Guide Note: Ed Rendell is the current Governor of Pennsylvania and a member of the Democratic Party. He is supporting Hillary Rodham Clinton in her bid for the democratic nomination for president. He was born in New York City to jewish parents and all four grandparents are immigrants from Russia. He is married to federal judge Marjorie Rendell and they have one son, Jesse. He currently is a member of the Democratic Governors Association and serves as the General Chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
District Attorney
Ed Rendell first entered politics as the District Attorney for the city of Philadelphia in 1977. He defeated F. Emmett Fitzpatrick for this position. He succefully ran his campaign on the basis of him being new to politics and not tainted by political corruption. In 1985,during his tenure, police bombings and confrontations at MOVE, an African American commune, were said to have been set up by Ed Rundell.
Mayor
In 1987, Ed Rundell led an unsuccessful run for Mayor of Philadelphia. He was defeated by incumbent Mayor W. Wilson Goode. Rendell ran again in 1991 against former Mayor Frank L. Rizzo. Before the election Rizzo passed away. Ed Rendell successfully became the Mayor of Philadelphia in 1992 after defeating Joseph M. Egan, Jr who replaced Rizzo on the Republican ticket.
During his time as Mayor, Ed Rendell successfully balanced Philadelphia's budget, reduced business and wage taxes, cut a $250 million deficit and improved services to Philadelphia neighborhoods. Though his cost cutting policies brought heavy opposition from the labor unions, he was re-elected in 1995. He defeated Joe Rocks with 80% of the votes.
Governor
In 2001 Ed Rendell announced his plans to run for Governor of Pennsylvania. Though he did not have the backing from his state party, he won the election 53% to 45%, defeating D. Michael Fisher. During his first year, Rendell created the Office of Management and Productivity, whose purpose was to cut $1 billion in administrative expenses. He has also passed a prescription drug plan that covered older Pennsylvanians and passed measures to legalize (and tax) slot machine parlors. These helped him to get re-elected in 2006 to his second and last term as Governor. He defeated former football great Lynn Swann by a 60/40 margin.
Hillary Clinton Support
In January 2008, Ed Rendell officially endorsed Hillary Clinton in her bid for the Democratic nomination for President. In February 2008, when talking about his home state said, "You've got conservative whites here, and I think there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate". He quickly had to explain his statements. In March, after a suggestion by Hillary that a Clinton-Obama ticket would be "unstoppable", Barak Obama quickly shut down the idea of being a Vice President. The idea of that ticket running for president in 2008 has been brought up numerous time since. As the 2008 Pennsylvania Primary approaches Clinton is relying more and more on the maverick Ed Rendell has become to help her clinch the Pennsylvania vote.
Fast Facts:
- Eric Baker from the popular TV show The West Wing is said to be modeled after him
- Board of Trustee Member of the National Constitution Center
- Endorses Hillary Rodham Clinton as the Democratic nominee for President
- Was on the Food Network show Dinner:Impossible
- Is a Scottish Rite Freemason
- Has a hoagie called "The Rendelli" and also a hamburger called the "Rendell Burger" named after him.
