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Dem powerbroker Cohen raising cash for Toomey

David L. Cohen, the powerful Democrat and executive vice president of Comcast Corp., has crossed the aisle a second time to raise money for Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey.

    by Thomas Fitzgerald
    Published 
Democratic powerbroker David L. Cohen has already crossed party lines to raise money for Republican Gov. Corbett.
Now, the executive vice-president of Comcast is holding a fundraising reception at his home for Pennsylvania Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey.
The event is scheduled for July 9, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., according to the invitation.
Sharing top billing as chairs of the event are Carl Buchholz, a lawyer and former official in the George W. Bush administration; Republican businessman Richard Vague; and Gail and Alan Kessler, Democrats who raised major funds for former Gov. Ed Rendell.
Co-hosts are attorney Sheldon Bonovitz, who has worked on campaign committees in both parties; attorney Stewart Cohen, and real-estate developer Carl Dranoff.
“Pat Toomey is a smart and gutsy legislator, and exactly the kind of person we need in Washington,” David L. Cohen wrote in an email soliciting attendees and donors for the event. He said Toomey, elected in 2010, has made a “noticeable mark” in the Senate, and praised him for championing legislation that would have extended background checks to firearms purchases made at gun shows.
In January, David L. Cohen and his wife, Rhonda, hosted a fundraiser for Corbett at their Mount Airy home, drawing 30 people, Republicans and some Democrats, and raising about $200,000. My colleague Amy Worden, quoting attendees, reported that Cohen had called the governor “a man of integrity” and “a good public servant.”
Cohen was chief of staff to former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, and has raised money for President Obama, among others. A biographical note: Cohen was a registered Republican when he enrolled at Swarthmore College in the early 1970s.
Tickets to the July 9 party are $5,200, $2,600 and $1,000.
 
    TF
    Thomas Fitzgerald