The Next Mayor

Here's your weekly update of upcoming events in the mayor's race!

Check out our calendar of events in the race on our main page -- and thanks to the Fels Civic Exchange for keeping the calendar so well.

If you want this list of events early, sign up for e-mail updates on our main page, top right corner.

Upcoming Events:

JUST ADDED: Monday
Fattah to unveil policy on women's issues
(April 2, 11 a.m., Alliance for Progress Charter School, 1821-39 Cecil B. Moore Ave.)
Mayoral Candidate Chaka Fattah will announce his Women's Agenda at the Alliance for Progress Charter School in North Philadelphia. Fattah will focus on ways to provide Philadelphia's women with greater economic, social and health care opportunities.

Tuesday
APM Mayoral Candidate Forum
(April 3, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., 8th and Berks)
APM (Asociacion Puertorriqueños en Marcha) will be hosting an outdoor mayoral candidate forum in the Eastern North Philadelphia neighborhood of 8th & Berks on Tuesday, April 3, 2007, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. All candidates have confirmed their participation, and the event will be moderated by the Honorable Nelson Diaz, recently appointed Chair of Elections for Philadelphia.

A major focus of the evening will be housing. APM also directs health and human service programs, providing mental health, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and child care services to more than 9,000 each year. Half of all residents in its housing units are Latino, with the other half being African American. While other programs are predominately Latino, approximately 30 percent of those served are African American.

Wednesday
KICKOFF for Voting on the R.E.F.O.R.M. Agenda
(April 4, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., 5th and Arch streets)
Join us on April 4th at 11:00 am at the National Constitution Center with celebrity host Flavia Colgan to kick off the voting phase of R.E.F.O.R.M. Philadephia. Combining the power of Wikipedia with widespread support for reforming Philadelphia, a new ReformBallot.org website was created as an experiment in deliberative democracy. The R.E.F.O.R.M Compact outlines principles for moving Philadelphia in a new direction and offers citizens the opportunity to edit, contribute and vote on specific R.E.F.O.R.M agenda items.

Mayoral Candidate forum on Children's Issues
(April 4, 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm, Free Library of Philadelphia, Main Branch, 1901 Vine Street)
The Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth is hosting a Mayoral Candidate Forum on children's issues on Wednesday, April 4th, starting at 6:30 p.m., at the Free Library. Some of the questions asked were written by the city's young people. For reserve seating, RSVP: info@pccy.org or, by phone, 215-563-5848 x11

Thursday
The Mayor of Philadelphia: A Candidates' Forum for the Latino Community
(April 5, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., 1114 W. Berks Street)
Do you care about Latino business, affordable housing, and education? Come to this candidates' forum and they will hear you. This forum is in Anderson Hall at Temple University and will feature Bob Brady, Dwight Evans, Chaka Fattah, Tom Knox, Michael Nutter, and Al Taubenberger. It will be moderated by Ken Trujillo. Habra servicio de interpretacion en espanol. Please RSVP to 215.763.8870 ext. 1511 or 215.790.3723 or GPHCC@greaterphiladelphiachamber.com.

The Rustin Forum for Philadelphia’s Future
(April 5, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Foerderer Auditorium, Jefferson Medical College, 1025 Walnut Street)
Mayoral Race 2007: “The Rustin Forum for Philadelphia’s Future” is intended to engage Mayoral candidates in a discussion with a diversified group of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals. The format for the community forum will include a skilled moderator who will field a minimum of two prepared questions from the event organizers to each of the candidates followed by fielded questions from the audience. It is not our intention for this forum to be a debate and the moderator will moderate the discussion away from debates between the candidates and/or audience participants.

Great Expectations: The Philadelphia Schools- Progress and Problems- A Citizen’s Expert Dialogue
(April 5, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm, 400 North Broad Street)
Registration and refreshments will begin at 5:45 p.m. This program is being co-sponsored by the Philadelphia Cross City Campaign for School Reform. It is intended as a preparatory session for the mayoral candidates forum to be co-sponsored by Great Expectations and the Cross City Campaign on April 12.
An expert panel will lay out the facts about what’s gone on in the Philadelphia schools since the state takeover. Michael Casserly of the Council of the Great City Schools will put the Philly reforms in national context. Jolley Christman of the Graduate School of Education at Penn and Research for Action will report on test scores, and what they indicate about how various school management models are working. Sharmain Matlock-Turner of the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition will talk about charters and school choice. Michael Masch, state budget secretary and a former member of the School Reform Commission, will talk about finances and state aid. Darlene Callands Curry of the Black Alliance for Educational Options will talk about the parents’ perspective.
Citizens will then gather in small groups to discuss what they heard, how it compares with their impressions coming in, what questions they still have and what steps they’d like to see taken next to improve education in Philadelphia. James Nevels, chair of the SRC, and other SRC members will respond to what they’ve heard from the experts and the citizens.
Space is limited so REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
Register by going to the project Web site at go.philly.com/greatexpectations and clicking on the registration link or by calling the project hotline at 215-854-5956.

Bob Brady has a spiffy new look for his site over at www.bobbradyworks.com (www.bobbrady.com, BTW, is a car dealership in Decatur, Ill.).

The Congressman is striking a Kennedy-ish pose in the first picture, and he's really loaded up the video.

However, I really wish the "My Philadelphia" link were working; I want to see it. It may be the video from his previous site...

(Also, check out Angry ErnieBert in the background of the picture with the kids. Crumbs in the bed, I would expect.)

Today, we're launching something new:

We're going to begin directly comparing the candidates on the issues that matter, one issue at a time. We're calling it, "If he were mayor." And it's designed to help you make up your mind as May 15 nears.

First of all, and with no cynicism, I have to note that it is a credit to the five guys running for the Democratic nomination that we can do this. They have run -- so far -- on the issues, which makes it possible to set their proposals side by side, and let you pick the guy you like.

Second of all, I have to note that, as you read these proposals, you must keep in mind the budget constraints that the next mayor will have to deal with. (Read one of our repeated warnings about that here.)

For our first entry, we are not taking on crime -- though we will -- or schools. We are taking on something that several candidates just released new position papers on: How the candidates would support Philadelphia's arts community.

As an industry, arts and culture is significant -- but surprisingly vulnerable -- in Philadelphia. Our city's arts and cultural organizations get by not on city money, nor on corporate money, as do competitors in many cities. No, they do it the hard way: scraping up funds through fund-raisers and grants and wooing people in the door. Not that there's anything wrong with audience support. But let's face it: Do we really want the Charlotte Symphony to be better funded, and get more civic attention, than our own? Do we really want to relinquish the gains that our city has made in the last 10 years to become a mecca of emerging arts?

We certainly don't.

So, we climbed through the arts plans of four candidates who have them -- sorry, Tom Knox, we'll update if you release one -- and offer brief synposes on each.

And we'd sure like to know what you think about them.

One thing that's clear: If any of the other four candidates become mayor, the city's Office of Arts and Culture is coming back...

Ed Barkowitz is Liveblogging the Phillies Opening Day game against the Braves.

Check it out during the game!

From Catherine Lucey at the Daily News, here is the decision from Commonwealth Court, upholding the city's right to enact its own campaign finance laws.

I know... It's 50 pages long. I'll see if I can pull out the salient points. Check back in a few.

(edited to add)

Ok... I read through and got to the part where the court actually makes its decision (starting on page 27):

With the foregoing principles in mind and having examined powers conferred upon Philadelphia, as a home rule municipality, by constitutional and statutory provisions and the Home Rule Charter, the Court agrees with Nutter and the City that the Ordinance is not preempted by state law. A review of the Election Code demonstrates clearly that it contains no "express preemptive mandate." The Supreme Court has on numerous occasions explained that the Election Code is a lengthy and comprehensive piece of legislation that governs the "holding" of elections in Pennsylvania.
(snip)
With regard to campaign contributions and expenses, the Election Code regulates, inter alia, the organization of political committees; the registration of political committees when they receive more than $250 in contributions; requirements for candidate and political committee reports when they receive $250 or more in contributions or expend $250 or more; filing of annual reports; disbursement of residual funds when a candidate or political committee ceases activity; and restrictions on contributions from banks, corporations or agents of donors or the disbursement of contributions made by anonymous sources (payable to the State Treasurer). Cash contributions that exceed $100 are prohibited.
(snip)
The Election Code contains no language to show express or implied legislative intent to legislate with respect to limits on campaign contributions to candidates for local elective office.
(snip)
Because there is no indication of legislative intent to preempt the field of campaign finance as it relates to campaign contribution limits for local elective office, the Court concludes that the Ordinance is not preempted by state statute. Notably, all references in the Election Code to the dollar amount of campaign contributions received or the amount of expenses incurred relate solely to legislative establishment of threshold limits for public disclosure purposes.

Candidate Fattah released his women's agenda today.

Press release with summary, here. Entire plan, here.

As with any plan that comes along, I remind you that if there's any money to be spent by the city on these initiatives, you have to question how the candidate will do it when it comes time to pay the piper on pensions and health care.

Fattah's release of his "women's agenda" gives me, the distaff member of our blogging team, the chance to pontificate on something that I care about.

One of the things that I find most revealing about political leaders is the people around them, particularly the people who are different from the leader -- different gender, different race, etc. Since most of our political leaders are men, I am interested in the women around them in particular.

Are the women strong, independent people in roles where their voices are heard? Do they get a chance to challenge and question the leader?

Personally, I like leaders who are willing to be challenged, and who see people who are different -- yes, particularly women -- as opportunities to learn something, not threats to power.

And one thing you have to admit about our current mayor -- whether you like his politics and his administration or not -- is that he had no problem surrounding himself with strong women. At one point, Street had more women in his cabinet than men. (This idea isn't original to me; I was highly influenced by Daily News columnist Jill Porter in this belief.)

I'll be watching for who the next mayor surrounds himself with as well -- and yes, I do care how many of them are women, and how many of them are of a different ethnic background, and if any of them are outsiders to government.

So what does that have to do with Fattah's women's agenda?

The agenda -- which is remarkably broad, ranging from domestic violence to parenting to equal pay -- does make two commitments that concern my point above. One, Fattah commits "to ensuring women are well-represented in his government by appointing women to senior policy-making positions from Cabinet posts to departmental directors and senior aides."

Two, he commits to increasing the percentage of contracts awarded to women-owned businesses from its current level -- around 6 percent -- to 15% by the end of his first term.

The first of these promises speaks to my interest in who would surround Fattah if he becomes mayor. And the second would help grow another level of women leaders throughout the city, which would mean that later male leaders would have the chance to also hire impressive women as well.

[Edited to add Tom Knox comment - Wendy]

...to the Campaign Finance ruling.

Michael Nutter, who filed the lawsuit to uphold the limits exactly one year ago today, said in a statement, “This decision is great for the City of Philadelphia and especially great for this election. The people of Philadelphia are tired of the corrupting influence of money contributed by big donors overwhelming the intensity of our elections."

Dwight Evans' statement said, "today’s ruling finally brings added clarity to the legal morass that was first created by the original legislation."

And he pointed out that he twice authored, and shepherded through the state House, a state bill that would allow Philly to regulate its own elections, including setting campaign finance rules.

ETA: Knox's camp, through Campaign spokesman Brad Katz, had this to say: "“This is a great first step to ending pay-to-play politics in Philadelphia.”

I was curious about the impact of the ruling on the race, so I asked Zack Stalberg, president of the Committee of Seventy and our partner in this project, what he thought. He said the limits have had a big impact: Keeping the cost of the race low, at $3 million or $4 million per candidate, when, given past elections, it could easily have been a $15 million-per-candidate race.

Obviously, the less candidates have to raise, the less indebted they are to donors or special interests.

"I think it's made it a much more competitive race," Zack said. "There would not be five people capable of winning today if not for the campaign finance limits. But here it is, 40-some days out, and anybody could win."

With one notable exception, the candidates have not been able to buy unlimited ad time either, and that's meant they have had to "actually campaign," Zack said.

We just received this from Chaka Fattah's campaign, from spokesman Solomon Jones:

On behalf of those touched by Chaka Fattah’s 25 year record on violence prevention, education and housing, the Fattah for Mayor campaign will appeal today’s ruling.

We cannot allow one candidate to buy the election while others toil under limits that curtail our ability to share our record of service to Philadelphians. Our decision to appeal goes beyond legalities.

It is about providing Philadelphians with a fair opportunity to hear from each candidate, and make a decision based on their record, their ideas, and their vision for our city's future.

As Clout said on Friday, Sam Katz is writing a mayoral blog for Philadelphia Magazine. Today's post is about his discomfort with the sidelines...but what caught my eye was this at the bottom:

I don’t see anyone this time getting above 30 or below 10 (percent of the vote) — this is an election that will likely be decided by a few thousand votes, or fewer. It could end up in court, just where it began.

Hmm. Courts have been a theme, haven't they? Good Lord, could it really end before a judge instead of in the voting booth?

Not surprising, the Committee of Seventy is very pleased with the decision of the Commonwealth Court regarding campaign contribution limits.

And they're getting their lawyering abilities sharpened up, pledging to get involved with the case if candidate Fattah's appeal is heard by the state Supreme Court:

Congressman Chaka Fattah, a Democratic mayoral candidate who seeks to eliminate all contribution limits, has announced his intent to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.

Zack Stalberg, Seventy’s President and CEO, expressed the organization’s hope that Pennsylvania’s highest court would not agree to hear the case. If they do, Stalberg said that Seventy will file an amicus brief in support of the Commonwealth Court’s decision.

I'm a little concerned about candidate Fattah's intentions here, as is Dan U-A at Young Philly Politics.

Can we all agree that it's good that no one is able to write a $100,000 check to a candidate? Let's just get used to that reality for a while, then we can figure out what to do about the self-funders. Maybe we can figure out a way to keep candidates from "loaning" themselves money, thereby avoiding this particularly sticky situation.

Catherine Lucey just got back from the announcement of Michael Nutter's transportation plan. We'll post the plan as soon as we get the electronic version, but thought it was worth noting that Nutter has made one important promise:

To make SEPTA smell better.

"The smell ... literally prevents people from using this network," he said.

It's funny because it's true.

You know, Fattah's ethics policy paper discusses campaign finance limits. And this is what it says:

Uphold the Law Regarding the City's Campaign Finance Limits. As Mayor, Chaka Fattah will enforce whatever the courts decide regarding the city's campaign finance limits. Mayor Fattah will work to establish a clear set of guidelines for all candidates for city offices to follow, ensuring a level playing field for everyone. Fattah will also strongly back efforts by Gov. Rendell to enact statewide campaign finance reform.

I am sure that Fattah's point is that there isn't a level playing field (hey, here's another opportunity to point out that even self-funded candidates can indeed be beholden to special interests!), and he wants the highest court possible to weigh in on this matter so that he has every opportunity to argue for a level playing field ... but this does seem like a relevant time to point that quote out.

Wendy promised it earlier and here it is - Michael Nutter's transportation plan. You can read the whole plan here or the press release, which sums it up, here.

I'm kinda psyched to see that someone finally took on the regional aspect of mass transit. Solving SEPTA's problems and building a mass transit system that works for Philadelphia is not something that the city can do alone. His ideas, especially the regionalism section, are huge.

This paper also is a first in that it is the first policy paper to take on another candidate's proposal and try to explain why it's not a good idea. In the regional solutions section we get this:

Another candidate has proposed leasing the Airport as a funding mechanism to fight poverty in Philadelphia. This proposal is flawed in both theory and practice. In practical terms, the experimental leasing program authorized by the FAA is slow (the only lease obtained took 34 months to approve and it was for the airport in Newburgh, New York!) and uncertain (if Midway Airport in Chicago receives its expected lease approval, then federal legislation will be needed to allow a second “major hub” lease, which is now prohibited.) But beyond the practical limitations, generations of experience has shown that confronting social challenges like poverty requires the resources of the state and federal governments. It is simply misguided public policy to use limited local resources to meet the responsibilities of higher governments. Democrats since FDR and LBJ have understood that it is wrong to ask orphans to build their own orphanages, and that it is just as wrong for cities to spend down their limited assets to provide limited help for the nation’s poor.

But now I'm torn. I always thought that Fattah's opportunity agenda was a little risky or "pie-in-the-sky" since it depends so heavily on his plan to lease the airport. What's Plan B if the city is unable to do that for the reasons Nutter cites above? A candidate who promises the moon but makes it conditional on an uncertain funding source can always punt down the line if the funding doesn't come through.

However, that goes the same for Nutter. Given recent performance, getting funding from the state and local levels seems to be just as uncertain as getting funding from leasing the airport. For far too long, candidates have promised to "be the guy that can get the city what's coming to it from Harrisburg and Washington D.C." only to become mayors who blame cuts in funding from Harrisburg and D.C. for why the city is unable to provide for its least fortunate or, when it comes to education and the schools, its middle class.

What's the answer? I don't know. But I refuse to fall for the "we'll get the funding from the state and federal governments" line from candidates until I start to see evidence that such a thing can actually be pulled off. By talking about regionalism, Nutter is at least heading in that direction. It will only be by the combined efforts of elected officials in every town and county in Southeastern PA that this area will have the leverage needed to pry that funding loose.

While the Francisville NDC can't endorse any candidate, they sure as heck can "dis-endorse" one:

(edited to add) Full disclosure, this was passed along to me by someone on one of the other campaigns.

Josh at the Metro's Fight For Room 215 talked to Chaka Fattah about his attempts to start a fundraising free-for-all appeal of the Commonwealth Court ruling on campaign finance.

There's the usual line about whether it's fair for Knox to be able to spend so much of his own money while the other candidates are so limited.

Fattah also diagnoses a pretty common rhetorical malady in our partners at the Committee of Seventy:

“I don’t remember a release from the Committee of 70 that if Ed Rendell could take unlimited contributions [in his campaign for governor] it would be chaos and pay-to-play politics,” Fattah said. “It’s like selective amnesia here.”

Since we are all talking about who raises what from whom today...

Late today, Chaka Fattah released his fund-raising totals since January. There was no need for the candidate to do that today, but hey, the journalists of Philly'll take it -- personally, I would rather them tell me often how much they've raised.

Fattah, who raised $1.6 million in his three committees in 2006, raised an additional $748,614 between Jan 1 and March 26. He now has nearly $600,000 cash on hand in his Fattah for Mayor account, the statement said.

"I have seen impressive support from Philadelphians from diverse social and economic backgrounds, and donations ranging from thousands of dollars to just a few," Fattah said in the statement. "But at the end of the day, this is an election, not an auction, and the biggest contribution Philadelphians can make is to support my bid for the Democratic nomination for Mayor on May 15th."

Again, he didn't have to announce his fund-rasing totals -- there is a deadline today for campaign disclosure, but it's only for candidates for statewide office and PACs that give to them. His spokesman later said the campaign "jumped the gun" in the release, but added, "we are proud of the support we've received and we look forward to receiving even more support going forward."

That "more support" may be important. $600,000 is not a ton of money, certainly when stacked up against Knox's seemingly endless ad budget -- and when you consider that Nutter, Brady, Knox and Evans all have ads on the air now.

(edited to add) Here's a reprint of the final version of the press release that was mailed out yesterday.

Match the candidate to what they want to be when they grow up:

Bob Brady
Dwight Evans
Chaka Fattah
Kerry Foster (G)
Tom Knox
Michael Nutter
Al Taubenberger (R)

"Race car driver"
"Professional football player"
"A martial artist"
"A businessman"
"Police officer, like my dad"
"American History teacher"
"Oceanographer"

To promote tonight's Candidate forum on children's issues -- 6:30 to 7:30, Free Library's main branch, RSVP at info@pccy.org -- Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth has interviewed the candidates as if they were 12.

(ETA: The profiles are darling ... on the importance of stickball, "booties up" and parks in their lives. Read the full profiles here; read the PCCY press release here.)

I'll post the answers later today.

Never let it be said that I don't seek out and in many cases welcome opinions that are different from my own. Ben over at YPP shared his thoughts about the municipal pension issue, disagreeing that there is, in fact, a "crisis" as I and others have been saying.

He cites the same PICA report that I've been waving around when he says:

Let’s look at the numbers. According to a report from PICA, employee benefits are going to grow by 25% over the next three years (FY 06=FY 09) and debt service is going to increase by 30% and other spending obligations will increase by 5.7 % whereas is only expected to increase by 7.9 %. So, the city is obviously going to spending a bit more on pensions.

I think there might be a word missing in there but I'm not sure what it is. His point is, that while the increase in pension costs is real, it's also manageable and shouldn't be used as an excuse for cutting programs.

Join their discussion about this and please share your thoughts here as well.

In case you missed this forum on March 5th, I've uploaded the video to our Google Video site.

Or just sit back for an hour and twenty minutes and watch it here:

I encourage you to take a look. This one is pretty entertaining and has a little more back-and-forth among the candidates. It's a nice preview of what the televised debates will be like.

Sorry it's so dark. You should be able to tell who's who.

Antics, baby! Gotta love the antics! From Josh at FFR215:

The attacks against Tom Knox's former role as owner of a bank that gave out payday loans now includes costumes.

Witnesses (see anonymously sent photo) said the costumed shark had "400 percent interest" written on one side and "Tommy the Loan Shark" on the other. .

Josh has a picture and everything. It's not particularly menacing-looking shark. More like a character from Shark Tale or Finding Nemo.

Early word is that it comes from Brady folks.
(edited to add) It was a protest organized by Rev. Shine, the former head of the Black Clergy. This KYW 1060 piece identifies him as "William Shine" but a Google search turns up more hits for "Robert Shine" as the former head of the Black Clergy. The Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity endorsed Dwight Evans but Brady got the backing of a smaller group of black ministers. It's hard to tell if this group, "Economic Justice Coalition for Truth," and Shine are linked with either of those candidates but I'm pretty certain he doesn't like Knox all that much.

Some of you might think that this kind of activity sullies an election. Knox's record as a businessman is as fair game as any of the other candidates' records in public service. I have no problem with someone using a funny costume to draw attention to it just as I'd have no problem with someone dressing as a baby seal outside of Brady's headquarters to highlight his poor environmental record (and yes, for a Democrat, <90% is a poor environmental record) or as a dejected Joe Camel at Michael Nutter's HQ.

As long as the issue being highlighted can be verified in the public record and is not a baseless attack on the personal lives of the candidate or his family, I say the more costumes the merrier.

Where have I heard this (the April 4th entry) before?

Oh yeah. That's right. When I wrote about it as part of this post.

Sam's predictions for turnout and numbers are bit more dire than mine but it's the same basic point - the next mayor could be chosen by the amount of people that can fit into Lincoln Financial Field for an Eagles playoff game.

Get out and vote, people!

Check that... get out and register, people! Then register other people. Then vote.

Every morning I go through a number of other blogs and look for interesting stories about other cities or mayors so I can pass them along to the readers of this blog. I open the links and set them aside as tabs in my Firefox browser with the intention of getting back to them later in the day to post and possibly talk about them.

Then the day happens. I end up in meetings or updating the website or editing video or distracted by searching the internet for pictures of some local person or minor celebirty who, according to Dan Gross's Daily News column, appears sans clothing.

And the links sit there... day after day...

So here they are:

Detroit's hip-hop mayor grows into his job
This one is an interesting article about Kwame Kilpatrick, the guy who was originally elected mayor in 2002 at the ripe old age of 31 - making me wonder what I've been doing with my life. He had a rough go of it through his first term (think Allen Iverson early in his career) but has grown and matured into a pretty effective leader (think Allen Iverson later in his career). Detroit still has a long way to go to recover from some pretty devastating circumstances but it appears that, at least now, they mayor will be aiding, rather than impeding that progress. It's a good profile of the leader of a city that faces many of the same problems that Philadelphia is dealing with.

Simple visions for new City Hall
Boston is getting a new City Hall. No. That's not some metaphor for a shake-up in the way they do government. They're literally getting a new building for their government offices. If you've every been to Beantown and seen "Gov. Center", you can take comfort that while they have a better ballpark, basketball floor, and really-expensive-public-works-project, our City Hall whoops their Gov Center's butt. However, that may be changing soon:

Ordered to imagine the City Hall of the future, about a dozen Boston officials are putting together a wish list that includes things like exotically powered heating and cooling systems and automated services.

Building a new seat of government for the city also allows Boston the chance to take into account changes in the way people conduct transactions:

A major focus of the effort is also examining how and why people use city hall, and how that is changing with new technology. Online transactions have skyrocketed in recent years as residents have grown more comfortable using the Internet to pay their taxes and parking tickets.

I know our City Hall is pretty much sacrosanct and I'd never suggest that we should tear it down (like Ed Bacon is said to have done), but maybe, down the line if city finances stabilize, we can consider changing its role and moving the functions of government to a more efficient, modern, and less imposing building. Just throwing it out there.

D.C. Schools Takeover Gets Initial Approval
Finally, the trend of big city mayors getting control of their city's schools continues. This time in Washington DC. Another young guy (he's 36), Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty, is on his way to joining Michael Bloomberg and Richard Daley in making sure that when it comes to the schools, the buck stops with him. As more cities go this route, we'll have more evidence of whether it works or not and whether it's worth trying here.

Good luck with that, Mr. Fenty.

So...a source tells us that Dwight Evans' announcement today regarding youth jobs will be this:

The state Rep. has secured $800,000 for the Philadelphia Youth Network and the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition to create 600 jobs for youth this summer.

I've argued that employment is the number-one way we can make this city safer (and more prosperous, but that's another post for another day. These programs ALWAYS have waiting lists, by the way, so there is a desire among the city's youth to not be so idle.

You knew this was going to happen, folks: Tom Knox is leading the race for mayor, according to a new Daily News Keystone Poll, which we're bringing to you first (and if you are up at this hour, we want to know why).

The reason that Knox is in the lead? It's not that his percentages grew -- they did, but by a small amount -- it's that Chaka Fattah's fell, from 26 percent in January to 17 percent now.

Meanwhile, Fattah's "favorables" (the percentage of people surveyed who have a favorable opinion of him) fell, and his unfavorables grew. The opposite happened to Knox.

Now, I realize what this says. Advertising works, especially if you can afford to pour it onto TV like so much gravy. Suddenly, Knox's name recognition problem has gone away.

John Baer, in today's Daily News, also points out that Knox has benefited from remarkable luck in this election, with lots of things going his way lately.

But I believe the results of this poll really reflect the candidates' ad strategy at this point in the race. Brady, who has also been advertising heavily and was barely in the race at the last poll, did well too: the percentage of voters who said they would be likely to vote for him jumped from 8 percent to 16 percent.

And on the issues? It's still all about crime, with voters expressing their approval of stop and frisk and, by the way, of the return of John Timoney.

We also asked for voters' opinion of casinos in Philadelphia, and got a classic Philly response. Opinions were divided on whether or not they would be good for the city, but respondents sure didn't like the locations that had been approved.

Read our full coverage of the poll here.

Kudos to D-Mac at Philly Will Do for pointing out this little cherry from the poll before I could get to it:

The follow-up question asks whose ads are most memorable? Not surprisingly, Knox is in the lead with 53%, followed by Bob Brady at 18%, Michael Nutter at 8% and Dwight Evans at 7%.

Fattah has, of course, yet to run a single television advertisement. Maybe they were thinking of one of those NBC 10 promos with Renee Chenault-Fattah.

Those of you who are West Wing junkies like me may recognize the quote from the title. It comes from an episode about a foreign aid vote that's in jeopardy because of a poll saying that 68% of Americans think we give too much foreign aid and 59% think it should be cut. Here's the dialogue that follows (via this site):

Will: You like that stat.
Josh: I do.
Will: Why?
Josh: Because 9% think it's too high and shouldn't be cut. 9% of respondents could not fully get their arms around the question. There should be another box you can check for "I have utterly no idea what you're talking about. Please, God, don't ask for my input."

My reaction was similar when I read the poll late yesterday afternoon. 4% of respondents remember seeing ads that were NEVER ON THE AIR. Now, I know it's close enough to 0% to be considered within the margin error, but I don't doubt that it translates to at least a few thousand people who fall into the "I can't get my arms around the question" category.

I wish, really wish, there had been a question on the poll that asked, "What is your primary source of information about this mayor's race?" And if "primary source of information" is too difficult to understand, how about, "Where do you get most of the stuff you know about the mayor's race?" I'd have offered these choices: television advertisements ("tv commercial"), television news ("Action News," since that's what everyone seems to watch), newspapers, internet, direct mail (or just plain "mail" to make it simple), word of mouth, or the internet.

I guarantee the tv commercial number would have been in the 80s.

I know I'm preaching to the choir when I say this but:

TURN OFF THE DAMN TV. Yes, I know - ironic advice coming from someone who quotes television shows on an almost daily basis but that's not the point.

Read a book. Open a newspaper - to the front part.

Figure out a way to learn as much as you can about each candidate and where they stand on each issue. Go to one of the 8 million mayoral forums that have been and will continue to occur between now and Election Day.

The candidates have actually been doing a fairly admirable job of talking about issues and the newspapers (and, at the risk of sounding too self-promotional) this project have been doing a decent job reporting on what they've been saying. Granted, we still indulge in giving the headlines to ballot challenges, poll numbers and fundraising totals, but the more important stuff is there.

People who claim to be "turned off by politics" or "not interested" (thanks to FFR215 for the video), need to realize that politics affects everything they do in their lives.

Student loan interest rates too high? Politics.
Street marred by potholes? Politics.
The war in Iraq? Politics.
Having to send your kid to private school because you'd never consider the local public high school? Politics.
Can't remember if your recycling day was today or next week? Politics.

I could go on and on.

Early on in this project I found a quote from Plato that's been taped to my computer ever since:

"Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber."

You don't have to run for office to "engage in politics" but you do have to give, at the very least, a rat's ass about the process.

I also realize the futility of expressing these opinions in a blog which is most likely read by people who already do give a rat's ass and more (a hippo's ass?). Guess I just wanted to vent a little. Feel free to join me or defend our fellow Philadelphians.

Ok... my ire has abated... for now.

Philebrity.com, one of the sites out there with a real shot at reaching a segment of the population who don't usually pay a lot of attention to politics, is taking on the challenge of getting their readers involved.

Here's the latest from their "New Rules," of which we are a proud partner:

Visit us at any of the following locations over the next 10 days and we’ll have form and pen ready for you so we can finally topple Philly’s lame machine once and for all. Or something.

Friday 4/6: First Friday, 2nd street north of Market. 5-7pm
Monday 4/9: Clothes Pin in Center City 12-2pm
Tuesday 4/10: UPenn - location TBD 12-2pm
Wednesday 4/11: 7 - 9pm Trocadero Theatre - Shame of the City Screening
Thursday 4/12: Temple University - location TBD 12-2pm
Friday 4/13: Clothes Pin in Center City 12 -2pm
Saturday 4/14: Popped! Show at 1021 N. Hancock St. 2 -7pm

snip

P.S. We still need volunteers. Can you spare a few hours for the sake of Democracy? You can? Get in touch: tips[at]philebrity[dot]com.

Everything you need to know about "New Rules" can be found at PHILEBRITY.COM/NEWRULES.

Today's Clout contains something that everyone who likes those Tom Knox ads needs to know.

It reveals that, back in 1998, Tom Knox was briefly considered as a candidate for mayor...

By Sen. Vince Fumo -- the master political planner and ultimate insider.

It didn't work, because Knox hadn't lived in the city long enough. But, when Fumo settled on Marty Weinberg, Knox was happy to help Fumo back the new candidate: "Knox held a $10,000-a-couple fundraiser for Weinberg and donated 4,000 square feet of office space for his campaign headquarters," Clout reports.

Now, that's one thing. Who doesn't loan out spare office space to help the cause?

But the other thing is this: When Clout first approached the Knox camp with this, they denied any political relationship between the two pols, saying they were "enemies."

After confirming the facts the campaign's response become somewhat softened: "Tom did know Vince when he was exploring his run for mayor in 1999, but that became a non-issue because of the residency requirement. Vince is the epitome of what Tom is running against this time around.”

You know, I had friendships like that in high school. They can get ugly.

Other good stuff in Clout today:

*The guy NEXT to the shark Wednesday? (Confused? We mean this shark.) He's attorney Alex Talmadge. Who is Talmadge close to, when he's not close to a shark? U.S. Rep. Bob Brady.

*Fattah compares his candidacy to both the Easter story and the "Rumble in the Jungle" Ali-Foreman fight in 1974.

Have a great Friday!

Here's the promo copy for Monday's Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane:

Update on Philadelphia's mayoral race. We are heading into the final weeks as the five major democratic candidates head for the May 15th Primary. In this heavily democratic city, next month's winner is favored to win the November general election. We talk with CATHERINE LUCEY, a political reporter for The Philadelphia Daily News, and we'll hear from SAM KATZ, a former Philadelphia mayoral candidate, and DAN POHLIG the blogger for The Next Mayor's Project, which is a joint project between WHYY, The Daily News, & The Committee of Seventy.

Feel free to call in and grill Catherine and me (or Sam).

That's 10am on Monday, April 9th on 91 FM, which you listen to on the internet here.

Can't get enough face time with candidates? Well, several of them will be conducting "meet and greet," "grip and grin," "shake and show" events today and tomorrow.

Just got this one from Fattah who will be at the Gallery today at 5:30pm. My advice: stand by the Cinnabon. No one can resist the smell of a freshly-baked cinnamon bun. If voters associate you with pleasant smells, maybe that'll carry over in the voting booth.

(Wendy added) And on Saturday, Fattah will visit North Philadelphia's 22nd Street commercial corridor, chatting up shoppers, store owners, and supporters at 22nd and Somerset at about 2:30 p.m.

Michael Nutter, who most recently associated himself with the lovely "Essence de Broad Street Subway", will be visiting the Quartermaster Plaza in South Philadelphia, tomorrow at 3:30pm.

(Wendy edited to add more...)

Dwight Evans will be meeting and greeting shoppers in Southwest Philadelphia beginning at 1:15 PM on Saturday, April 7th. Where, you ask? Starting at 1:15 p.m., he'll be between 52nd and 60th Streets on Woodland Avenue; starting at 2 p.m., he'll be at the Island Avenue Shoprite, 2910 Island Avenue.

And Bob Brady will be Takin' it to the Streets this weekend, as he does every weekend, in the Northeast; catch up with him at 12:30 p.m. on Cottman Ave., headed to Roosevelt Blvd., or at 1 p.m. from the boulevard to Adams Ave.

Then, at 1:20, Brady will open a Latino Outreach office at 2753 N. 5th St.

Anyone who reads the Philadelphia Gay News, which has comparisons of the candidates today, may be quite surprised by one candidate's answer to this question:

Do you support extending all the rights that exist for heterosexual married couples to same-sex couples?"

In the print edition, Michael Nutter's response reads, "no." Which would be quite a reversal for the man who wrote the bill that became the city's domestic partnership law.

Obviously, it's wrong -- a typo, the publisher has told the Nutter campaign. It's correct on the Web, and PGN also promised to "print a very clear correction in the following week's issue," the campaign says.

On Monday, Michael Nutter will roll out his plan to create jobs. Details can be found here.

I'm sure many people will be paying close attention to see what he has to say about wage and business tax cuts - either because they really agree with him or because they REALLY disagree. I'm betting tax cuts won't get much play in his plan. They'll be mentioned, but the emphasis will most likely be on other efforts the city can make to enhance commercial corridors, train workers, etc.

We'll have to wait and see.