Billy Boy in Kenzo... (The Next Mayor)

Sometimes good stories can just fall into your lap. I decided that the best way to get a real feel for Election Day would be to try and observe a longtime Philly E-day tradition - lunch at Famous Deli at Fourth and Bainbridge.

Taking advantage of this beautiful day - much more beautiful than my 5am walk to work during a downpour and thunderstorm - I strolled along the 13 blocks from WHYY's Technology Center to the Deli. Along the way, I very serendipitously encountered a couple of close friends of mine who live in Montogomery County. These guys happened to be taking a break from their get-out-the-vote efforts on behalf of Mike O'Brien, the candidate whom their union is supporting in the 175th District.

They told me about their morning in Kensington and Port Richmond, going door to door telling people to vote for their candidate. When I asked what they were telling people who wanted to know why they should vote for their candidate they said because he's a good guy. What a lot of us so-called "insiders" sometimes forget is that for a vast majority of the voting population, in this city and in other places, that's usually a strong enough argument. A couple of honest looking, down-to-earth, plainspoken, hardworking guys show up at the door and give their seal of approval on a guy and it's enough to swing a vote. I don't know anything about Mike O'Brien except from what I learned from his campaign ads... that he's pro-choice ("unexpected!") and has a hard time keeping his eyes focused on the camera when talking directly into it. So for all I know he could very well be a good guy.

The problem is, that might not be enough to qualify someone for elected office and it definitely shouldn't be enough to qualify someone for mayor. But you know that next year, when my friends from Montgomery County are out there going door to door and handing out palm cards for another "good guy," that may be all it takes to swing enough votes to determine a winner.

A very smart, VERY experienced political operative in this city told me that none of this - the blog, the site, the whole project - will make any difference in the outcome of next year's election. In fact I think his exact words were, "Do you think anyone in the 25th Ward is going to give a s**t about this project?" (followed by "Do you even KNOW where the 25th ward is?"). I'm open to anyone's suggestion on how we get this information to those folks in the 25th Ward so that when my friends from Montgomery County come to the door and tell those voters that their candidate is a nice guy, the response they get is, "what else you got for me?"

The best part of their story, however, was about the guy named Billy Boy from Kensington who invited them in and chatted with them for 10 minutes about his homemade tattoos. Mmm mmm, that's good hepatitis! Encounters like that are probably why I ran into them in Center City.