FightforRoom215

Fattah calls Katz out for playing race card

Sam Katz's comments in today's Metro didn't go unnoticed from Chaka Fattah's campaign. Fattah called Katz out for his "introduction of race into this campaign." A release from Fattah's camp says the congressman respects Katz but that his remarks on Fattah's transportation plan are "inappropriate."

Katz said that Fattah's proposal to tax drivers coming into Center City to pay for SEPTA is an an idea that "goes over well in the neighborhoods of West Philadelphia and North Philadelphia. But it's a disaster for Philadephia and compltely unnecessary. And it's a racially divisive policy."

Fattah responds:

"Improving the region's mass transit system has nothing to do with race. President Bush offered $100 million to cities in his budget to examine congestion. I believe we should use that money to study the matter."

Brady goes old school

Along with announcing the FOP's endorsement of Bob Brady, the congressman's campaign used this afternoon's press conference to unveil a new TV ad.

The best part — besides the dueling man-woman announcer team giving Brady's credentials — is a shot of Brady pointing skyward with a group of supporters. Brady proves he's a REAL Eagles fan in that shot, of course, by showing off his classic black leather Eagles bomber, complete with the old-school logo. That's sure to win the Randall Cunningham supporters endorsement; Donovan McNabb backers, not so much.

The ad drops Lynne Abraham's endorsement and also says Brady's "endorsed by Philadelphia's police." That's a quick turnaround from last night's endorsement, eh? (Note: It doesn't officially say FOP endorsement, so, at least, linguistically, that's enough to win an argument that the FOP's nod for Brady wasn't locked up before the vote. Right?)

Leaving the cynicism behind, Brady ad chief Ken Snyder just checked in to report that the campaign got the endorsement around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night and adjusted the ad this morning to include the endorsement.

Inspiration from Chi-town?

Interesting news out of Chicago from yesterday's municipal elections that could bring inspiration to the crowd of candidates running for Philly City Council (there's so many I just assume everyone I see at any campaign event is a candidate).

From today's Chicago Tribune:

In the worst election night for City Council incumbents in more than 15 years, three aldermen lost their jobs Tuesday, including Ald. Burton Natarus (42nd), the colorful, veteran alderman of downtown Chicago. ...

Another 11 council members appeared headed toward the runoff election in April after failing to win a majority.

I didn't realize Chicago had elections yesterday until a phone conversation this afternoon with Dwight Evans' campaign manager, L. Maurice Daniel. Talking on another topic altogether (more on that tomorrow), Daniels brought up the change in the political landscape in America in recent elections, with anti-incumbency movements in both national elections and in Harrisburg.

Without having even looked, he guessed that yesterday's Chicago elections would bring the same results.

Could Philly be next?

Countdown to Milton's exit?

Milton Street promised a few weeks back that he'd exit the mayor's race if 5,000 people didn't show up for a noontime rally Thursday at Dilworth Plaza. He couched that on WIP's morning show Tuesday, saying it doesn't necessarily need to be 5,000 to keep him in the race.

We're sure creative accounting would be in order whether he wants 5,000 or not. Man crossing 15th Street toward City Hall? Here for Milton.  Using the city's $0.25 a flush pay toilet? Milton supporter. Woman catching a smoke 20 feet from City Hall's entrances (you all know about the 20-foot rule, right?), here for Milty.

Metro's offices provide a perfect view of the rally site. We'll do our best professional crowd estimation from up here.

(As all of Milton's campaign posters, this one's courtesy of D-Mac at Philly WillDo. He also lets us know that Milton's appearance on WYSP's Kidd Chris show Tuesday yielded the "Milton Man March" label.)

Katz handicaps the field

Metro reporter Brian X. McCrone turned to Sam Katz yesterday to get some local insight into the Chinese financial meltdown. The two-time Republican mayoral candidate has business interests in the country.

Along with Katz's input into yesterday's crisis, the man that finished second to Mayor John Street twice handicapped the Democratic mayoral field.

Among Katz's observations:

He calls the overall field "disappointing" and laughs at the fact that ideas he was attacked for when he ran (like Chaka Fattah's thought to put GPS devices in students' backpacks).

He wants to pay for it by selling the airport. I’m thinking to myself, holy moly. And all these liberals talking about stop-and-frisking suspects.”

Katz says Bob Brady will have a tough time with Tom Knox in the field and that Michael Nutter and Dwight evans "are very similar." Both have similar-sized voting bases, Katz says.

He says Fattah is the only one with a clear message.

"he’s committed to helping the have-nots. He stays on message, like proposing to tax people who come into Center City in their cars in order to pay for SEPTA. That idea goes over well in the neighborhoods of West Philadelphia and North Philadelphia. But it’s a disaster for Philadelphia and completely unnecessary. And it’s a racially divisive policy.”

FOP picks Brady

Law came Monday, now Bob Brady has the Order part, too.

The FOP board voted Tuesday night to back Brady in the Democratic mayoral primary. The union will hold a press conference Wednesday afternoon to announce the endorsement.

The endorsement comes one day after D.A. Lynne Abraham backed Brady and, according to political consultants, could help the congressman to distinguish himself from the other four major Democratic candidates.

"When he's in debates and he's at mayoral forums and the issue of crime comes up he just says, 'listen, the guy who locks 'em up and the woman who sends them away, they're both for me," according to consultant Larry Ceisler.

The awaiting 'Blob'

While the Philadelphia 2007 report put out Monday by Pew Charitable Trusts has some bright things to say about improvements in the city in the last eight years, it also gives a grave warning about the task that faces the next mayoral administration.

The next mayor will have to renew contracts with its workers in the administraton's first six months and then confront two "'sleeper' issues that have received scant public attention but that specialists are deeply concerned about."

Rising pension and healthcare costs and maintenance to city-owned infrastructure promise to  complicate budgeting for the next mayor, according to the report. The report finds that pension and benefits will grow to $842 million by 2009, or 22 percent of the city's $3.8 billion budget.

It would crowd out necessary and desirable budgetary expenditures, threatening even "slow but steady" business tax cuts. As a fiscal monitor said, "It is the 'Blob' that will eat everything."

The report says there are some short-term solutions (like pension plan consolidation), but that "painful and contentious" changes will eventually be necessary, including changing pension plans, reducing health benefits and increasing co-pays.

More:
Pew Charitable Trusts

(P.S.: As a naive youth, I traded Super Mario Bros. 3 for A Boy and his Blob [above art]. Worst. Trade. Ever.)

Politicians, not sandwiches

We'll use this blog to check in on the myriad Council races from time to time, as well. Metro will profile as many of the candidates as we can leading up to the May 15 primary.

Seventh District Councilman Daniel J. Savage was up today. (Sorry, not Daniel J. Savage Jr. as we said in the paper)

In other Council race news, at-large Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown is sparing no political expense for her re-election announcement tomorrow morning. She's renting out the mayor's reception room in City Hall (paid for with campaign dollars, BRB's campaign says) and has a slate of backers scheduled to be on hand, including:

Mayor John F. Street
Council President Anna C. Verna
Council Majority Leader Jannie L. Blackwell
State Rep. Louise Bishop
State Rep. Frank Oliver
Former City Controller Jonathan Saidel

In all deference to fellow at-large candiate Matt Ruben, that lineup may best the promise of free deli sandwiches.

Because Cataldi told us to

If WIP morning show buffoon morning show host Angelo Cataldi is backing Milton Street's candidacy, we'll jump on the bandwagon, too.

The Inky's "Live From" blog has the play-by-play from Milton's appearance this morning on 610. It includes comic gems like:

Cataldi: "People are afraid of you because you're radical. Do you believe that?"
Street: Says he's "strong." "You have a lot of candidates out there that's using news clips and tlaking a lot of gloopedyglop and doesn't get to the meat of the issue. ..."

Somehow, former Eagle Hugh Douglas comes out as the voice of political reason. The same man who asked me, day after day when I covered the team five years ago, if I rode my bicycle to the NovaCare Center. (It was a '94 Chevy Beretta GT, thank you very much).

Hugh Douglas: "That was a shame. That was a shame. I don't even know what to say after that ... You know, two crazy people on the radio shouldn't talk to each other. ... It's ridiculous. I can't believe you did that."
Cataldi: "I look out for my city. That's my man."
Douglas: "You just egged him on."

Street, meanwhile, is looking for a new attorney after he jettisoned his court-appointed one yesterday.

UPDATE: WIP has placed an Mp3 of the Milton-Cataldi chat on its Web site.

FOP to endorse tonight; Fattah out of running

Mumia Abu-Jamal makes another appearance in the Philadelphia mayoral race today.

The Fraternal Order of Police is scheduled to vote tonight on which of the five Democratic mayoral candidates to endorse, but the police union won't even consider Chaka Fattah because of his past support for a new trial for the convicted cop killer.

Tom Knox is slated to address the FOP's 200-member board of directors at 7 p.m. and then the board will vote which candidate to back. The other three candidates already had a chance to say their peace, but Fattah wasn't even invited.

FOP boss Bobby Eddis said last year that his union would work against Fattah and lobby other labor unions to join their cause. Sending letters has been the extent of the FOP's lobbying, but that could change after tonight's vote, Eddis said. (It would surprise if the pro-union Bob Brady didn't get the endorsement, but Eddis refused to speculate Monday night. He did, however, say that the union's best working relationships are with Brady and Michael Nutter.)

Fattah, meanwhile, believes he can still work with the police union if he's elected. He threw out an olive branch last week, saying that he would work toward raising pay for the police force and would try to negotiate the union's next contract, rather than relying on third-party arbitration.

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Metro Philadelphia: Cops turn deaf ear