Jonathan A. Saidel is a

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

. He is a former Philadelphia

city controller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...

Political career

Philadelphia City Controller

After incumbent Philadelphia City Controller Joe Vignola announced his resignation in late 1987, in preparation for a campaign against 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 1988, Saidel announced his intention to enter the Democratic primary for the race to succeed him. He won the Democratic primary, held in the spring of 1989, and narrowly defeated the Republican nominee,

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 ...

Joe Rocks, in the fall general election. He would go on to be re-elected to the position three more times, each by a wide margin. He did not seek re-election in 2005, and left office the following year.

Lieutenant gubernatorial campaign

Saidel sought the Democratic nomination for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. Ultimately came in second in a three-person field, ahead of

Doris Smith-Ribner Doris A. Smith-Ribner (born 1945) is a former judge of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. Formative years and family Born in 1945, Doris Smith attended the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she earne ...

, a former Commonwealth Court Judge from

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, and behind the winner,

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 ...

Scott Conklin of Philipsburg, Centre County. Conklin ultimately defeated Saidel by just under 4,000 votes, out of a total of over 900,000 votes cast.

Post-political career

Saidel has since returned to private practice.

References

External links

Profile at Cohen, Placitella, Roth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saidel, Jonathan City controllers of Philadelphia Pennsylvania Democrats Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Pennsylvania politicians