This year’s elections determine how Pa. runs 2024🗳️| Morning Newsletter
And Bobby Henon gets 3½ years in bribery case
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Expect a bit of rain and temperatures should reach the low 60s.
I know it has only been a few months since the midterm elections and momentum is revving up in the Philadelphia mayor’s race, but today I’m asking you to pay attention to 2024.
It’s not as far away as you think it is.
Our lead story explains how this year’s local races will dictate how Pennsylvania runs its 2024 presidential elections.
If you see this 🔑 in today’s newsletter, that means we’re highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Counties, not the state, run elections.
The county boards of elections, which certify results, are on the ballot for the first time since the 2020 presidential race.
Why you should care: If they choose to contest those results, local officials can use their respective county’s board of elections to hold the entire state’s results hostage.
Since former President Donald Trump’s refusal to accept his 2020 loss, there’s been a rise of election denialism and county-level certification emerged as a key vulnerability in the electoral system.
Reminder: Commissioners in some Pennsylvania counties have voted against certifying election results in the past.
Continue reading to learn more about the ultimate power of Pennsylvania boards of elections.
A federal judge sentenced former Philadelphia City Councilmember Bobby Henon to 3½ years in prison Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl said Henon deserved his prison term for selling his office to labor leader John Dougherty in exchange for a $70,000-a-year union salary.
Important note: This sentence is less than half of the eight to 10 years that the prosecutors requested based on federal sentencing guidelines.
What’s next: The judge gave Henon until April 17 to report to begin his sentence.
Dougherty has not been sentenced yet in the bribery case. He faces a second trial next month on charges he and others embezzled more than $600,000 from their union.
Keep reading to learn the details of Henon’s relationship with the union leader that led to his undoing.
What you should know today
Democrats want to keep control of Bucks County but they’re fighting over the coroner’s office.
As tensions mount over campus safety and a monthlong graduate student strike, Temple University’s faculty union is slated to discuss on Friday whether or not to take a vote of no confidence in President Jason Wingard and two top administrators.
Bankroll, the $25 million sports bar at the former Boyd Theater, will open Friday night.
Some of Philadelphia’s most iconic skyscrapers — Comcast Technology Center, Cira Centre, and Liberty Place — will turn off or turn down their lights to prevent birds from colliding into buildings.
Phillies’ Andrew Painter made an impression on both teams during his spring debut.
🧠 Trivia time 🧠
Pennsylvania is the nation’s capital of pretzels. The state is responsible for what percentage of the United States’ pretzel production?
A) 75%
B) 90%
C) 80%
D) 65%
Find out if you know the answer.
What we’re...
👀 Watching: Paul Vallas, a polarizing former leader of Philadelphia’s schools, is now in a two-man race to become Chicago’s next mayor.
💭 Wondering: If James Harden will go back to Houston to play for the Rockets.
🚌 Hoping: SEPTA’s future plan to add hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses will be smoother than its rocky experience so far with battery electric buses.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram 🧩
Hint: Known as Philly’s first board game bar
CIDER STITHY
We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Send us your own original anagram to unscramble if you’d like. Cheers to Raymond Ellis, who correctly guessed Wednesday’s answer: Connor Barwin. Email us if you know the answer.
Photo of the day
And that’s it from me. I’m starting my day looking for vacation destination ideas. If you have any, send them my way 📧. Thanks for beginning your morning with The Inquirer.