Rendell Denies Affair Rumors in Philly Mag

Gov. Ed Rendell says there is no truth to gossip that he is involved in an extramarital affair with a state employee.

In an advance copy of a Philadelphia magazine article obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, the governor and Kirstin Snow, the former beauty queen who works for him, say in separate interviews that they are not romantically involved.

“Do I have some flaws? Absolutely!” Rendell tells the magazine. “For all of the rumors, has any woman ever said that I have had sex with her? Other than my wife?”

Statehouse rumors of an affair gained traction after the Philadelphia Daily News published a photo of Rendell and Snow, whom the paper described as “a tall, elegant blonde,” having lunch last month at a local diner -- though it failed to show the pair were lunching with others across the table.

Snow said she's surprised that it took months for the whispers to develop into full-fledged rumors. She says she worries about the gossip hurting the governor's wife, Midge Rendell, who is a federal judge in Philadelphia, and insisted that she and the governor have a purely professional relationship.

“If I had a nickel for everybody who told me that, or told me they heard that, I wouldn't have to come to my job,” Snow said of the allegations.

Snow, 40, is director of Commonwealth Media Services, an agency in the state Department of General Services that provides multimedia services for educational, training, tourism, historical, and other general communications purposes.

The magazine hits newsstands Friday.