know, if you're older this becomes something that -- yeah. >> and things happen. things happen to people. >> one thing i have to say about the education as the issue here, and this is why i couldn't ever run for office... >> uh-oh. >> ...is the conversation that the public's getting is just a rehashing and sort of -- there aren't really ideas coming out of candidates. what's coming out of candidates is what polls say people want to hear. if you want to, you know understand where these positions -- you know, folks like tom ferrick and dave davies and others have been writing good columns about assessing sort of the aca-- the

educational platforms, but, you know, at the end of the day, the challenge for a mayor on education is you're either -- you know, you're either gonna have to raise taxes or reduce city spending. you're gonna have to shift millage from -- >> and you never hear that until after the election's over. >> but you're gonna have to shift millage from the city to the school district, even under a best-case scenario in the state. you know, people think and many people's taxes have gone up, but the way a.b.i. was done, other places in the city, people's taxes have gone down. a.b.i. was done in a revenue-neutral way. >> i think that's an issue -- >> schools haven't benefited as much -- 'cause people say, "my taxes have gone up, and schools still aren't fixed." well, schools have not necessarily been the beneficiary. >> but i would frame that williams has a different vision than kenney, and these are the two main people when it comes to it. there's something there that's a difference. >> and it's interesting, because before the election, i wouldn't have thought that jim kenney was anti-charter.

i would have thought that he would have probably been more aligned with, you know, the idea that good schools are good schools and -- >> you're playing to folks that give you money. you're playing to people that you're speaking to. they go from person to person or groups to groups, so you're gonna play to that group or to those folks, because that's how you get their vote. >> everyone's trying to make a contrast between themselves and everybody else, and it's fascinating to see the level of independent expenditures that are being invested in this race here in philadelphia to try and draw those contrasts. >> bottom line is something's gonna happen. something's got to happen. >> you are right. >> we're waiting for that first shot. >> i'm just, like, waiting. and they have to take a risk to put it out there. >> let's talk about another race that's not until 2016 -- not the presidential race, okay? >> okay. >> apparently, democrats want new blood in the race for pa's u.s. senate seat. politics pa is reporting that national democratic leaders are contacting montgomery county commissioner josh shapiro to talk about a possible run against that guy, incumbent

senator pat toomey, the republican, in 2016. now, former congressman joe sestak is the main democratic challenger right now, and he actually nearly beat toomey six years ago, but, somehow, party leaders are uncomfortable about a rematch. so, shapiro -- he's 41, former state house representative, ally of governor wolf. does he have what it takes to take on toomey? >> yeah, i think he does. toomey, to me, is rock solid and would win, but pennsylvania in a presidential year -- that's where the issue is. that's where the problem is. and sestak is unliked by just about everybody inside the party, so whatever -- >> is it because of what happened with him and arlen specter? >> no, i think it's because of the way that the guy treats the inside game again. it's like a kathleen kane thing, in my view, from what i can tell, and i think shapiro would be a tough candidate. particularly in montgomery county, he would raise a lot of money. >> "tough" meaning it would be tough for him? >> he would be tough against toomey, and he can moderate himself, pretty much. i don't think he has extreme positions on the democrat side at all. >> shapiro would be a strong candidate. i think a lot of democrats blame

sestak for losing that seat. >> they do. >> you know, toomey just squeaked in there, and a lot of democrats think that should have been a democrat seat, and sestak lost it for them. >> josh shapiro's in montgomery county. i'll be honest. he's doing a good job as a democrat. he's strong. people like him. he does a good thing. he knows how to work it. he had me as one of his transition chairs. i mean, he was crossing the lines, so everybody was like "oh, my god." and he fought the democrats when he did that and put me in. but people respect him, also. he's strong, he's young, and he's ready to fight. >> but maybe too much right now, given where he is? >> i think shapiro would be formidable. he's got crossover appeal... >> that's what i'm saying. >> ...among moderate republicans. toomey's got $7.3 million in the bank today, so... >> yes. >> that's right. >> ...that's where you start. >> and we're gonna keep raising money for him. >> and i think shapiro wants to be governor, from what i can tell, more than anything. now, would he do this for the party? yeah, he's got eight years of that, potentially speaking. >> and pawlowski, allentown mayor, might also run against toomey.

would be a matchup of lehigh valley against lehigh valley. let's go to commercial. we'll be right back with "inside story." >> "inside story" is presented by temple university. temple fuels students with academics and opportunities to take charge. plugged in to the city, powered by the world.

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home are being cared for in the best possible way, and a government audit of the philadelphia veterans affairs office says that just was not the case -- 78-page report saying unreasonable workloads and poor leadership led to mismanagement and delays in disability and pension claims. servicemen and -women just not being cared for, after serving our country, at the philadelphia v.a. dom, you've been talking about this on your radio show. what do you think? >> couple things. one, costello, meehan, and fitzpatrick, three local congressmen, have been all over this. they've done a great job, and others have been part of this, too, investigation. but it breeds cynicism with listeners when we see this report and there's no recommendations of firings or potential criminal actions. some of the stuff, like these stamp machines that are supposed to be secure -- i think there were 16 of them -- were just allowed for anybody to use. we have a director that came down from washington getting $288,000 to move 140 miles in the middle of all this. and if there's not something done where we actually see action, then i think people think, "so what?

you investigate it. you did all this. we'll hear it again two or three years from now." and i have to say the local media has done a good job of focusing on it. what does it take to get reform? >> but this is very sad. this is very sad. you have people dying -- there was a member in our church whose husband didn't get service from v.a. who passed away because of this. this does not make sense. it's reprehensible. they should do something about it. somebody should be fired. >> this report is so bad and this story has been going on for so long through republican administrations and democratic administrations, and nothing gets fixed. i mean, i think it really calls in to question the ability of the federal government to manage a big bureaucracy. maybe it's just unmanageable. i mean, even for our veterans and the high-profile attention that they attract, we can't seem to get this solved. >> well, nasa has spacex sending capsules to the i.s.s., which is a difficult thing to do. do you think maybe a private

company could do the same thing with the veterans affairs -- take it, manage it? >> i don't know. i mean, the quality of medical service gets good reviews, and what you have is this organization that's the worst of all bureaucracies. i mean, i think there's -- one of the disappointments in this is everything is treated as sort of an administrative or processing. there's room here for somebody in a position of power in that hierarchy to just get angry, to say -- to just lose it and say "that's not enough" and start breaking some china within that organization. >> but they're not gonna do that. >> well, one person nationally -- somebody -- you could pick anybody who sees one thing. "we're gonna fix this. i don't care what's in the way." and that's it. that's not there. >> just take three things and work on those three things. you have to have complete reorganization. privatized, to me, is much better. >> and there's a cost to not

only the veterans. i mean, folks don't -- health issues generally don't get better with time. >> no. you're absolutely correct. >> so, people get more ill. other people get ill. people stop going, become homeless. the pain's being managed badly. >> well, these folks have really, really fought for us and look how we're treating them. that's not right. that's not fair. something has to get done. >> okay. 2016 -- presidential race. who is in? hillary clinton with the democrats, senators marco rubio, rand paul, and ted cruz with the republicans. hillary clinton went to a chipotle, and it was almost like, "oh, my god. she's at a chipotle." she actually stopped in central pennsylvania, in clinton county, of all counties... >> gee, we're shocked. >> ...to take some photographs with some folks. what do you guys think about this? >> i think whoever manages these people really should have -- a lot of money should be paid to them. i remember when mitt romney came here in 2012 -- and i supported romney -- i heard he was going to a wawa. i knew what was gonna happen.

the touch screen, which had been in there for 10 years -- he talked about it endlessly and he kept on calling it "wawa's" -- one single wawa. >> yeah. yeah. >> this is what these people that are out of touch -- mrs. clinton hasn't driven, i think, in 20 years. stuff like this, matt, democrat or republican -- if they're out of touch, this is gonna create difficulty for them. >> that's why they're so careful when they go to regular places. >> because they're not used to going. that's part of the problem. they haven't been there before. >> right, whereas a bill clinton could go in right now, and, hey... >> sure. he's -- >> well, maybe he should run again. >> if she comes to philadelphia, i'd be very disappointed if she went to a chipotle. this town is full of really good taquerias. >> eating the cheesesteak -- don't order swiss on the cheesesteak. pedro, pedro, what do you think about all this talk of "you know what? it's a coronation"? we need to find someone to challenge her in the primary 'cause we don't have one yet. >> uh... i don't know who that is. >> press pedro. >> i don't know who that is. >> the other perfect candidate? >> i think she's -- i think she's battle-tested.

she has enormous intellect and endurance, and she's hard to beat, and that's why you don't have more democrats -- >> someone will come out of the woodwork. the opportunity is too good to be the challenger to hillary clinton. >> martin o'malley? >> someone is gonna do it. biden is thinking about it. >> yeah. >> you know, he's positioning himself. if something happens, if there's a stumble, if something happens at a chipotle and she doesn't leave a tip or something like that -- >> she didn't leave a tip. that's it. >> that's the only one that can beat her. >> but everyone seems to think that's not gonna happen. >> elizabeth warren can't win a general election. >> no. well, i'd like to see her -- please let her come back. >> i want elizabeth warren to do it. >> democrats have figured out that you need to win the general election. >> i want elizabeth warren to do it. >> who wants a cheesesteak... [ laughter ] ...with swiss? no, that's not how you order. we'll be right back with our inside stories of the week.

>> "inside story" is presented by temple university.

temple fuels students with academics and opportunities to take charge. plugged in to the city, powered by the world. >> inside stories of the week -- we start with pedro. >> the philadelphia zoo balloon is up, the lion cubs are out and the gorilla treeway is opening up, part of the ongoing extension of the trails within the philadelphia zoo, now opening trails for gorillas that will be able to traverse all different parts of the zoo -- very cool. >> philadelphia zooballoon 6abc. thank you, pedro. >> my inside story is not so good. this "opt out of the test because my kid will get a migraine if he has to take a high-stakes pennsylvania keystone test" has spread to lower marion, a place that i value education highly. 200 people have opted out there, and across the state, it's gathering storm, and there's left and right, i think, lunatics on both sides of this. the test shows whether you should graduate or move to the next grade.

it's a good idea. >> thank you, dom. jan? >> low-wage workers want a raise to $15 an hour. in the last 10 years the united states has created 9 million new jobs, but we have also brought in 18 million new immigrants during that period. the administration has promised legalization for 5 million illegal immigrants in a program tied up in courts, and they have a program in place to allow them to bring their families in as soon as they're legalized. >> thank you, jan. renee? >> i want to talk about leslie richards, who used to be the commissioner of montgomery county, now the transportation secretary. she's doing some unique things trying to get legislation to do an ignition alcohol test for people that have d.u.i.s, which i think is excellent, because there are so many people with d.u.i.s killing folks, and you just breathe in to your ignition, and then it says if you've been drinking too much, that kind of stuff. so, that's a good thing. thank you, secretary richards. >> okay. thanks for joining us our insiders, and also you at home. "inside story" returns next weekend, and i'll be back on

monday morning for action news beginning at 4:30 a.m. see you then. >> i'm eva pilgrim. >> coming up next on "action news," tragedy on the football at st. joe's prep. a player collapses and dies. three people are in the hospital afternoon gunfire rains down on the campus of delaware state university. after a summer-like saturday things are cooling off

today. we're looking to start the workweek with some rain. >> all those stories next on "action news." lets say this is your tv and these are the channels you pay for with cable but these are the types of channels you actually want to watch what if you could pay for what you want, and not for what you don't so you could get kids channels sports...

or entertainment mix and match, or get them all. now fios brings you a totally new way to customize your tv starting at $74.99 -- including internet and phone. cable just gives you channels. fios gives you choice. good afternoon, it is sunday april 19 i'm eva pilgrim along with kenneth moten nydia is off. here's some of the stories we're walker