>> josh shapiro gets into the race for pennsylvania attorney general. what are his chances? let's get the inside story. ♪ good morning. i'm tamala edwards. thanks you for joining us here on "inside story." let's introduce you to the panel this morning. ajay raju, attorney. good morning. >> morning. >> radio talk-show host dom giordano. >> morning. >> good morning. larry, you're so many things -- former journalist. kind of a journalist larry platt. >> [ laughs ] good morning. >> and g.o.p. state official renee amoore. >> good morning to you. >> welcome to all of you. let's talk a little bit about josh shapiro jumping into the race for pennsylvania attorney general. and there are four other people running for the democrats, including kathleen kane. she says she's going to do it. but when you look at the field, a lot of people would say his biggest challenge will come from the west, from out in allegheny county,

stephen zappala jr., who's the district attorney out there. shapiro's released polls that look good for him. zappala's released ads that look good for him. east versus west -- always tough in the state. shapiro, of course, probably would do very well here in southeastern, pa, but the rest of the state could be a toss-up for zappala. who's looking stronger here? >> well i think -- at least the work on the street is that both congressman brady and johnny doc may endorse zappala, not our favorite elected representative, which would be josh shapiro. that would be a shocker. we have an early endorsement by daryl clarke, which is sort of curious because he typically doesn't come in so early. and that was -- i don't know what that suggests. josh shapiro's an absolute star, not just locally, but i think statewide. so he would be a formidable candidate for anybody. but the fact that there may be other endorsements locally here, that may split -- it makes it a dogfight, if there is one. >> but a statewide race, if you're a voter in the middle of the state, who's going to sway

you more? >> well, i think that's a question of messaging, as opposed to the insider game of endorsements. although, you're right. daryl clarke's endorsement of shapiro should help him here. but i think the time -- the thing that intrigues me about the shapiro candidacy is the timing of it in terms of the zeitgeist. shapiro's all about reform and management, and the office of the attorney general is in desperate need of reform and management. and, you know, the downside of the shapiro candidacy, according to conventional wisdom, is that he's never been a prosecutor. but 21 of the nation's attorney generals have never been prosecutors. and the moment is right, i think, for someone to reform the office. >> well, let's take up that argument because shapiro, of course, makes his case that he polls very well when it comes to leadership, that that's what people want. zappala, of course, is gonna say, "look at my record. you want the attorney general to be, almost, your top-cop law guy across the state. i prosecute people for a

living." which argument has greater sway? >> well, i think they're both -- it's gonna be tough -- i think they wash. but i like shapiro a lot, even though i differ with him politically. he's that type of guy. and depends upon who can effectively contrast with kathleen kane. >> everybody. >> well, but i think he does tremendously. i mean, it's clean, efficient. he served in harrisburg, too. he's got a lot of connections. they'll raise a lot of money. and i seeing him getting a lot of support. >> well, two questions when it comes to shapiro -- what does it mean that wolf loves him and will probably go to bat for him and do some things -- statewide figure there, and also the fact that i wouldn't be surprised to see him pull in some national people, because of his connections, to come into this race. what does that mean? >> it means big for josh shapiro. people love him. josh shapiro stepped out -- or risked on me and made me chair of his transition team. i'm deputy chair of the republican party. he knows and understands how to cross the aisle and who's popular and who the community deals with. he knows the answers. people love him. he was in harrisburg, like dom says. people have endorsed him early,

like you guys said. bottom line -- he has a great chance to win this race. >> and also, he's playing a major role in the dnc convention. >> absolutely, absolutely. >> he's a star in every -- >> he's national. >> yeah, and i think he earned every bit of -- >> and he has. he's young, he communicates with people. he's out in the community 24/7. >> and let's just note, a panel that loves to argue, everybody's gonna cream everybody. >> i know. this is a lovefest. next. [ laughs ] >> well, one thing to keep your eye on with josh shapiro is what he did with zero-based budgeting in montgomery county. he inherited a deficit, turned it into a surplus by remaking local government, and someone needs to remake the attorney general's office. >> that might be stronger than, "i'm a career prosecutor." i think that's a weaker argument than, "i can clean up how bad this is and that everybody likes me, knows my credibility." >> well, quickly, brady, of course, a canny politician, wants to be on the winning sides of things. is there a reason for him to pick someone who, in the end, may not prevail if so many things are looking strong for

shapiro? or you pay your debts. this is someone who you have connections with. >> right, there's some connection there if that happens. >> definitely a connection. when you pay your dues, people say, "okay, your turn." that's how politics work. >> let's turn and talk about some other things with politics -- dwight evans saying, "you know what? i'm gonna take on chaka fattah. i want to go to congress." he already has raised $330,000 in two months. he has $280,000 on hand, so looking at half a million. there are other people in the race, notably state rep brian sims. but is evans essentially the key person in this primary at this point? and what are his chances? fattah is still incredibly popular in his district. >> i think fattah will win ultimately. i think that he is, despite all the stuff that's gone on. and i think the other two may in some way split their vote. evans has raised a lot of money. jim kenney -- he supported him early on. it's a fascinating dynamic, but i think people know chaka fattah over "x" number of years, and i think there will be a, "i've been railroaded here." there'll be those arguments, and i think he does well.

>> yeah, philadelphians are notoriously loyal to elected leaders, especially who bring home the bacon for their constituency, and chaka fattah, for 20 years, despite what you may say about the charges, indictment, et cetera, has a strong loyalty with the neighborhoods. and so he would be a formidable candidate. dwight evans, on the other hand, is at his peak of his political power. helped elect a governor, helped elect a mayor, and has all of the backings, and you see that manifest itself in how quickly he's raising a war chest. so i don't know if it's a foregone conclusion, but i agree with you -- chaka fattah will be a formidable candidate. >> is there anything you want to get in before we go on to kenney? >> dwight is an innovative thinker, so i think it would be interesting to see his ideas on governance in congress. but there is a real history in terms of congressmen being charged with ethical violations or crimes and getting re-elected. i think of charlie rangel in harlem, for example. so i'm with dom.

i think chaka might fit into that paradigm. >> oh, yeah, easily, yeah. >> the bottom line is you're going back to community. does that community really know dwight evans? dwight evans very popular in his area. let's be clear about that. >> which is right next to the district, some would say. >> and so chaka fattah's been out there for years. he's brought back money to the community. he's done community programs. people love that, so they love chaka fattah. >> let's talk about jim kenney, the new mayor, who got into a spat on the national stage with marco rubio and rush limbaugh. right after we saw edward archer come out and shoot at officer jesse hartnett -- the city in emotional turmoil seeing that video -- kenney came out and said, "this is about an individual. no matter what he's saying, this is not about islam. islam is a peaceful religion. this person doing things for his own means." the fbi director came here and seemed to agree with him that archer is a man alone. this is not about isis, not about islam. who wins this fight in the end in the city -- people upset about the video, some people wanting to make a connection, or the mayor being right to say, "no, there's not a connection"? who's right here?

>> well, there is a connection, in my mind, clearly, and i think nationally and i know with my listeners, he's seen buffoonishly because he didn't say what he sort of said this week, that it's not about an entire group of people. he said that religion had nothing to do with it. archer has said to commissioner ross, right in front of him, that, yes, it did -- that's what motivated him. so the man's obviously disturbed, but in his mind, that's the motivation, whether he's self-radicalized or they helped to radicalize him. >> but isn't kenney's point that there's a difference between this one person who maybe offered their own reasons and says, "i did it for this," versus this is really part of a community, a part of a religion, a part of an effort, that what he was really distinguishing is, this guy is off over here. these people are over here. no connection. >> well, i think you have to say that. you can't say there's no connection to religion here when the man is saying this perverted form of it is what motivated him. >> i think mayor kenney shoots from the hip. that's what we love about him. it was probably unartfully articulated, but any intelligent

person would have recognized that that's what he was trying to say. but i think the way it came out and because on the other side people played political football with it, it just tortured a little bit. >> but i would say, ajay, what you do is, then, you go back immediately, you issue a statement, and you say, "here's exactly what i meant by this." >> but let's parse it for a second. what he was saying -- i think his intent may not have come out as articulately. remember, he's the mayor of a multicultural city in a multicultural state in a multicultural country, and his job is not to fan the flame of divisiveness, but to bring unity, and i think that's what his intention was. he's pointing out that, yes, there may be a connection to the fact that a radical person -- radicalizing islam and the qur'an is using violence as a deranged person. but that does not mean that we ought to cast blame to a billion others who look at the qur'an as a peaceful book. >> anything we see on our streets. >> so, the question was whether or not -- was that the time to articulate those views as a warning call? because i think it was attempting to -- which is similar to what rfk did around mlk's assassination -- calm. >> right. >> but instead, the

inarticulate, the inartful way that he articulated it caused a little bit more tension. >> and then people use that. people use that to fan the fire and make it worse, and that's what happened. >> well, and i think this was a rookie mistake... >> yeah, absolutely. >> ...because -- and i totally agree with ajay, but the other thing is that we don't want the mayor to reach conclusions before all the facts are in, right? and that's what he did in this case, was he reached a conclusion before the investigation. and that, i think, was owing to inexperience and also what ajay points out. >> trying to calm people. >> at moments of stress, we also want our leaders, especially our mayors, to calm folks down. i think that's what his intent was. and to be honest with you, i was very proud that he attempted to do it. was it inartful? perhaps. but he corrected it afterwards. >> i would say i was not proud, and who i was proud of was richard ross because richard ross did the right thing, which are, give the

facts. that's the best way to be calming and direct and not fan anything and not make people think there's something else going on. and when you're police commissioner says, "here's what he said and he may have said, too," but the guy's disturbed. those are the facts. >> he expected to move fast because he felt everybody else expected him to move fast. again, he's new. what was it, like a week on the job? so, we have to look at that, too. let's be clear about that. >> something else he raises was interesting. he was asked on a radio show about the building trades and about what he might do in terms of diversity. listen these figures. the trades, at the last study -- 99% male, 76% white, 67% live outside the city in a city that is 45% black. and that's the number that jim kenney said he would try to move to in terms of diversifying the trades. he's not the first person to talk about this. maybe people say it's impossible. "a," can he do it? and "b," what's a reasonable timeline? he didn't give one. >> well, i think that -- my criticism would be, the mayor is

out there on the muslim issue, but on this, he's very tepid. i mean, i think this is the guy that has the credibility with the unions, et cetera, and he's sort of pushing this aside. i don't think he'll do too much. i think he's saying it because he has to. i think it's disgraceful, too, particularly outside the city, when you have so many people doing this vis-à-vis various government connections? >> and a lot of people here who are in poverty, who need the jobs, who need the training. >> but it didn't happen overnight, okay? this has been going on forever. mayors have been trying to resolve this for a long time. so, i agree with you -- >> well, they're not trying, though. they're saying that, but i don't think they're trying. >> right, but actions speak louder than words. >> well, exactly. >> and so he has to do something about it. >> ajay, you're involved in the project, the germination project, part of revitalizing, re-looking at the city. is there something a mayor can do on this? i mean, it's nice to say you're gonna talk about it, but can you really do something? >> absolutely. they have such a tremendous zone of influence, and they can push influence one way or the other. i think what makes it complicated on this topic particularly, potentially, could also be -- you know, i'm seeing more and more rats around the city, in terms of those -- at least protesting against those who are crossing the

picket lines. well, if you look, some of the folks who do the work are also undocumented immigrants who are doing the work, that are taking union jobs away. that's where the tension is because the mayor has a very large tent that includes all neighborhoods, all races, all ethnicities, sexuality, as well as, if you look at some of his policies, in some cases, also undocumented immigrants. >> larry, let's look at this in a different way. if you see this coming down the pike, get in front of it. if i was the building trades, i'd say, "okay, this is what we're gonna do -- take ownership of it versus waiting on somebody to bring the fight to you. >> well, there's a historical allergy to change among the building trades and the unions in this town. so that would -- getting out in front of that would surprise me. but this is -- the bigger question here is, can jim kenney be nixon going to china when it comes to the whole union situation? does he have the -- he does have the credibility to stand up to his friends... >> yep.

>> ...and ask them to change. and i think that is the question going forward that will determine the successful nature of his mayoralty. >> my sense is they think they have changed. >> oh, they really do. >> no, they do. >> no, that is true. >> this is how insane it is. i mean, i used to have pat gillespie on the show a lot, and he thinks they've changed. and they have bases 100% that they used to be. but, again, it's something that's out there. and you would think jim kenney would be called upon by all these constituencies. >> here's the test. you know, this mayoralty came together, various slices coming together to make a pineapple coalition government. >> exactly. >> and the question is whether or not -- when the true test and these tensions happen, are we gonna end up with a fruit salad? and we will find out soon enough. >> and very quickly -- we got 30 seconds -- johnny doc says he's stepping down as 1st ward leader. he wants to focus on economic issues -- getting out of politics. do we believe that? >> no. >> no. >> [ laughs ] all right. well, that was an easy one. >> i will say this -- it wouldn't be unprecedented. it would be very washingtonian to put the proverbial saber down and step away from the presidency. and great leaders do that.

they are content with the legacy that they created because of the system and the successor they've put in place. so, it would be consistent with great leaders... >> but this is philadelphia, and people hate to leave the fight. we'll take a short break and come back to "inside story." >> okay. >> "inside story" is presented by temple university. temple fuels students with academics and opportunities to take charge. plugged into the city, powered by the world. temple.edu/takecharge.

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♪ >> welcome back to "inside story." i'm tamala edwards. big doings on the journalism front this week. we saw gerry lenfest come out and announce that he would be donating his media holdings to the philadelphia foundation. essentially, those holdings will continue to operate, run themselves, but would now be open to philanthropy. and he said, "this is the future both of survival and in innovation." larry, you head up the philadelphia citizen's solutions-based journalism. what did you think about this announcement? some people liked it. some have been skeptical. >> well, i think it's a hopeful sign. the idea of non-profit journalism sends a great message, which is that journalism is like clean air, clean water. it's a public good, and it's worth of our continued support. so, that's great. what is left unknown is, will you rethink the very philosophical tenets that underpin journalism? the business model is one thing, but you have to have a product

that people want. and the metrics are in on mainstream newspapers, which is that, with a couple of brand exceptions -- the new york times, the wall street journal, et cetera -- people aren't buying this product across the country. so you have to rethink the model. and, you know, i like to say that if the railroads of yesteryear had realized they were in the transportation business and not the railroad business, our airlines would be named the atchison, the topeka, and the santa fe. >> [ laughs ] >> and if newspapers today had realized they were not just in the information business, but also in the community-building business, in the civic-solution business, and a little bit in the entertainment business, then maybe they'd make a comeback. >> ajay, will foundations, will individuals -- because they need the philanthropy to support them -- will they say, "i will give my millions to support some form of journalism"? >> well, listen, full disclosure -- our law firm was the richard fox. my partner was one of the architects of this structure. prior to all of this, larry

partnered up, creating the citizen. that was the intent. you know, our foundation supported this and funded it partly because we believe in investigative journalism, solutions-based journalism. it should be for public good, but also for the public interest and finding those investigative journalism -- giving them the oxygen, which is, you know, financial resources and the network that they need to do the research is what's missing in the marketplace. i think the answer is yes. >> is this the future, essentially turning local outlets into sort of a localized propublica, and then they can form relationships with bigger outlets to sort of blast the information out there? is it smart, and will other people follow? >> i think it's a real gamble, but i like it because investigative journalism -- that's the one thing -- and larry mentioned -- i think they have gotten on the entertainment track, philly.com, and all that stuff. but the investigative journalism -- i don't see as much of it. i'm thinking of some -- i remember when the inquirer brought down vince fumo. that was almost -- they were the single force that could do that in the manner -- they just must have spent god knows how much

money to do that. it was a tremendous -- we don't see that. i don't remember the last story that i thought was that overwhelming. >> it'll be interesting to see -- propublica was part of a pulitzer prize-winning story here recently. it would be wonderful to see this revitalizing step move forward. let's talk a little bit of sports. >> it's a change. >> yeah, change in philadelphia. >> we'll see if it makes a difference. >> let's talk a little bit about sports. word is out that the eagles are going to name pederson, you know, a former offensive coordinator, former quarterback, backup quarterback, as their next head coach. he had been with andy reid out in kansas city. good move, or they went -- as the one guy said, "ah, they just went for the vanilla." did they do that right thing? >> [ laughs ] >> this is beyond vanilla. i listen to maybe too much sports talk, and, man, the lynch mob is -- you know, guy has a short leash when it comes in here to start with. >> yeah. >> this guy, because of the backup-quarterback stuff, andy reid again quarterbacking this from kansas city, and the fact of how this has been almost buffoonish, their search to find somebody is going -- this guy

better win pretty quickly. >> 17 days was not an exhaustive search. >> and chip kelly is the quarterback that he wanted all along in san francisco. and he's got $6 million or whatever it is. >> but some people didn't even want to come here. >> yeah. i don't understand that. >> and i don't even watch sports, really. >> yeah. >> well... >> [ laughs ] >> ...the red flag to me is that no other team that was looking for a coach interviewed doug pederson. that scares me a little bit, and the fact that there were other coaches out there who have won super bowls, like jon gruden, coughlin -- well, coughlin they talked to, but they didn't talk to jon gruden, they didn't talk to bill cowher. >> could they afford jon gruden? >> they could afford him, but -- >> [ laughs ] >> that's the point. >> they could afford them. they're rolling in it. but he would probably want too much control. and they gave all this control to chip kelly and got burned. >> well, look how he got a job so fast. >> well, hopefully he comes here and he wins. if he doesn't, does he have a shortened timeline for lurie to make a decision because there's so many questions? >> i don't think so because i think they're loyal. and chip kelly just pushed them the wrong way.

usually they give you a long period of time. andy reid, the last three or four years, had worn out his welcome, and they kept it going because they're pretty loyal once they settle on you. >> but, you know, we do graduate great coaches. so, look at andy reid and the success he has had with the kansas city chiefs. i mean, they're -- >> you want to bring him back? >> well... [ laughter ] >> ...i like him. i never wanted him to leave. >> [ laughing ] okay. >> all right, well, with two kids who wear eagles jerseys every weekend in the winter, i'm hoping that they win. that has been it for -- not it for "inside story." we're going to take a short break and come back to our insiders' inside stories of the insiders' inside stories of the week. ♪ i had an injury to my neck. it wasn't as serious injury it was a herniated disc. anything that could go wrong went wrong. i've been in the hospital twenty three times since. the bills started to pile up. i had nothing to give. we had nothing in the refrigerator.

i would be dead and not sitting here right now if it wasn't for pond lehocky.

garbage. that's the budget passed by the republican legislature in harrisburg. it's unfunded, unbalanced and unconscionable. it'll balloon the deficit. and cuts education by $95 million dollars. causing governments to raise property taxes. all while protecting the gas industry by refusing to make them pay their fair share. call your legislator. tell them to fund education, stop the deficit from ballooning out of control, and build a better future for pennsylvania. >> "inside story" is presented by temple university. temple fuels students with academics and opportunities to take charge. plugged into the city, powered by the world. temple.edu/takecharge. >> welcome back. time for our insiders' inside stories of the week. ajay, we'll start with you. >> speaking of great reporters

and reporting, matt katz, former inquirer reporter, spent two years with governor chris christie, who's surging in the polls, as you know. and it's a revealing book. it comes out in two weeks. i got an early read on it. it's a compelling read. whether or not you have traveled the george washington bridge or not, you got to get it. [ laughter ] >> dom? >> my inside story is tiny glenview elementary school in haddon heights, new jersey. i wrote about them for the courier-post. they started a tradition with two teachers after 9/11, no longer here, saying, "god bless america" at the end of the pledge outside. aclu tells them to stop. the school is not doing it, but the parents and kids are continuing it. >> all right. larry? >> tomorrow is martin luther king jr. day of service. and philadelphia, to our credit, has the biggest and best day of service in the country, 140,000 volunteers. but the martin luther king i'll be thinking about is the one we don't get in the media portrayals. it's the more dangerous one, the one in the last couple years of his life who turned from race to class and was trying to organize poor whites and blacks and

talking about redistribution of wealth long before bernie sanders. >> something he could continue to talk about today. renee? >> i just want to talk about josh shapiro. we talked about him earlier. the u.s. secretary of labor and industry, secretary perez, was in montgomery county correctional facility, where we work. and what he gave was such a passionate speech. and the ex-offenders said to him as i was sitting there, "you are willing to give us a second chance. that makes me feel good." so, i want to give kudos to the staff that were there -- molly and janice and to marisol and especially to the warden, algarin -- great job. >> all right, good to hear. and we have a little time, so, on a personal note, it's not an inside story, but i want to have a tip of a hat and a thank-you to david bowie and alan rickman, two greats who passed from cancer this week. the vice-president was here this week, starting what the president called our moonshot to cure cancer. and when you're reminded of the kind of people that are taken from us, you really hope that they do meet that mission. but such great music, such great art, lives well led. they leave a legacy. thank you to both of them.

>> and how about penn medicine, their cancer research? >> at the center of it, exactly. >> absolutely. all right, well, thank you for joining us for "inside story." we'll see you back here next sunday. ♪ i'm nydia han along with gray hall. coming up next only "action news," developing right now one worker is dead another injured after a shooting at a north philadelphia homeless shelter we're live. plus carbon monoxide poisoning sending 6 people including five children to the hospital in delaware. a tornado ravages central florida killing people we have the latest on the destruction. those stories and newer

next on "action news." goods

sunday, january 17 i'm in nydian along with agray hall. here's some of the stories we're following on "action news," developing shots fired at a home loss shelter in north philadelphia, killing one and injuring another. presidt