This is what folks in politics might call an “October surprise.”
John Kane, business manager of Plumbers Local 690 and Democratic candidate in Delaware County’s 26th state Senate District race, has portrayed himself in a TV ad as a blue-collar family guy and father of four. Except he’s really a father of five.
At least, according to Kristin Holgerson, a 32-year-old Maryland woman who says she is Kane’s daughter.
Holgerson has thrown a wrench into one of the state’s most hotly contested races with a recent bombshell Facebook post. Her post reads, in part: DELCO Friends & Family: In November you're going to have to vote for a person for State Senate seat. One of these men is not who he says he is. He claims to be a family man, launching his campaign with a commercial with all of his children in it. Well, that commercial is missing someone. Me. As some of you already know, I never had a relationship with my father. I knew his name at a young age and around 20 I met him for the first and last time. After our meeting, despite telling me I could call him at any time, he changed his number and I haven't heard from him since.
The Facebook post, first reported this morning by Philly Mag, was not necessarily meant to go public, Holgerson told the Daily News. But it was shared outside of her network of friends and started to spread. "I didn’t expect anybody to find interest in what I posted," she said. "Apparently, I was wrong."
Holgerson, who is married and has a 16-month-old son, said the TV ad of Kane – with his wife, son and three daughters – was the tipping point for her. (She first saw it on Facebook, naturally).
"That’s messed up. I literally couldn’t believe it when I saw the commercial," Holgerson said. "I couldn’t get over it. If you know you have a kid in your past, why would you go that route? Had he not gone that route, I probably wouldn't have said anything, but it deserved to be known."
Holgerson said her mother, who did not want to be interviewed, met Kane when they were on a bowling team together. She said Kane's family had initially lobbied for an abortion.
"They just didn't want me, but my family was happy to take care of me," she said. "I never felt abandoned, I just never had a father. You can't miss something you never had."
Virginia Davis, spokeswoman for Delaware County Council Chairman Tom McGarrigle, the Republican senate candidate, said the McGarrigle campaign was aware of Holgerson's post, but was not involved in making it public. "Our campaign did receive an email regarding her Facebook post a few weeks ago, and we responded that we would not be discussing the matter," Davis said.
Kane spokesman Aren Platt issued the following statement:
"John Kane is a dedicated husband and father who cherishes, above all else, his wife of 25 years and their four children. He has done nothing wrong except to have entered the public arena, which has now led to media inquiries about a personal relationship from over three decades ago.
As a candidate for public office, John may be fair game, but his family and the young woman who believes that she may be his daughter are not. This is not a political matter, has absolutely no relevance to this election, and does not belong in the public discourse.
John, [Holgerson] and all the members of the Kane family deserve the privacy to work through this matter on their own. This would be a painful development for any family at any time, but John is focused on helping all involved move forward together as he also fights on in the last two weeks of this competitive campaign, and will have no further comment."
Asked whether she wants Kane to lose the election, Holgerson paused.
"I don't really care," she said. "I just don't want him going around saying, 'I'm this big family man.' He has a fourth daughter that he's not paying any attention to."
Democratic state Sen. Vincent Hughes, who is assisting in the 26th District and other competitive districts this election cycle, said he finds the timing of the story curious.
"Two weeks before Election Day, Kane is gaining ground – in our internal polling, he’s picked up about 6 points – and, bam, a very personal story that should be handled privately amongst the members of the family. Wow," he said.
Hughes said he suspected that Delco Republicans were involved with the story, but couldn't prove it.
"This is pretty distasteful, as far as I’m concerned," Hughes said. "It’s no coincidence. But I don't have any hard information."
