Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie is a city located in Erie County, Pennsylvania, on the coast of Lake Erie. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 103,717. It is county seat of Erie County{{GR|6}}.

Recent Major Political Events

The most recent significant political battle in the city was the mayor's race in the 2005 Democratic municipal primary, held May 17. Six candidates vied for the nomination, which was eventually won by first-term City Councilman Joe Sinnott with 5,856 votes, 752 more than runner-up Barry Grossman, another city councilman.

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Mayor Rick Filippi came in a distant fourth, becoming Erie's first incumbent mayor in 40 years to lose a re-election bid. Filippi was dogged by pending public-corruption charges that the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office filed against the mayor and two of his associates. State prosecutors claim that in 2003, the trio used insider information from the Mayor's Office to buy four properties near the now-defunct International Paper plant at the same time that a gaming company was considering buying the site and using it for a horse-racing track and slots casino. The charges against Filippi were bound over for trial in the Erie County Court of Common Pleas less than a week after his defeat in the primary.

Related Topics:
Rick Filippi - International Paper

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The Republican nomination went to Red Cross official Tim Zarnik, who defeated retired police officer Jack Anderson by a margin of 2,688 to 1,840. But on July 8, less than two months after winning the GOP primary, Zarnick announced he was dropping out of the race since he felt he could not win in a such a heavily Democratic town. On July 21, the Erie County Republican Party leadership chose Anderson as the new mayoral candidate. In a surprise twist, the party also put Zarnick back on the ballot, this time as an Erie County Council candidate.

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