John Dougherty

ONCE AGAIN, you've mistaken opinion for reporting. The articles that were in the April 14 and 15 papers about Electricians union boss John Dougherty could have been printed during the time of the the McCarthy era. He has been blamed for everything from bribery to tampering with minority contracts - amazing that you think Mr. Dougherty has that much power. I'm sure if a bomb were dropped over the city, he would be blamed for that. You even tried to portray the fact that he may be encouraging people to get involved with their neighborhoods and jump-start the city in a negative fashion.

John Dougherty, a retired Philadelphia police officer whose calm, professional demeanor was an example to scores of young officers who worked with him, died Sunday. He was 84 and lived in the city's Overbrook section. Dougherty was with the Philadelphia Police Department from 1945 until he retired in 1965. He then went to work in security at Villanova University, retiring from that job in 1974. When Deputy Police Commissioner Thomas McGeehan joined the department in 1957, he was assigned to the old 38th District, now the 18th District, headquartered at 55th and Pine streets.

State. Sen. Vincent J. Fumo's decision to not seek reelection leaves union boss John Dougherty as the clear front-runner. That's good for Dougherty, but troubling for reform-minded voters. In some respects, Dougherty is a junior version of Fumo - though without the Mensa membership. Both are brash, colorful, South Philadelphia characters. In fact, Dougherty was once a Fumo acolyte. Like Fumo, he can be pugnacious and charming. Dougherty also does lots of good work, but he and his union buddies at times have acted like thugs.

Union leader John Dougherty yesterday resigned as chairman of the powerful city Redevelopment Authority. In a letter to Mayor Nutter, Dougherty, head of the electricians union, said that he had accomplished all of his goals during eight years as unpaid head of the authority, which spends millions of dollars reviving blighted areas. Dougherty's resignation, effective tomorrow, comes a week after he lost a bid for the Democratic nomination to the state Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Vince Fumo.

John Dougherty has some really good friends. One unrelated pal, Donald "Gus" Dougherty, allegedly did more than $100,000 worth of work at John's house free. Another friend, Peter DePaul, a well-connected developer, let Dougherty stay at DePaul's $3,000-a-month waterfront apartment free while Dougherty's home was undergoing a $400,000 renovation. Federal prosecutors are looking at these relationships as part of a broader probe of the union boss. He has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing.

John Dougherty worked a BlackBerry and a flip phone, gathering intelligence and transmitting orders Tuesday morning as reinforcements filtered into the Edward O'Malley Recreation Center in South Philadelphia. They would be the second wave of Local 98's Democratic primary operation. "Yo, you and Nico, are you in the truck?" Dougherty said. "How far are you? OK. Come back to EOM and grab some of these shirts and hats. " Soon, piles of red shirts and mesh trucker hats advertising First District Council candidate Mark Squilla - and green ones touting at-large Councilman Bill Green - were speeding toward 10th and Dickinson Streets.

A Philadelphia electrical contractor was charged yesterday with stealing $869,000 from a union benefits plan, bribing a bank executive, and "making illegal payments" to labor leader John J. Dougherty. These "illegal payments," authorities said, included the sale of a house to John Dougherty for $24,000 below market value and $115,000 worth of electrical work on the labor leader's Philadelphia home. Dougherty was not charged with a crime, but U.S. Attorney Patrick L. Meehan said that the case remains open and that the related transactions "are still of great interest to investigators.

From the cabin of his weather-beaten Ford truck, John Dougherty shows off the roads in Elk Township. These roads belong to Dougherty. For nearly a half-century, he has watched them evolve from dirt to blacktop. He has trudged along them on foot, trimming branches, patching holes and picking up debris. When winter brought snow, Dougherty steered the plow. "One of the worst years, I plowed snow 23 times in the month of January," said Dougherty, who will turn 82 next month. "It was no big storm, but it seemed like every night I'd get up. " But the next time snow falls on Elk Township, Dougherty will have the option of sleeping in. Last month, he stepped down from the township's Board of Supervisors after choosing not to run for reelection.

Two years ago, U.S. Rep. Bob Brady ended a running blood feud between political titans State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo (D., Phila.) and labor leader John Dougherty. Now Dougherty appears to be involved in a new battle, this one with Brady, the long-standing boss of Philadelphia's Democratic machine. Over the last month, signs of stress in their relationship have surfaced repeatedly - a situation that, if it worsens, could shake up the 2007 mayor's race. As chairman of the city's Democratic Party, Brady carries significant clout with ward leaders and could impede efforts by any candidate he opposes.

LABOR UNIONS unhappy that the Democratic National Convention will be held this September in union-averse Charlotte, N.C., are organizing a massive "middle-class" rally for August. The location: Philadelphia. "A lot of people aren't happy that the Democratic National Convention is being hosted in a completely, 100-percent non-union environment," John Dougherty , head of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, told us Tuesday during the traditional Election Day lunch at the Famous 4th Street Deli.

WE HOPE that former state Sen. Vince Fumo , back in Philly today for resentencing on his federal corruption conviction, isn't reading Clout. Because John Dougherty , Fumo's longtime foe, had himself a very nice Election Day yesterday. That might wound Fumo as badly as prosecutors seeking to add years to his prison sentence. Dougherty wasn't on the ballot, running for any public office. He gave up on that sort of thing after losing a 2008 bid for Fumo's newly vacant Senate seat.

THE TWO Democrats seeking to be the next City Council president, Marian Tasco and Darrell Clarke , need nine votes to win. They may not get there. That could clear the way for a third candidate when the 17 Council members, including at least six rookies, vote in January. We hear that Councilman Jim Kenney is looking to be that guy. And in a town where political timing is everything, that move comes as Kenney puts an end to a long, bitter feud with Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and its chief, John Dougherty . Dougherty tells us he is still backing Clarke for president.

A Philadelphia social worker told a jury this morning that the West Philadelphia house in which Danieal Kelly starved to death was "one of the worst I'd ever seen. " "The house was deplorable, full of clothing and debris. The smell was atrocious; it hit you when you first walked in," said John Dougherty, a social worker with the city's Department of Human Services. Dougherty, who worked in a special DHS unit for at-risk children, said he fielded the Aug. 4, 2006, telephone call reporting the discovery of a child's body in the 1700 block of Memorial Avenue.

A Kensington youth has been ordered to stand trial in a shooting that left a 1-year-old boy and his teenage uncle wounded. Leon Mills, 17, is charged with aggravated assault and other offenses in the May 23 shooting on the 2100 block of Orleans Street. Witnesses at a preliminary hearing Monday identified Mills as one of three gunmen who opened fire on a crowd that included children. About 30 gunshots were fired, witnesses said. Mills allegedly fired from an adjacent lot, standing about 30 feet from the victims.

For powerful union leader John J. "Johnny Doc" Dougherty, the very notion has been an outrage: a non-union electrical contractor working to build a $140 million courthouse in the heart of Philadelphia. Adding insult to injury, the building would be the new home of Family Court, where the chief judge is his brother Kevin. For the last two weeks, work on the project has effectively stalled while John Dougherty seeks to roll back the state's decision to award the electrical work to the Farfield Group, a non-union contractor from Lititz, Lancaster County.

His name wasn't on a ballot, but labor leader John Dougherty emerged as a big winner in yesterday's primary election. Dougherty - the politically savvy business manager of Electricians' Local 98 - celebrated last night as longtime aide Bobby Henon won the Democratic primary for the Nrtheast 6th Councilmanic District in the Northeast. Two other Council candidates he supported also won. "I believe Bobby Henon, for all the stereotypes that the negative people and naysayers have, Bobby Henon is a breath of fresh air," Dougherty said during an interview Monday.

John Dougherty worked a BlackBerry and a flip phone, gathering intelligence and transmitting orders Tuesday morning as reinforcements filtered into the Edward O'Malley Recreation Center in South Philadelphia. They would be the second wave of Local 98's Democratic primary operation. "Yo, you and Nico, are you in the truck?" Dougherty said. "How far are you? OK. Come back to EOM and grab some of these shirts and hats. " Soon, piles of red shirts and mesh trucker hats advertising First District Council candidate Mark Squilla - and green ones touting at-large Councilman Bill Green - were speeding toward 10th and Dickinson Streets.

It would not be spring without the blooming of the political attack ad/flier/blog-post, and the May 17 City Council primary promises a fruitful season. In the heretofore genteel contest for First District, where four candidates are looking to replace retiring Councilman Frank DiCicco, Vern Anastasio's supporters have taken aim at Mark Squilla, who has received much of the establishment support in the race. "Stop the Machine!! Stop Corruption NOW!" trumpeted a posting on Anastasio's Facebook page this month.