Joseph C. Vignola, Sr. (born August 11, 1949) is an American Democratic politician from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Political career

City Controller

In November 1982, Philadelphia City Controller Thomas Leonard resigned his post and announced his intention to run for

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

(he would ultimately lose the Democratic nomination to

Wilson Goode Woodrow Wilson Goode Sr. (born August 19, 1938) is an American politician and former Mayor of Philadelphia and the first African American to hold that office. He served from 1984 to 1992, a period which included the controversial MOVE police a ...

). Vignola ran to succeed him, and was elected in November 1983.

Senate candidacy

Vignola resigned the office of City Controller in December 1987, and subsequently announced his intention to challenge incumbent Republican

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

John Heinz Henry John Heinz III (October 23, 1938 – April 4, 1991) was an American businessman and politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Pennsylvania from 1977 until Merion air disaster, his death in 1991. An he ...

in the 1988 election. Heinz, who was seeking his third term in the Senate, had amassed considerable political clout, having most recently served as Chairman of the

National Republican Senatorial Committee The National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) is the Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate, working to elect Republicans to the Senate. The NRSC was founded in 1916 as the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. It was reor ...

. Vignola's candidacy struggled to gain traction, and he was ultimately defeated by over 30 percentage points, or roughly 1.5 million votes, while only carrying one county across the state–Philadelphia.

City Council tenure and return to private life

In 1991, Vignola announced his intention to challenge incumbent Democratic Councilman James Tayoun for his First District on the

Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council is the legislative body of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is composed of 17 councilmembers: ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large from throughou ...

. Tayoun eventually announced his intention to retire rather than seek re-election amid a federal investigation into alleged tax fraud. His candidacy was supported by his cousin, Democratic power broker and former

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Buddy Cianfrani, and Vignola eventually scored a narrow victory former Republican

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

Connie McHugh Connie Black McHugh (December 8, 1938 – September 20, 1997) was a former Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. She died from lung cancer in 1997. Formative years Born as Constance Black in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ...

in the fall general election. Vignola resigned his council seat in 1995, after Mayor

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American politician, author, and former prosecutor who served as the 45th governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011. He previously served as chair of the national Democratic Party from 1999 to 2 ...

appointed him executive director of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (PICA). He served in a variety of appointed positions during Rendell's gubernatorial tenure, and has subsequently returned to private business.

Personal life

References

External links

Profile at the Colmen Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vignola, Joe 1949 births Living people City controllers of Philadelphia Philadelphia City Council members Pennsylvania Democrats 20th-century Pennsylvania politicians