Secret ballot for Dems?

Chuck Pascal, one of the candidates for chairman of the state Democratic Party, is calling for a secret ballot of state committee members Saturday in the contest to succeed T.J. Rooney.

Mr. Pascal’s call, in a letter to state committee members, came after reports emerged that a new contender, York Mayor Kim Bracey, was the choice of some members of the party’s hierarchy.  Until the Ms. Bracey’s candidacy surfaced, a development first reported in the web site, Capitolwire, the race for the party positions seemed to be a three-way competition among Mr. Pascal, Jim Burn, the Allegheny County chairman, and Marcel Groen, who heads the party organization in Montgomery County.

Mr. Pascal called the apparent effort by senior Democrats to install the newly elected mayor, “an insult,’’ to the other candidates.

As to his call for a secret ballot, he said, “There are a number of people on state committee who either have jobs or contracts that may influence them should they be asked by the governor.’’

“I don’t think it’s a done deal,’’ he added Thursday.  “My understanding as of today is that every body is still in.’’

Ms Bracey was elected last fall as the first African-American mayor of York.