PHILADELPHIA  Joe Procacci hosted about 40 industry leaders at his Procacci Bros. Sales Corp./Garden State Farms facility, here, Sept. 12 to meet Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell in a fund-raising activity for the governor.

The industry guests dined in Procacci Bros.' in-house cafeteria, then gathered in the companys spacious foyer to meet with the governor, who was about 80 minutes late and missed lunch.

Before taking office Jan. 31, 2003, Mr. Rendell had served as the mayor of Philadelphia, which added to his familiarity with Mr. Procacci and other Philadelphia produce industry leaders. He called Mr. Procacci "a great friend to me over the years."

Mr. Rendell joked that I dont feel guilty at all in taking this money that he raised with the Philadelphia produce industry. He explained that of the 4.5 million Philadelphians who consume produce provided by the Philadelphia Regional Produce Center, I eat more of your product than anybody.

Mr. Rendell said that Pennsylvania is dedicated to financially supporting Philadelphias plans to build a new produce market. We are in the position now to take the next giant step [to build the market]. We want you to be in a position to grow and expand.

He said that Pennsylvania will be investing $100 million to build a new produce market, but the cost will be justified by the creation of new jobs and capital investment. The food distribution center is very, very exciting for all of us.

The governor said that Pennsylvania will also continue to develop the port of Philadelphia, not only through dredging but by making use of land that is still available for development on the waterfront. The city has a tremendous edge in port services because of the real estate that remains available along the Delaware River.

Mr. Rendell indicated that when he entered politics in the early 1970s, a week of television advertising in Philadelphia cost $75,000; now the cost is $700,000 a week, which makes fund raising a necessity for politicians.