Disavowing Derogatory Posts, Morales Says He'll Stay in Phila. City Council Race
By Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Philadelphia City Council candidate who lost his endorsement from Democratic ward leaders because of comments allegedly posted on his Facebook page says he'll stay in the race despite the ongoing controversy.
Today, in his campaign headquarters on East Hunting Park Avenue, 7th District candidate Manny Morales denied making any racially charged, biased, or hateful posts.
"Manny Morales is for everyone," he said, repeating it in Spanish.
The two-term incumbent in the 7th District, Maria Quiñones-Sánchez, who has never been endorsed by the Democratic Party, published screen-grabbed images of derogatory posts she said came from Morales' Facebook page.
Morales' campaign spokesman, Michael Blackie, says the campaign is conducting its own investigation.
"Manny did receive notification from Facebook telling him that his account or his password may have been compromised," Blackie said today.
US Rep. Bob Brady (D-Pa.), head of Philadelphia's Democratic Party, says Morales did not back that up with evidence so, as a result, the party would no longer support him.
Morales says he wrote Brady and asked that the party rescind its earlier endorsement, to let voters decide for themselves in the May primary.
"I am not quitting or stepping down from this race," Morales said today.
He says he'll run on his "own merits," and asked voters to support him because they believe in him and his message. He was surrounded by supporters, many of whom are Latino, African-American, or gay, and among the same people who urged Morales to run. He also showed family and block party photos that include many races and denominations.
Quiñones-Sánchez represents the core of the city's Latino community in a district that stretches from North Philadelphia and Kensington to Hunting Park and the Lower Northeast.