First Ken Snyder signed on to become a media consultant for Larry Farnese.
And now, as of Monday, Brian Abernathy will be on board as well, handling policy and public relations matters for the 1st district state senate candidate.
What do Snyder and Abernathy have in common? Both have ties to state Sen. Vincent Fumo.
The South Philadelphia senator last week announced he would not seek to retain his seat in the April 22 primary, leaving Farnese to duke it out with electrician John Dougherty and political activist Anne Dicker.
Dougherty allies had thought all along that Farnese got into the race as a placeholder of sorts for Fumo.
Snyder's and Abernathy's latest moves would appear to strengthen that idea.
But Abernathy, an aide to Fumo supporter City Councilman Frank DiCicco, says A plus B does not always equal C.
"Nothing should be read into that," said Abernathy, who is taking a leave from DiCicco's office beginning Monday and through April 28. He said he believes DiCicco and another Fumo ally, Councilman Jim Kenney, "will end up endorsing Larry," though he does not profess to know what Fumo's own intent is.
As for his decision to help Farnese, Abernathy said: "I respect Larry and what he wants to bring to Harrisburg. Normally, I would not take a leave for a candidate, but I think this race is very important. I don't think John Dougherty is the right guy for the seat.... Anne is a nice person, I appreciate her ideals, but she has not proven to me or a lot of folks that she has built the coalition to get things done."
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