Metro spent the first 10 weeks of its coverage of the mayoral race firing questions at the candidates for their stands on issues ranging from crime and education to casinos to zoning and planning.
Read about all of the issues in the posts below or go right to the candidates' positions in the links below.
Education
Crime
Jobs
SEPTA
Recycling
Casinos
Ethics
Zoning/Planning
Leadership
Vision
Hear from the candidates on their vision for moving the city forward.
April 16
Hear from the candidates
Former Managing Director Phil Goldsmith reprises his role as leadership guru in today's Metro, taking a look at what the next mayor needs to do to provide the right stuff for the city to move forward.
With the city losing control over services including the school district and Parking Authority, Goldsmith says the next mayor is responsible for influencing decisions, a skill born of leadership.
Also, make sure to check out where all of the candidates stand on what they'd bring to City Hall and how they would deal with keeping their deputies and workers accountable.
And, maybe most importantly, how they'd deal with negotiations with the unions on the upcoming contracts that threaten to have a drastic effect on the city budget because of skyrocketing pension and healthcare costs.
If you need more, WHYY's Radio Times hosted a roundtable with the Daily News' Elmer Smith and Dave Davies, and former Inky columnist Tom Ferrick on the issue of leadership this morning.
More:
Next Mayor will be in position that demands strong leadership skills
Candidates' Roundtable
WHYY Radio Times: Leadership
April 9
It's the market, more than politics or zoning processes, that determines whether developers keep drawing up plans and pouring concrete in Philadelphia, according to one consultant.
Still, the city's zoning and planning process is not exactly one that developers love dealing with. There's the confusion over zoning rules; the myriad departments that need to approve sometimes simple requests (as many as 14, for some); the battle with community groups and the zoning board; a zoning code overflowing with overlays and changes made on an individual, piecemeal basis.
Today's Primary Concerns looks at the issue and what the next mayor would do to help streamline the zoning process in the city.
What happens next could depend on whether voters approve a May 15 ballot refrendum that would create a Zoning Reform Commission, which would study the issue and make reccomendations to City Council for wholesale changes. Other related referendums include one that would professionalize the planning commission, ensuring that qualified individuals with the proper experience sit on it.
A similar measure addressing the funhouse of the zoning board was killed by politics; Councilman Jim Kenney was forced to withdraw his attempt at ensuring qualifications for those sitting on that board. Kenney says it's dead for now. (The next mayor will put his own picks on the board, anyway.)
"It was a mistake, but mistakes happen," zoning board Chairman David Auspitz said of Kenney's attempt. "Sometimes things sound good, but when you think about them they're not."
Auspitz rationalizes that mandating qualifications isn't a good move because it's important that people feel comfortable with the board's members.
"They feel comfortable with other people [like them] up there," he said.
April 2
Hear from the candidates here.
While the city continues to be plagued by bloodshed — at least 104 murdered as of this writing; more sure to come this week — the main issue in the mayoral race for a large group of voters is ethics and the lack thereof in city government.
At least two polls have placed corruption as the top issue in voters' minds, not crime or education.
Find out where the candidates stand on the issues here. Also make sure to check out the Committee of Seventy's ethics agenda here.
All of the candidates, except Chaka Fattah, signed on to the complete 28-point plan from Seventy. Fattah backed the first three options, while releasing a policy paper on open and transparent government.
The Inquirer covered the issue in Sunday's paper, as well.
March 19
Hear from the candidates
There have been multiple forums specifically addressing the environment this campaign, including the Next Great City initiative forum, where the candidates were questioned about a 10-point plan from the group
One of the easiest environmental issues to think about, one that most Philadelphians get at least a weekly lesson in, is recycling. From the days they first started giving out those little blue buckets, to the slow spread of single-stream, recycling has been a perplexing issue in Philly.
It
almost feels like you need a personal assistant to figure out when it's
your week to put the recyclabes out, let alone taking the time to sort
papers, plastics and glass. Single stream makes that easier, with
everything going into one large container and sorted at the plant.
A single-stream recycling pilot program is spreading from Northeast Philly to West and Southwest Philly as the city tries to get its recycling over rate above a meager 7 percent. It's something all of the candidates believe needs to be rolled out throughout the city.
For the candidates' take on recycling and the environment go here, or here for the experts' take.
(Photos: Rikard Larma/Metro Philadelphia)
Hear from the candidates for their positions on casinos.
March 12
Hear from the candidates
Whenever the issue of SEPTA comes up at mayoral forums, Tom Knox makes sure to let everyone know that he sometimes rides the bus.
Just so you know, even multi-millionaire businessmen-turned mayoral
candidates know the travails of
SEPTA, from off-schedule buses to
annual fears of fair hikes to that wonderful smell emanating from the
(insert stop) subway station.
This week's Primary Concerns addresses SEPTA, with looks at what transportation experts believe the next mayor has to do to address the transportation authority's issues. The candidates offer up ideas from reestablishing the office of transportation to teaming with outlying local governments to go to Harrisburg to fight for dedicated funding.
Meanwhile, three of the candidates (Chaka Fattah, Tom Knox, and Michael Nutter) would work to level out the SEPTA board. The city currently only has two voices on the 15-member board. (Dwight Evans says altering the governance of SEPTA isn't at the top of his priority list.)
March 5:
Hear from the candidates here.
Check out Metro for more on the issue of Philadelphia’s job market and its ill-prepared workforce. According to the experts and statistics, the city is one of the least-educated in the country, with a tax structure hated by business. Those two combined are far from helpful for the next mayor’s task at preparing the city’s residents for work.
Both Bob Brady and Michael Nutter raise the tax issue as something that needs serious fixes in order to improve the city’s employment outlook, while Tom Knox stresses that taxes shouldn’t be issue No. 1.
“My survey tells me that it’s really a lack of a trained and educated workforce,” he said. “We need to build up our workforce.”
He proposes hooking up with Community College of Philadelphia for career training institutes throughout the city.
Read what the other candidates want to do here and about the jobs/taxes issue here.
From February 26:
From the candidates
All five of the major Democratic candidates have either released or stated their plans to address the city’s rising murder rate (406 slain last year).
The candidates call for hiring 500, no 1,000, new cops.
They call for programs to remove illegal guns, to address the few and far between job opportunities for the city’s lower class. Drug treatment. Redistricting of police boundaries.
Many of their plans read the same, but each candidate puts a different spin on at least some aspect of what would be their crime-fighting philosophy: Mayor Nutter would call a state of emergency in the city’s hotspots; Mayor Brady wants a cabinet-level position for faith-based initiatives; Mayor Fattah would work to beef up the city’s homicide division and try to get the FOP to agree to negotiate a new contract, rather than use arbitration; Mayor Evans would push for John Timoney return to the commissioner’s post; Mayor Knox would create a secretary for public safety to oversee the fight against crime and work to redistrict the police department.
Hear from the candidates directly here, and a look at what the experts think here. Check back throughout the day for more on the candidates' stances on crime.
Hear from the candidates on their plans to provide better educaitonal opportunities for Philadelphians.
Take a look at the below capsules. See something that needs to be changed, updated, made better, etc.? Go ahead and post in the comment section.
A glance at the seven contested Democratic primaries in the district Council races.
First District
Frank DiCicco (I)
Vern Anastasio
The scoop: DiCicco is running for his fourth term against Anastasio, a South Philadelphia civic activist. Their campaign has been one of the more active, with DiCicco airing commercials and Anastasio running a grassroots campaign with both viral Web videos and strongly worded attacks against what he sees as a too little too late strategy from DiCicco to deal with the two casinos planned for the district. DiCicco points to the work he has done over the last six months to put up hurdles for the casinos.
Second District
Anna Verna (I)
Damon K. Roberts
The scoop: Verna has served on Council since 1976, including the last eight years as president. Council allies point to her fairness as president and she enjoys wide support among local ward leaders. She faces the 36-year-old Harvard grad, who was born in Guyana and moved to Philadelphia after graduating from Howard University Law School. He has worked as a community liaison for the Philadelphia Housing Authority.
November’s Republican: William Black
Fourth District
Carol Ann Campbell (I)
Curtis Jones Jr.
Matt McClure
The scoop: Campbell, who began serving on Council after a special election in November to fill the seat of mayoral candidate Michael Nutter, is a powerful leader in the city’s Democratic party. She faces a stiff challenge from two challengers seeking their first shot at Council, including Jones, a close ally of mayoral candidate Chaka Fattah, and McClure, an East Falls attorney. Jones is the former head of the Pennsylvania Commercial Development Corp. and McClure is an attorney with the high-profile Ballard Spahr firm.
November’s Republican: Melvin Johnakin
Fifth District
Darrell Clarke (I)
Haile Johnston
John Longacre
The scoop: The incumbent faces a challenge from a local community activist (Johnston) and a developer (Longacre). Clarke, an ally of Mayor John Street, has been on Council for eight years. Johnston, a Wharton grad, formed the nonprofit East Park Revitalization Alliance. Longacre has helped form community development corporations in both Fairhill and South Philadelphia, where he owns the South Philadelphia Tap Room.
Seventh District
Dan Savage (I)
Maria Quinones Sanchez
Marnie Aument Loughrey
The scoop: Savage began serving the district after a special election in November to fill the seat of the disgraced Rick Mariano, who is serving a six and a half year sentence on corruption charges. Savage, a ward leader, faces a serious challenge from Quinones-Sanchez, a local community leader who has been endorsed by Gov. Ed Rendell. Aument-Loughrey is a longtime committee person from Kensington community activist. The district was named the most gerrymandered municipal legislative district in the country by one research firm, something the next council person will have a chance to address when districts are redrawn in 2010.
November’s Republican: Gary Grisafi
Eighth District
Donna Reed Miller (I)
Irv Ackelsberg
Cindy Bass
Greg Paulmier
The scoop: Donna Reed Miller is in her third term on Council and is chairwoman of the Public Safety Committee. A close ally of mayoral candidate Dwight Evans, she faces three primary opponents. Bass is a senior policy adviser on urban and domestic policy for mayoral candidate U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah and a community activist. Ackelsberg is the former head of Community Legal Services and a community activist. Paulmier, a Germantown ward leader, was thrown off the ballot but was reinstated by the state Supreme Court.
Ninth District
Marian Tasco (I)
Cecil Hankins
Raymond Jones
Lamont Thomas
The scoop: Tasco has served on Council since 1988 representing the Northwest Philadelphia district, which includes West Oak Lane and East Mount Airy. Jones is a co-founder of anti-violence group Men United for a Better Philadelphia. Hankins is a longtime city worker and Thomas ran unsuccessfully to unseat Tasco ally and mayoral candidate state Rep. Dwight Evans last year.
Feel free to post in the comments changes that you think should be made to better reflect each candidate, in a sentence. Maybe two if you've got something really good.
James F. Kenney (I): Four-term incumbent from South Philadelphia with focus on setting up 3-1-1 system for city and zoning and planning reform.
William K. Greenlee (I): On Council since November special election. Fairmount resident was the longtime aide to Councilman David Cohen.
Harry Massele: West Philadelphia accountant.
Wilson Alexander: Southwest Philadelphia resident.
Benjamin Ramos: Former state Representative from North Philadelphia.
Caryn Hunt: Anti-casino activist from South Philadelphia.
W. Wilson Goode Jr. (I): Two-term incumbent from West Philadelphia, son of former Mayor Wilson Goode. Strong focus on minority business and fair lending.
Sharif T. Street: Lawyer and son of Mayor John Street. North Philadelphia resident.
Bill Green: Chestnut Hill resident, lawyer, son of former Mayor William Green.
Michael K. Ellis: Marketing director for Scotland Yard Security Services, Inc., from Germantown.
Marc Stier: Temple professor and community activist from Mt. Airy.
Matt Ruben: Northern Liberties Activist, former president of Northern Liberties Neighbors Association.
Maceo Cummings: West Philadelphia resident, involved in community development activities.
Andy Toy: Center City resident. Former Commerce Department official. Chair of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation.
Blondell Reynolds Brown (I): Two-term incumbent and former teacher from West Philadelphia, with strong focus on children’s’ issues.
Derek S. Green: Germantown resident, former chief of staff for Councilwoman Marian Tasco.
T. Milton Street Sr.: West Philadelphia resident, or is it New Jersey? Street launched his controversial candidacy after a failed plan to run for mayor.
Juan F. Ramos (I): One-term incumbent from North Philadelphia. Community activist, pushed city’s trans-fat ban.
Rodney Little: Overbrook resident.
