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Bailey, GOP mayoral candidate, weighs in on porngate

Melissa Murray Bailey, the Republican nominee for mayor, on Wednesday called on City Council to investigate the District Attorney's Office and defund the salaries of three top prosecutors publicly exposed for using state computers to email porn.

Melissa Murray Bailey speaks at the Better Mobility 2015 Mayoral Forum at Friends Center in Philadelphia on Thursday, March 19, 2015. (STEPHANIE AARONSON/Staff Photographer)
Melissa Murray Bailey speaks at the Better Mobility 2015 Mayoral Forum at Friends Center in Philadelphia on Thursday, March 19, 2015. (STEPHANIE AARONSON/Staff Photographer)Read more

Melissa Murray Bailey, the Republican nominee for mayor, on Wednesday called on City Council to investigate the District Attorney's Office and defund the salaries of three top prosecutors publicly exposed for using state computers to email porn.

Bailey denounced District Attorney Seth Williams' decision, announced late the Friday preceding Labor Day weekend, to send those staffers to "sensitivity training" for emails she deemed "misogynistic, racist, and homophobic."

Williams spokesman Cameron Kline said the district attorney "respects everyone's opinion on this matter" but was surprised that Bailey made it the topic of her first visit to his office.

"He offers to welcome her back anytime to discuss this and other pressing issues like gun violence reduction strategies and improving public safety in Philadelphia," Kline said of Williams.

Bailey, speaking to reporters outside of Williams' office Wednesday morning, also asked why no other elected officials in the city - Democratic or Republican - have spoken out on the issue.

Bailey had to answer a few questions herself about her voting record.

She did not vote in three of the six elections held since she registered as a Democrat in 2012, including the 2013 primary and general elections for district attorney.

Bailey, who switched her registration to Republican in January, said she now regrets not voting in those elections. She repeatedly described herself as a typical Philadelphia voter who was "disengaged with the process" until she decided to run for public office.

Bailey, who criticized her Democratic opponent, former City Councilman Jim Kenney, and Mayor Nutter, also a Democrat, for keeping quiet about the emailed porn, said the issue was not a matter of political partisanship.

"This is about simple right and wrong," she said. "Sadly, the only partisanship here is the Philadelphia political machine once again protecting its own at the expense of city residents."

Kenney spokeswoman Lauren Hitt called the behavior of Williams' staffers "offensive and unacceptable," adding that Kenney would not "tolerate those actions in his administration if elected."

Hitt declined to comment on Bailey's voting history, which was first reported Wednesday by Philadelphia Magazine.

Jane Roh, a spokeswoman for City Council President Darrell L. Clarke, declined to comment on Bailey's call for City Council to take action.

Nutter spokesman Mark McDonald said the mayor "abhors pornography" and set clear policies for the use of city email accounts.

But McDonald noted that Williams runs an independent office and Nutter had "no firsthand knowledge" of the emails or how Williams judged them.

Williams on Friday said he decided not to fire assistant district attorneys Frank Fina, E. Marc Costanzo, and Patrick Blessington for the porn they exchanged on state-owned computers and email addresses while they worked for the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office.

Williams said the three regret what he called "demeaning, unprofessional, and wrong" behavior.

State Attorney General Kathleen Kane drew attention to the emailed porn during a review of the work done by previous prosecutors.

Kane, a Democrat, has been charged in Montgomery County with perjury and other crimes, accused of leaking secret grand jury material. She has blamed Fina for her current legal troubles.

215-854-5973@ByChrisBrennan