City Commissioner Singer using Tartaglione name as fundraising tool

City Commissioner Stephanie Singer is using her predecessor's name as a fundraising tool.

In a mass e-mail from her campaign account, Singer said she is worried about a tough election ahead and a well-known name who could challenge her.

"I have news. Marge Tartaglione's daughter, Renee Tartaglione, has informed us she is going to challenge all the hard work I've done to clean up the City Commissioner's office by running against me in next year's primary," Singer's email states.

Renee Tartaglione is a former deputy city commissioner under her mother, Marge Tartaglione, a longtime city commissioner.

Reached by phone Wednesday, Renee Tartaglione said she is not running for City Commissioner.

The Tartaglione reign of the City Commissioner's office ended in 2011. Marge Tartaglione ran the city's election operations for more than 30 years. Her daughter, Renee, was her top deputy until losing the job in 2010 for violating the City Charter's ban on partisan political activity by unelected employees.

Singer's email makes reference to that: "Our victory in 2011 is hailed as a crack in the ceiling for moving Philadelphia's old political ways forward. We cannot afford to take a step backwards to the way things were done before," Singer's email states.

Singer will most certainly have challengers in next year's race. But the Tartagliones, mother and daughter, say they have no interest in running for City Commissioner.

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