In a political case of 6 degrees of separation, or, if you will, strange bedfellows, there are several places where the paths of 13th congressional district Republican candidate Marina Kats and 6th congressional district Democratic candidate Bob Rovner cross. Both are Temple Law School grads (Kats in ’88, Rovner in ’68). Before starting her own firm, Kats was part of the then named Rovner, Allen, Rovner, Zimmerman and Kats. They were among the partners in a venture called All Star Radio, Inc. in the early 1990’s that once owned WPGR (Logan). According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, Kats is still the president of All Star Radio. Both have shows on WNWR (I think, but am not certain, that this station is currently owned by All Star Radio), “The Marina Kats Show” and “Senator Bob Rovner Interviews the Stars.” Who knew? An example of each show is available as an audio file on the station’s website. She translates her into (Russian?) as she goes along which makes listening a very interesting experience.
Kats is definitely an entrepreneur. Kats, Jamison, Van der Veen, and Associates, as well as Kats, Rovner, and Associates, two law firms, are listed as being owned by Kats and Associates. Marina Kats is listed as both President and Treasurer of that professional corporation. Lookforscience.org also lists Kats and Associates with this note:
Marina Kats is the principal owner of a financial services company that provides funding and financial services for independent businesses. She is also the principal of a well-respected litigation firm with offices in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.
Marina Kats is listed as president of MK Sansom Group II, Ltd. of New Hope, though I cannot guarantee it is the same Marina Kats. However, the Marina Kats listed as an owner of MK South Group III lists an address on the same street as her law firm. There is the MK Warminster, LP, listing Marina Kats as general partner, but has a different address from the MK Warminster Group, Inc, which shares the same street address as MK South Group III but has a different name attached. (You can check this by searching the Dept. of State’s list of businesses.) She may have other business interests; I could only search by business name and so was making guesses as to what names to search. Maybe I’m slow but I have trouble keeping my real life and my blogging persona straight. Keeping track of six or more businesses would be beyond my abilities.
This is not her first brush with running for office. Kats was a potential candidate for the 174th state house district for the special election when Alan Butkovitz city controller in 2005, but John Sabatina, Jr., became the Republican candidates. In 2006, she considered a run for the 13th congressional district but decided against it, saying (Runyon):
Without missing a beat, though, she emphasized that she has a successful law practice, and doesn't know if she'd be able to devote the time necessary to win a Republican primary and then take on a career politician of the likes of Schwartz..
One factor in her favor is her ability to self-finance (Fenton):
Republicans hope that Kats, a Ukrainian immigrant who's lived in the area for 16 years, will siphon off Russian American votes, especially from the overwhelmingly Democratic piece of the district in Philadelphia. A wealthy law firm president, Kats said she planned to pay for part of her own campaign, and expected overall costs to top $2 million.
In 2006 it was noted (Runyon):
Speaking by phone from her Bucks County office, she mentioned that a Republican activist was waiting to talk to her in the next room. At the time, she seemed to be more excited about her firm's winning a $10 million verdict last Thursday, an award The Legal Intelligencer claimed was the fourth-largest reported by the newspaper in the last 18 months.
Wow! Well. I look forward to reading how our intrepid local reporters examine all the facets of the 13th district challenger.
Sources:
Fenton, Jacob, “Abington lawyer to challenge Schwartz,” Intelligencer 1/25/08
Logan, Joe, “What Sandy Starobin overcomes to report,” Philadelphia Daily News 4/13/1992
“PAC to host Sabatina, Jr., fundraiser,” Northeast Times July 21, 2005.
Runyon, Joshua, “Political Notes,” The Jewish Exponent, Feb. 16, 2006.
Posts
28 comments:
Kats is a fraud. Take a look at all that she has done in business and law... all of it is to parlay one business asset into another. With her legal firepower she's got a level of invincibility to her motives. Does anyone really believe that she is in this to represent anyone other than herself?
I can see you have strong feelings about this....
The person that stated that Marina is a fraud, can you elaborate on that comment. I am researshing her law firm to represent me in a big bucks liabilty case. A women attorney will serve me well in this case. Why such strong feelings about her/ Please advise.
Thanks
To the person researching Ms. Kats -- you would be better served checking with the state bar association or the better business bureau. Anonymous comments on blogs are not a good way of evaluating a lawyer. The comment seems to be more politically motivated than having a basis in legal matters.
Sorry, but I agree with the first person. There is a big difference between someone with aspirations and someone with ansiprations and ulterior motives. Kats is certianly the latter. I have no problem with begin successful and wealthy, but the comment from 2006 stating that she was more happy with the $10M verdict for her firm sums it up nicely. Why is she running again? Certainly not for the people.
You can learn much more about Marina Kats at any of my three blog sites;
http://drkerry.squarespace.com/
http://drkerry.blogtownhall.com/
http://drkerry.blogspot.com/
Best Regards,
Dr. Kerry
Dr. Kerry,
Actually people would only need to visit one as they are identical. Also, don't you think imposing someone's photo on a hammer and sickle flag is a little over the top? to me that impairs your credibility a little bit. Most people under 45 won't even recognize the symbolism of it.
First of all Jane I was not imposing just anyone's picture on the hammer and sickle, that's exactly where my socialist congresswoman's face belongs. Allyson Schwartz is a Social Democrat and her face deserves to be plastered on the ultimate symbol of socialism. Her voting record tells the truth about her leanings while the words that come out of her mouth, when addressing her local constituents; simply indicate just how slick she is at pulling the wool over the average Jane’s eyes. I take exception to your inference that those under 45 wouldn't even recognize the flag or understand the symbolism. I give much more credit to the intellect of the web savvy reader then apparently you do. Where were you educated because you come off as yet another elitist who believes she knows what’s best for everyone due to being blessed with superior intellectual powers? If you have children I’d high-tail them out of the school they’re attending. From the sound of your reply they haven’t received a proper education in world or American history. Don’t they recognize the flag of the defunct USSR? That’s probably because the school district has been over run with radical left wing socialists/ NEA members who believe the Soviet system was right on target and would never utter a disparaging word about the USSR or anyone else for that matter. How about you? For those who are too lazy to read, the pictures get the message through loud and clear with very little effort on their part.
So, no Jane, I hardly think that a picture of a leftist plastered to the flag of the USSR impairs my credibility at all, just the opposite. Schwartz and her ilk, including Obama, want to take all of us down the merry road to a socialist society, guided by Marxist-Leninist theories, and their faces need to be properly associated with the most infamous symbols of their philosophical forefathers. Marina Kats escaped the rat’s nest that was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for a much better life in America yet her opponent wants to bring us down by incrementally imposing the socialist system on all of us.
Dr. Kerry
Are you an official spokesman for the Kats campaign or authorized to speak on Ms. Kats' behalf? I did not mention any of my family members in my post on Ms. Kats; I would appreciate it if you would restrict your comments to me and not reference any of my family.
I have emailed the Kats campaign to ask about your status with them and will eagerly await their reply.
Can't take the heat Jane? Instead of whining and running to the campaign headquarters to tell on me why didn’t you just answer my questions? Doesn’t that impair your credibility quite a bit?
I am not associated with the campaign of Marina Kats in any official sense.
With regard to your kids (I don't even know if you have any) I was simply extrapolating from your comments about the under 45 crowd not knowing what the hammer and sickle stand for. You seemed to have some first hand experience with less than knowledgeable youth. I guess that I must have been dead on. It seems that I ruffled your feathers quite a bit.
What difference does it make to me if you contacted the campaign headquarters? It’s not as though I can be fired from my job. I want Marina to win in November and if they ask me to modify my posts or even remove them I’ll do that for the sake of victory.
Regards,
Dr. Kerry
The Kats campaign has responded to my inquiry by saying that Dr. Kerry is not involved with their campaign in any way, either as a volunteer or a staff member and his comments are entirely his own.
Dr. Kerry,
Just a note, it is generally considered bad form to involve or invoke someone's family, especially their children, in a political discussion.
In reference to your questions I attended public schools. To the best of my knowledge there was no teacher's union there at that time.
Am I an elitist? Well, I have indoor plumbing, eat regularly, and can afford shoes all year round. Taking the world as a whole that does put me up in the higher percentages.
I don't have any research to back up my opinion that people under a certain would not recognize the hammer and sickle as a Soviet symbol so it will have to remain just an opinion, with which you are welcome to disagree.
Currently this post comes up 5th if you google "marina kats" as a phrase. You are saying you would remove (comments cannot be modified, only removed) your comments if the campaign asked. So if they remain we can assume the campaign has no problem with them.
With regard to pulling or modifying posts I can only be referring my own sites not yours. To the best of my knowledge I have no control over what you choose to keep up on your blog site including my own comments. I’m sure their campaign would have some issues with the way I express myself.
Actually I was criticizing the current state of the schools, not your kids, but you apparently didn’t pick up on that point. Too bad.
That's All
Dr. Kerry
Now that everyone has had an opportunity to ventilate his/her baseline perspective...perhaps Jane may wish to put-aside the extensive history of Marina's prior business-related activities...and raise whatever issues-oriented concerns that may exist.
Dr. Kerry,
Since you were logged in to a blogger account when you posted your comments you can, indeed, delete them if you wish. People have done that in the past. You have said you would do so if the campaign asked.
I did not miss your point on schools, but, as previously mentioned, it is considered extremely bad form to bring someone's children into a political discussion, I was ignoring it.
I just read through the interview with Marina Kats on Dr. Kerry's web site. In my opinion she is right on target with most of her concepts. I can’t say that I agree with everything she is proposing but compared to the incumbent, Ms. Kats would be a welcome change for us all.
The first comment posted way back in June says she's a fraud. I don't think so. She’s a very successful attorney and entrepreneur who wants to give something back to her community. That’s clear from her responses to the interview questions. Obviously this first guy is anti-business and would prefer working for the common good in a commune plucking chicken feathers.
Marina Kats has posted several detailed policy statements that clearly outline her stance on a very broad range of issues.
You can read them on her campaign website katsforcongress.com or you can read them on this blogger's web page: http://drkerry.blogtownhall.com/
May the best Republican win !
Here are a few things that I find interesting:
1) The partial IP and location for the last two anonymous are identical to those for some of the comments posted from Dr. Kerry's blogger account. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not.
2) The issues statements are in places (large chunks and paragraphs) identical to the answers given to the Dr. Kerry's interview questions, reference above.
3) While Dr. Kerry and the Kats campaign both say he is not formally affiliated with the campaign, his interview had editorial assistance from someone else who states on his website that he IS working with the campaign.
4) Having done a lot of candidate interviews I find it amazing that Dr. Kerry, who is unaffiliated with the campaign, was able to get such lengthy answers to nearly 30 questions. I have a hard time getting candidates to return 10 or 15 questions, but perhaps he has more charm than I do.
Jane, hope all is well. To be fair, the Kats Campaign offered you a one-on-one interview for your blog, which you declined.
The offer is still on the table.
Tom Harari
Kats for Congress
Mr. Harari,
To be fair, I have declined all one-on-one interview offers from all candidates and others. The blog is written under a pseudonym and all interviews are done via email, not in person or on the phone, and in all but a few cases the email communication is done via an intermediary, for example a campaign staffer. I send questions to the third party and the third party returns them with the answers. "One on one" is not how I would describe that process.
As a rule I do not discuss the details of email conversations on this blog unless the email is clearly a press release or my correspondent gives express permission. You are alluding to an email exchange I had with Luke Myslinski who is, to the best of my knowledge, Ms. Kats' campaign manager. If Mr. Myslinski will give his approval I would be glad to release and discuss with you here or outline in a new blog post, exactly how that conversation came about and what was said. If you would prefer to have that discussion in private my email is listed on the sidebar of the blog and there is also a link to it on my blogger profile.
Where saying less than glowing things about candidates in your own party is concerned, I live in a glass house and can't throw stones.
But I share your opinion that the campaign was not well-run, and the rapid turnover in staff is not a good sign.
Similar if not identical comments were left on both Young Philly Politics and PhillyFuture, with the user id fazioman instead of Phil. Blog spam is not appreciated by anyone, folks.
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