Miccarelli to nab endorsement of opponent's union

Republican state house candidate Nick Miccarelli will pick up the endorsement of his opponent's own union Wednesday evening, his campaign said Tuesday.

Miccarelli, who is running to replace his boss and retiring incumbent state Rep. Ron Raymond (R-Ridley Park) expects to net the United Aerospace Workers Local 1069 at what is being framed as a campaign kick off ceremony at the union hall in Eddystone. He will also be endorsed there by the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers Local 1776, giving him the support of the 162nd Legislative District's two largest unions.

Though what practical impact, if any, the UAW endorsement will have on the race is unclear, it is notable mainly because Miccarelli's opponent, John DeFrancisco, is a longtime union member and was until recently its president.

The union had already endorsed DeFrancisco in May while he was still president, and the DeFrancisco campaign on Tuesday called the shift a political stunt rooted in new union president Tony Forte having an axe to grind with his predecessor.

"We’re confident that the union membership is going to support John," DeFrancisco campaign coordinator Lou Freimiller told PolitickerPA.com, adding that many of the rank-and-file are already volunteering on the campaign.

"We see this as one guy with basically a personal issue," he added. "Obviously the new president has a perogative, but in terms of selling it to the membership, I don’t think he’s going to be able to do that."

Other major labor unions have already endorsed DeFrancisco.

But Miccarelli called it a "big vote of confidence."

"It means a lot to me, and it speaks a little bit to Tony’s fortitude to recognize who the right man for the people of this district is," said Miccarelli, whose father was a member of the union.

"My grandfather was a union guy, my father was a union guy, and I have a lot of those values of fair wages for labor instilled in me," he added.

DeFrancisco, in an interview Sunday, was already casting doubt on the endorsement he tacitly acknowledged might be shifting against him.

"I do not believe for a second that the membership would support Miccarrelli,” he said.

The Delaware County district includes Tinicum Township, Ridley Park and Sharon Hill.