(bumped up by Dan to keep the conversation going)
Putting to rest any rumors that he would stay in Washington now that the Democrats have a majority, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah appears poised to announce a run for mayor on Saturday, Catherine Lucey reports.
Coyly worded invitiations to join Fattah for an “announcement regarding the city’s future” have been circulating. The event will be held at noon at the High School of the Future near Girard and Parkisde Avenues.
Fattah would not confirm that he was definitely running yesterday, but check this quote out:
“I'm going to announce what my decision is,” he said. “I want to put an end to the debate about my carerer and my future and start a debate about the city's future.”
Comments (28)
Does anyone know why he plans to announce at the "high school of the future" other than it's cool, it's located in his district, and people will assume he's responsible for it? (was he, in any way, responsible for it?)
Posted by Dave | November 14, 2006 2:00 PM
Anyone else not excited about Fattah running? I could think of hundreds, if not thousands, of people that would do a much better job running this city than Fattah. He is totally arrogant and lacks any substance. I don't understand what all the fuss is about with this guy. I am not impressed.
Posted by Lauren | November 14, 2006 2:42 PM
I heard he is going to announce he is runnig as a Republican.
Posted by IBEW98 | November 14, 2006 4:17 PM
In 100% agreement, Lauren.
Plus I can't imagine anyone seeing Tigre Hill's "The Shame of A City" and not cringing at Fattah's comments on the mayoral election day. In order to hype "the bug is Ashcroft targeting Street because he's black" conspiracy he repeats himself over and over again constantly refrencing mid-1960's voter intimidation as if the Klan, rather than big white guys from the IBEW working for Street, were blocking black voters from the polls.
Posted by Sean | November 14, 2006 4:17 PM
I hope he announces that he's moving and never coming back.
He's managed to swing on the coattails of others and never do anything on his own. He clearly doesn't care for laws or equal playing ground as he has refused, and continues to refuse, to play by the rules. The other candidates, other than Doc, have agreed that they are going to accept donations within the limits (2,500/10,000), but he has refused. Even if he does announce, I doubt he will abide by the limits.
Also, for supposedly "attending" UPENN and whatever other schools he "attended," he is certainly not eloquent, nor does he instill any confidence that he has any idea what he is talking about.
He is absolutely, positively awful and not what this city needs at this time.
Posted by Lauren | November 14, 2006 5:08 PM
I guess none of Fattah's supporters have made it to The Next Mayor yet...
Posted by Dave | November 14, 2006 6:00 PM
I believe the only reason he's doing this at the SOF is to underscore his educational message.
Posted by Wendy | November 14, 2006 8:32 PM
Chaka is the Fernando of Philadelphia politics, always living by the motto, "It is better to look good, than to feel good."
He is a politician through and through, always taking the opportunist road. He tries to take credit for taking the easy, high visibilty path.
When educators were trying to get economically and educationally distadvantaged high school students, a high risk effort, into post secondary education and provide support systems to help them persist to graduation, what did Chaka do?
Chaka took credit for a college fair for graduate school post-secondary students, students who have already succeeded.
No. Philadelphia is on the brink of greatness. Philadelphia can't afford a weak politician mayor. Philadelphia needs a coalition building, forward thinking, problem solving public servant. Not Chaka Fattah.
Posted by Mel Hodes | November 14, 2006 8:39 PM
Looking at the qoute...he's either going to throw his hat in the race and run, or possibly back a candidate. Fattah s my congressman too and nearly half the people I've spoken to don't even know who he is. He has done very little if anything locally and I believe he would only be hurting the city by leaving congress. I agree with Mel we need a mayor who can talk and walk, not just talk. Chaka seems to be all talk and no walk...
Posted by Matthew Biedrzycki | November 14, 2006 11:15 PM
His greatest accomplishment as a congressman is getting elected over and over and over again. And of course getting John Street elected twice as well.
Posted by Kevin | November 15, 2006 8:41 AM
I am sick of the media (i.e. local newspapers) waxing on and on about him. I hope he is exposed and that the media does not continue to give him a free ride. He is the least accomplished and a complete idiot. With the Dems in power in DC, how selfish is it to give up his seat and seniority?? He could truly bring more money to this city and other urban centers, helping far more than being mayor. I am pretty sure him sitting on the couch watching tv helps more than him being mayor.
Dave - until Fattah pays people to blog for him, we won't see Fattah supporters. No person who listens to him and truly understands the problems and prospects of this city would be a Fattah supporter.
Posted by Lauren | November 15, 2006 9:42 AM
Also, while I'm on a roll...
If he is announcing on Monday that he is running, how selfish is it that he just ran and got re-elected? Both Nutter and Saidel resigned or did not run again because they did not want to start or continue a term that they could not finish. If Fattah knew last week that he was going to announce a run for mayor (2 weeks later!) how deceptive, dishonest and selfish is it of him to run again?? He can't say he was doing it for a democratic majority because a republican would not have won that seat. He is truly doing his constituents a disservice. He just reaks of more corruption and dishonesty.
Posted by Lauren | November 15, 2006 9:48 AM
Its all in the Fattah/Street Alliance plan. Chaka is going to run for mayor of Philadelphia, and probably when because he has been raising money like hell for his congressional race even though he had like a 90% lead. He is going to use that money for his mayoral election. And his congressional seat is going to go to Mayor John Street. Corruption we got to stop it.
Posted by Malik Neal | November 15, 2006 10:13 AM
Who? The only reason Fattah wins his seat with 92% of the vote is because he continually runs unopposed in a democratic city. He is hardly inspiring and I don't understand the media's love affair with him (maybe it's because he's married to a local anchor).
Nonetheless, he'll be the early leader in polls but I think eventually his lack of ideas will catch up with him. Vote Nutter!
Can you imagine Street in Washington? What a joke. He'll be the laughing stock of that chamber.
Posted by Marc Butakis | November 15, 2006 10:41 AM
Street in Congress??? How many C-SPAN reporters would he take a swing at during his first term?
A vote for Fattah is a vote for Street and more of the same.
Posted by Kevin | November 15, 2006 12:40 PM
Lauren: It seems you have a personal resentment against Fattah? Has he done anything to you directly? I'm not saying he is the best candidate, but he has done a lot for thbis city.....send numerous disenfranchised kids to college. "Fattah led the way to help local families make the transition from the Federal welfare program to the workforce with the help of job training and work placement programs......
In addition to being named one of the country’s 50 most promising leaders by Time Magazine..." So, we ar lucky to have a leader of his caliber in our backyard.
So....this is what I am asking....if he wins the mayorl seat, you you planning to leave this great city?
Posted by BMP | November 15, 2006 12:44 PM
SOI guess this is the Nutter blog? Man...some people are just plain idiots- peiod. Someone even suggested that he has like 92% of the democratic vote.....I think it's a reason for that...there are many that respect him- period. I like competition..I'm happy to see all the candidates coming out and via for the top spot.... it appears that people on here just want to give Nutter the elcetion without a fight. That's no democracy...I want to see a drag out fight..I wanna see all the back door politicking in this city come out to the forefront....EVERY POLITICIAN IS SLEEZY--BELIEVE THAT. FATTAH, NUTTER, EVANS, SAIDEL, KNOX...ALL OF THEM....
So enough with the Fattah bashing....saying he's weak, etc...that's a bunch of crap.....
Matthew..you said have of the people don't know him...who's fault is that? Definitly not his...apparently...it must be those same people that didn't vote on election day...cause if ythey did, they would have known him as a respect official.
BTW...Lauren...please do a better job covering up your racism ..it sooooo obnvious...did he do anything wrong with running again? N0....hey..he didn't do anything wrong or unethical..it was his choice- period. Jusdt because you didn't agree with it doesn't mean it was wrong.....call it leverage (smile)....
Now I see why pople don't like to blog...top many sour grape folk on here.....it is what it is.
Posted by BMP | November 15, 2006 12:58 PM
BMP, let me address your comments.
First, just because I do not agree with Fattah nor do I think he would be even a decent or tolerable mayor, does not mean I am a racist. I am judging Fattah as an individual, not by his race.
Second, Fattah running for Congress, knowing that he is going to run for mayor is wrong. It is deceptive to his constituents and the voters in his district - those that went out and said, "I want Fattah as my congressman." If he wins, they will be stuck, for a year and a half, with some other man or woman that was not elected. That is not serving your constituents, that is serving yourself. With the rigors of campaigning, I am sure he won't be spending much time in DC doing what he is paid to do.
Third, Fattah gets 92% of the vote in his district because he is a democrat. Democrats get 80-90% of the vote in this city. Moreover, if you read a post further up on this blog you will see that we are the most gerrymandered city. Don't you think that ensures that only democrats will win in those districts, in noncompetitive races? Incumbents are protected.
Finally, I am not an unabashed supporter of Nutter or any of the other candidates. But I do know that Fattah is no good for this city.
Posted by Lauren | November 15, 2006 2:53 PM
I'm going to have to agree with BMP in the sense that hurling insults at a candidate isn't a good way to get across your point that he or she wouldn't be a good choice for the job. I'm ont sure what BMP's problem with Nutter is, though. I saw one "Vote Nutter" in there, and that was it, but then I only skimmed the comments.
Posted by Dave | November 15, 2006 4:01 PM
What has Fattah done? What are his accomplishments? Don't mention the scholarship programs.
Posted by Philly Phantom | November 15, 2006 5:14 PM
Dave: I think you're right. I want supporters to tell me about Nutter and why he is the man for the position, don't just throw insults after insults at his competition, ya know? It makes me think something more is up your sleeve...I would rather you say..Fattha's longterm plan for economic development in Philly is transparent and isn't aggressive enough...or that Nutter fight or stance on violence sin't strong enough , or Saidel's affilation with the past administration makes him a machine type of vote.
I'm sure you could find some of Fatahh's many, many accomplishments..check hs website and then report back....
BTW...I really don't have a problem with Nutter...but is he the man for the job? That's what I need to find out...the jury is still out on him, Fattah, Knox, Saidel, Evans.......I'm just waiting for them to declare and it's on. I will do my own investigative reporting on each candidate.....then i will make my decision....so far, there's no question that the race is between Fattah and Nutter.....and this is what's good...we need healthy competition for the job....I just don't want to vote the normal status quo....I did that before and I wasn't totally impressed with Street's war on violence, etc..... So this time, I'm going in with ears open...so each candidtae better have a clear agenda as to the problems and solutions to help Philly...that is all I want.
Posted by bmp | November 15, 2006 6:06 PM
Dave -- just curious, did you get a chance to look at Saidel's manifesto (it's posted a couple of entries down) re his spending-accountability goals?
Not to take one thing from Nutter, of course. I am just curious about your thoughts since that's an issue for you.
Posted by Wendy | November 16, 2006 11:15 AM
One more thing: for those who may not have realized, property tax reform is probably the one thing the city can do that will do the most to help low income residents in neighborhoods that are being gentrified. While this goes a long way to fix what I, for lack of a better term, will call "financial displacement." There is also the issue of "cultural displacement," which is much harder to solve because, rather than money, this is caused by intangibles such as "attitude" and "intolerance" on both sides of gentrification.
Posted by Dave | November 16, 2006 11:17 AM
I have not had time to review Saidel's document. However, I'll say right off that I have some of the same issues with Saidel as I do with Fattah (namely that I don't trust him). I'll certainly report my thoughts on the document, though, when I have time to read it.
Posted by Anonymous | November 16, 2006 11:19 AM
Does anyone know how to contact Fattah, I would like to help with his campaign.
-rj
Posted by Rjay | November 16, 2006 11:54 AM
Fattah has a Web site with info about how to get involved...and the phone number from that page is (215) 988-0132
Posted by Wendy | November 16, 2006 12:17 PM
Here's a better website - Fattah is a fraud: http://fattahxray.com
Posted by Philly Phantom | November 17, 2006 1:17 PM
The article on fattahxray about his educational background is interesting. However, I'm not sure how much I trust a sourceless website with obvious political bias (check out the poll. Looks like Fattah isn't the only candidate the website authors don't like -- and Evans is at the very top of the poll).
Posted by Dave | November 17, 2006 1:58 PM