FightforRoom215

Maybe it was Chris Matthews?

Inky's reporting that Bob Brady received a death threat before last night's debate. Chris Matthews did look like he wanted to go after Brady at the onset of the debate ...

Brady characterized the caller as "a coward" and added: "Cowards don't bother me."

In other news today, another group is ramping up its own issues-based ad campaign, likely to be targeting Michael Nutter and his crime plan. One Step Closer has previously paid Chaka Fattah/Mayor John Street ally/aide/cousin Shawn Fordham money for consulting work and it hosted the Hip Hop Summit last year that Fattah was a big part of.

Meanwhile, the candidates are still fighting for the pie of undecided voters, anti-casino activists are putting together their shadow election and Dwight Evans is gunning for Nutter's crime plan, too.

And Carol Campbell has been forced to testify in front of the ethics board by a city judge.

The board meets to handle possibly related business (we'll see) this morning. It's at the Philadelphia Bar Association, 11th and Market, 11th floor, 11 a.m. Get there 11 minutes early if you're going — security's tight.

UPDATE: From a Metro staffer that just returned from Chris Matthews' Metro-sponsored discussion at the Union League this morning: Matthews called last night's debate a "clown show." Sounds about right.

Don't commit a crime in front of Bob Brady

...he'll snitch.

Take a listen to Brady's appearance on Radio Times this morning, continuing a week of mayoral candidates throwing down with Marty Moss-Coane.

MM-C brought up crime and the "Stop Snitchin'" culture that cops and courts are forced to deal with. Brady said he understands the fear that some have to step forward to testify, but not him.

"I’m not afraid to do that. If I saw something happen, if I saw somebody do something, I’m going down. I’m going to be a witness, I’m going to testify.

"But you're a powerful guy," Moss-Coane interjects.

"If I'm not a powerful guy. I'm a man first before I'm anything. I will do that."

I think he also offered Brett Mandel a job. Brady talking about those that come to him for help, whether he's on vacation, in Washington, or in the city:

"If Brett Mandel came to me and said I’m trying to get something done here, I want to go back to the Controller's office or when you become mayor I really want to do some policy, what’s wrong with that? And I’m not saying he did that."

Brady on 527s

Even though former Bob Brady adviser Ken Smukler says that the first phone call about 527s came to him from Johnny Doc while he was driving home from Washington with Brady, the congressman said after this morning's debate that he had absolutely no idea anyone connected to him was working on setting up the independent operations.

And he called on the two anti-Tom Knox 527s now operating to cease and desist.

Or, as Brady says:

"Get out of town. We don’t need them. Don’t want them. I don’t need them, I don’t want them. They ain’t doing me any favors. I don’t care about them. I’ve got my record. I do what I need to do. Don’t. Want. Any. 527s. Don’t think they need to exist, never did. Swift Boats. Don’t like them. Don’t want them in the city of Philadelphia."

Brady safe on ballot

The Supreme Court said today that it won't hear Tom Knox's second appeal of Bob Brady's place on the ballot.

I was kinda hoping he was tossed, only so that I could see Tom Knox and Dwight Evans sharing a podium together again. Those were the days.

Abraham on cops, Brady on medics

"We don't want to look like we're asking for pie and ice cream. We'll just take the crust."

-District Attorney Lynne Abraham to City Council, testfying on her budget this morning.

Abraham, who is backing Bob Brady in the race, said that if Council doesn't increase her budget to improve the D.A.'s infrastructure, the plans of the next mayor to add police may cause catastrophe.

Adding the hundreds of new cops that all of the candidates are promising "would mean thousands more arrests whenever we get the new police," she said. "It would be catstrophic. We just couldn't deal with the cases."

Brady said after his press conference outside of the Center City firehouse next to his campaign office on Market Street that Abraham's budget needs to be increased.

Brady used the press conference — in which he calls for city to establish a 3-1-1 system and to imbed medics in every firefighting unit  — to continue drilling at Tom Knox.

The congressman's campaign is hoping that people look at Knox's past as an insurance executive to draw conclusions about how he'd run emergency services in the city.

Brady points out that Fidelity Insurance Co.was fined $70,000 in 2002 for advising customers to call their doctor for permission before going to the ER. "We can't afford to risk lives for the bottom line," Brady said.

How that possibly relates to what Mayor Knox would do to emergency management in the city ... draw conclusions if you want.

Knox campaign manager Josh Morrow points to Knox's plan to open 40 health centers throughout the city and calls Brady's correlation "nonsense."

"That's what he's committed to," Morrow said of the health centers. "He's committed to make sure that people have affordable health insurance."

Brady goes green

Tried to take a half day Friday ... meaning I didn't have time to review Bob Brady's "Create, Conserve, and Preserve" plan.

This e-mail from reader Catherine sums it up:

Dear Mr. Cornfield.  I've been visiting other blogs and they point out that today the Brady released a new energy plan.  Create, Conserve, and Preserve.  You can read it here. 

http://www.thenextmayor.com/documents/20070419_Brady_Plan_Energy_and_Sustainability.html

Here's the highlights for you. 

-Collaboration is a theme

-Innovation – Hydro Electric Generation at Flat Rock Dam.

-Consideration of all the players here in Philly.  Unlike some candidates, this plan considers the needs of those who are less advantaged.   Oh, let me rephrase that.  This plan considers their needs and comes up with strategies to HELP them, rather than take ADVANTAGE of their plight.   It ties into the Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program.  The idea is that the clean energy produced will be sold back to PECO to create a dedicated stream of funding for LIHEAP.   Neat, so rather than taking money from the poor and working to keep them in the gutter, this is to help them. 

-Single Stream Recycling.  Do a quick web search.  Look at San Francisco 's program.  A similar program brought 110 jobs to San Fran.  How much larger is Philly?  2 to 3 times?   So…2 to 3 times the amount of trash should = 2 to 3 times the jobs locally, right?  Oh and uh….Recycling is good for the planet too.

-Use of Bio-diesel, but hey, this is more than reduction of our reliance on foreign oil…did you know there was a Philly based company that specializes in Bio-diesel?   Check em out…Fry-O-Diesel.  Hey, could I make that up?

-Wildlife preserve, increasing of green spaces, and use of green roofs. 

I hope it will be making it to your blog in the near future.  This is such an interesting, innovative, and ambitious plan, I'm really excited to see a mayoral candidate who is interested in addressing some serious concerns that affect the city in the future.

Brady 'makes it rain'

Like a good party boss, Bob Brady spread the wealth around with his congressional money, handing out $10,000 checks to his team of supporters on City Council. Gave some to himself, too.

According to the April 7 federal quarterly filing , Brady's congressional PAC gave a $20,000 donation to the Friends of Bob Brady mayoral committee on Jan. 4.

Then, Brady gave $10,000 to Carol Campbell's Council run on Jan. 29. March 21st was the day for Councilmen Jim Kenney, Frank DiCicco, and Dan Savage to pull in their $10,000 checks.

UPDATE: One more tidbit from Brady's federal filing: It will have to be amended, according to campaign and congressional aides, after mistakenly listing a $6,000 payment to D. Jones & Associates, the consulting firm run by D.A. Jones, who is working on Brady's campaign.

With the same treasurer watching over both of Brady's committees, a check was written out of the congressional kitty when it was supposed to come out of the mayoral Friends of Bob Brady PAC.

The first check was never cashed by Jones, according to aides, and a check from his mayoral funds was then written.

(Updated to clarify):   Even though Jones didn't cash the congressional check, according to the campaign, it was mistakenly logged into the congressional filing. Thus, the need for the amendment.

Brady wins again

567CD07_4-13-07.pdf

Looks like Bob Brady stays on the ballot. (Check out the decision for yourself, above).

A decision from Judge Dan Pellegrini affirms the decision of Common Pleas Court Judge Patrick J. Toole to keep Bob Brady on the ballot.

Barring an appeal to the Supreme Court (which may not even happen) voters will get a chance to vote for Bob Brady on May 15.

As to the biggest contention of the appeal — that Brady's erred by not reporting the money paid into a pension for him by the local carpenters' union — the appeals court ruled that the instructions on the financial disclosure form are different than what is contained in the Ethics Act.

The court ruled that the FIS instructions "do not include the language 'thing of value received.' They only require the candidate to list sources of income greater than $1,300, including any payment, fee, salary, expense, allowance, forbearance, forgiveness, interest, dividend, royalty, rental income, capital gain, reward, severance payment, prize winning and tax exempt income. Because Candidate did not receive any payment of those types of income — only an increase in years of service to the pension fund — he did not receive any of the listed items that the Ethics Commission directed that a candiate had to report in Box 10 of the FIS. Because a candidate may reasonably rely on the instructions given to him on what is reportable income, it is neither a fatal defect to the petition nor a violation of the Ethics Act when a candidate fills out the form in accordance with those instructions."

The decision also takes a broad look at the increasing number of challenges to financial disclosure forms.

"Either we should go back to the view enunciated In re Nomination Petition of Anastasio that all defects are fatal or we should allow, as suggested by the trial court, liberal amendment of the FIS. Either way, candidates will then be treated the same and the outcome will not be dependent on the unique factual circumstances of each case that requires judges to find whether a candidate's failure to dislose crosses some unknown line."

The 'N' word rears its head

The Inky brings the 'n' word into the mayoral race today — "nepotism."

Four of Bob Brady's family members, including his wife, two children and a brother, either have government jobs or benefit from a no-bid contract, according to the story.

Brady's wife makes $100,000 a year from a politically-connected firm with a $1 million city contract, his son works for the Turnpike Commission, his daughter for the state lottery and his brother is a city judge.

Brady says he pulled no strings for his relatives and praised their professional abilities.

"It's a small town," Brady said when asked why so many family members had government jobs or contracts

Brady, of course, was the first candidate to sign onto the Committee of Seventy's ethics agenda, which outlines what the candidates would do, among other things, to end nepotism.

From the pledge:

• I will prohibit all officials and employees who fall under the mayor’s control from hiring a member of their immediate family, or recommending the hiring of a member of their immediate family, for a position in any City or City-related office, department, board, commission, agency or authority.

The Inky also points out that Dwight Evans' mother once worked for the Parking Authority, while he has a brother that works for the Parking Authority and another that works for the Gas Works.

Firemen or pretzels?

UPDATE: It's official, local 22 is backing Brady.

Let's play a quick game of "Google Guesses the Bob Brady Endorsement."

Brady is set to announce a "major endorsement" tomorrow morning, according to his campaign, in Northeast Philly at 10:30 a.m. at 1900 Cottman Avenue. Google tells us that's the Engine 71/Ladder 28 house of the Philadelphia Fire Department.

Google guesses: Bob Brady is getting endorsed by Firefighters Local 22

Then again, there is a soft pretzel factory across the street... You know what the pundits say: The man that gets the soft pretzel endorsement is a lock for Room 215.

Wait, Bob Brady already nailed that one...

(Full disclosure): I have a firefighter from that house to thank for saving my hide freshman year of high school. Walking home one day from good ol' Northeast High, a gang of three thugs started chasing after me. I got a few punches in, but, who am I kidding, if it wasn't for the fireman that broke things up, I'd of walked home a bit bloodied. Thank you, Engine 71/Ladder 28.