Friday, July 1, 2016

Philly Clout: Johnny Doc ditches Frank Keel at Local 98



FRANK KEEL, gravelly voiced PR mercenary and master of the all-caps subject line, has spent more than a dozen years dishing out bombastic and blustering political perspectives, usually on behalf of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Now his service to Philadelphia's powerful Electricians union comes to an end.

Keel tells Clout he met with Local 98 leader John Dougherty last week and was told his contract was ending as part of "significant organizational changes." It came as a surprise, Keel said.

"Unfortunately, I'm one of those casualties," he said. "He told me the union, going forward, is going to be a lot less involved in politics and media issues."

Keel and Local 98 over the years have been on opposite sides of issues. Keel said Doc signed off each time he had a client at odds with the union.

Last year, for example, Keel worked for Al Taubenberger while Local 98 supported Dan Tinney in the Republican primary for two at-large City Council seats. Most recently, Keel represented Teamsters Local 830 in opposition to the tax on sweetened beverages, while Dougherty pushed it for Mayor Kenney. The tax was signed into law last week.
"I honestly don't know if that was a factor," Keel said of the soda tax and the end of his contract. "I hope it wasn't the cause of my exit."

Clout reached out to Johnny Doc, who praised Keel's work and said he is a "great guy."
"We're just reorganizing," Dougherty said. "We are downsizing our political operation."
(Unrelated question: Will that mean any cuts to the union's drone surveillance program?)
Dougherty said that rather than paying a communications professional monthly, Local 98 will hire people for media relations from time to time.

"We're getting out of the monthly retainer business and we're going to be more issue-oriented," Dougherty said. "It will give me some financial flexibility."

Asked if the soda fight was a factor, Doc said of Keel: "He never saw a Coca-Cola he didn't want to drink. And some days it had a little rum in it."

Source: Philly.com

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