http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/...on/6855243.htm

"RE RUTH Rosen's cry for help for John Street (letters, Sept. 19), disguised as a warning about the evil Republican Party and its desire to grab Pennsylvania in 2004:

I am a Democrat, I voted for Gore in 2000, and I will not be voting for Mr. Bush in 2004.

Nonetheless, I will NOT vote for Mayor Street, and am actively working to defeat him. I don't buy the bogus argument that I need to put up with a toothache of a man like Mr. Street in order to prevent Pennsylvania from being nabbed by the Republican Party.

When Mr. Bush comes to town, he is not campaigning for Sam Katz - he never even entered the city limits. His target is the suburbs that elected Ed Rendell governor. Without suburban backing, Rendell would not be in Harrisburg.

The argument that we as taxpayers must continue to pay through the nose and receive damn near nothing in return so that the state does not fall into the hands of "drooling" Republicans is nonsense. The Democratic Party locally stands for the interests of a connected few, who pay Street directly and are lavished with contracts, jobs, etc., in return.

The Democratic Party locally needs a serious wakeup call - they do not stand for the working taxpayers of any color here. Any progress made by Rendell (most of which was public relations anyway) has been stopped by Street.

Mature adults can be expected to understand that their self-interest can be met both by voting for Sam Katz this November and the Democratic candidate next November. Street's bleating about the evils of the Republicans is a pathetic and transparent attempt to conceal the cold, hard facts that he has made no headway in four years, that the city is not moving forward, that people continue to leave when they can, whether they're black or white, Democrat or Republican.

Don't fall for the kind of boring nonsense in Ms. Rosen's letter.

Use your mind, vote for Sam Katz, and then take care of the national situation next year.

You can have your cake and eat it, too."

That was indeed a very good letter, well expressed. If only more voters actually used their brains.

I agree, excellent article.

I fail to see how the Democrats are "more on the side of the working guy" just because they take their bribes and kickbacks from organized labor instead of big business.

you're not supposed to ask questions. just smile and nod.

:roll:

__________________
Jason
Lynn Swann 06'

"Individualism is absent when other peoples' standards, not reality and reason, are ones primary guide."

Well, of course, it's the Democrats' traditional connections with the unions that allow them to make that claim. But Street can't even get that right, as is evidenced by that crazy "blow-up" of his with DC 33 the other day.

Those of you who are in the "Democrats for Katz" camp and trying to convince politically progressive types who are on the fence might use this argument: By voting for Street, you're actually voting for the conservative candidate - the one who stands for entrenchment, preserving the status quo, etc. Katz - the Republican - is the progressive! If you vote for candidates who believe in moving things foward and improving things, then Katz is your guy.

Following is a letter that Sam Katz sent to Democratic Committee People:

Date: September 23, 2003
To: Democratic Committee People
From: Sam Katz
Subject: Restoring the Optimism of a Growing Philadelphia

Like many of you who have contacted me, I was disappointed to learn that Bob Brady, Chairman of the Democratic City Committee, sent a letter trying to create a connection between George W. Bush and me. I respect the work Bob has given the Democratic Party through years of loyal service.

However, in this election, with so much at stake and the future of
Philadelphia on the line, that letter is a great disservice to the many
Committee people who are more concerned with restoring the growth that we all enjoyed under Ed Rendell than in attempts to divert attention from
John Street.

The misleading points in Mr. Brady's letter do not stand up to scrutiny.

* A vote for me is not a vote for Bush. I have no more chance of
swaying Philadelphia in the presidential or senatorial election than did
Rudy Giuliani in New York City, Dick Riordan in Los Angeles, or even Tom
Ridge here in Pennsylvania. New York City and Los Angeles are and will
continue to be solid Democrat cities. With Tom Ridge in Harrisburg, Al
Gore took our state in 2000 by more than Bill Clinton in 1996.

* Also, Governor Rendell relied on Republicans who support him to vote
Democrat. He appealed to them to look to the person, not the party. I am making the same appeal.

* As a former Democrat and longtime independent thinker, I intend to
work with the majority in City Council who will be Democrats. Should I
attempt to lead in any but bipartisan fashion, I will not be serving the
interests of the voters or the City. This includes hiring Democrats as
well as Republicans to fill City positions. I will not, as Mr. Brady
suggests, hand out jobs solely to Republicans.

* I intend to work cooperatively with Governor Rendell and the State
Legislature for the betterment of Philadelphia. It was Governor Ed
Rendell who started the City's aggressive plan to cut the wage tax - cuts
that Mayor Street opposed as recently as this year. It was Governor Ed
Rendell this year who praised State legislators for offering legislation
that would dramatically and immediately cut Philadelphia's wage tax. It
was also Governor Ed Rendell who blamed Mayor Street for wasting away the surplus the former Mayor helped build.

* This month, I have introduced a series of plans to help Philadelphia
regain home rule of our education system, something Mayor Street lost in
his short and unsuccessful tenure as leader of the School District. I
want to attract and retain more teachers, bring in more support from the
business community, work better with health care providers and
health-related non-profits, honor Mayor Street's forgotten promise to
adequately fund early childhood education and restore the confidence of
parents that their children's needs are being addressed. I want to return
the control of our schools to the City. This City should not forget the
Mayor's documented attempts to sink the State takeover.

* I have the experience, both as a co-founder of Public Financial
Management and CEO of Greater Philadelphia First, to help right the
finances of this City. When Rendell, who borrowed money to bail out the
City, was looking to bring the growth that the City experienced in the
1990s, he turned to my company. When Bill Green was trying to reverse a $223 million School District deficit, he appointed me to the School Board, where I served as budget chairman.

* From 2000 to 2002, 34 people left our city each day. This City
hemorrhaged jobs at a rate of more than 15 per day, well above the
national rate in other urban areas. While Philadelphia lost jobs, the
regional job base grew by more than 13 percent. The Mayor has neither
addressed these pressing issues nor offered any indication that he views
this as a problem.

* I have proposed a plan to grow the City by 60,000 jobs during my
term by lowering wage and businesses taxes. High City taxes have driven people, businesses and jobs out of Philadelphia. Our City's tax burden is among the highest in the nation and is much higher than our surrounding suburbs. A family of four with a household income of $40,000 pays $5,776 in total taxes if they live in Philadelphia and only $3,776 if they live in the suburbs. A small business with annual sales of $4 million and a net income of $323,000 would pay $53,163 in taxes if they are located in Philadelphia, but only $42,460 if they move across the City line. This savings of $2,000 for residents and $10,703 is hard to ignore.

The sad facts, left out of Mr. Brady's plea on behalf of John Street, are
stark: The homicide rate is up; arrests are down; NTI is stalled;
businesses are fleeing; Mayor Street is offering no new solutions to
Philadelphia's many problems. Those of us who have seen this City in
better times understand that this is not about partisan politics; it's
about who is best for the City.

As Mr. Brady's fellow Carpenter, Ed Coryell, Sr., said when he announced his union's endorsement, "This year, we are not Democrats, and we are not Republicans. At a time when our City needs us the most, we are looking to its future. Only Sam Katz has a vision of what that future should and needs to be."

Our campaign is encouraged by the CBS-KYW Channel 3 poll, which gave us a 6-point lead with less than two months to go, as well as a 48-41 percent edge over the Mayor among union households. It also showed that a quarter of Street's supporters would no longer vote for him. These are all a reflection of the broad-based coalition of voters my campaign has worked hard to form. But it is important to continue the hard work and add to the nearly 40 percent of Democratic voters who already support me.

On Election Day, I hope that you will join me in looking to Philadelphia's
future. Only together, as One Team, One Philadelphia can we restore
optimism, confidence and growth to a City we all love and are proud to
call home.

From: http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/...on/6912198.htm

Why Sam Katz is the man to elect on Nov. 4
By PETE SMITH

I AM WRITING not as a Republican leader, which I am, but as a neighbor and fellow Philadelphian.

We are now considering which candidate for mayor is the most qualified to rejuvenate Philadelphia. Our city has so much to offer, yet we fail to utilize our greatest assets - ourselves. Over the last 50 years our population has decreased by more than 1 million people. As other major cities continue to grow and become stronger, ours declines and becomes weaker. The fifth largest city in the United States is in danger of being surpassed by Phoenix.

Philadelphia colleges offer the best higher education in the country. The Penn's Wharton School educates the best and brightest business leaders in the world. Yet when these individuals graduate, they move and take jobs in other cities.

Businesses leave and new companies rarely consider relocating to Philadelphia because of the city wage and business taxes, the highest in the country. Four years ago, then-Mayor Ed Rendell put a plan into place to reduce the wage tax, which the current administration tried to stop.

Four years ago, Mayor Rendell left the city with a $2.5 billion surplus. Now the current administration is telling us that by the end of four years we will have a $5 billion deficit. If true, city services will have to be cut, and city employees will lose their jobs.

We've already had the schools and Parking Authority taken over by the state because of mismanagement. What's next? PGW.

We live in a city where the mayor is photographed with a convicted felon and alleged drug dealer, a slap in the face for thousands of police officers who fight crime every day.

He walks over ailing firefighter Mary Kohler jingling the bathroom keys at her with an arrogance that only John Street can display. The mayor is proud that Operation Safe Streets has shut open-air drug markets, but drug dealing is still rampant, conducted indoors and via cell phone.

Murder rates are up, and arrests are down. The tragedy is that our children are caught in the crossfire. On the one-year anniversary of Safe Streets, the mayor was able to ride around the city with the press and conduct more than 100 arrests and impound large quantities of drugs and money. Why are the police not given the resources to fight crime like that every day?

It is time for us, the citizens of Philadelphia, to take back control of our city. This is a city of the people for the people.

This is not a black-and-white issue. Sam Katz has displayed the willingness to bring all Philadelphians together regardless of race, religion or political affiliation. He has a clear vision for the future of Philadelphia to grow jobs and economic stability, to rebuild homes instead of just tearing them down.

A product of our public-school system, Sam wants to bring excellence back to our schools.

John Street has had four years; he has not shown anything to warrant re-election. As a taxpayer and as a citizen, you must look to the future of the city.

On Nov. 4, YOU will make the choice that will reshape the future of Philadelphia. No matter what your party affiliation, YOU must decide, YOU must come out and pull the lever. It is up to you Philadelphia to make a difference. Step up and vote!