http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/...on/6959258.htm

I AM A lifelong, die-hard Democrat, someone who does not easily pull a Republican lever.

But, having worked on two of Ed Rendell's campaigns, and having served in the Rendell administration's first term as his director of constituent services and as Councilman Frank DiCicco's chief of staff for nearly eight years, I quit my job and am now working on Sam Katz's campaign for mayor.

Over the past four years, I have become increasingly disillusioned with how our government is being run.

To be blunt, this is a government that is dysfunctional. We have a mayor who surrounds himself with people who cannot do the job and whom he refuses to fire.

We have a mayor who attempts to micromanage everything, including City Council. We have well-intentioned programs that are failing because of mismanagement.

We have a mayor who has a siege mentality, who has vowed a "scorched earth" policy for anyone who supports Sam Katz.

And as bad as it looks from the outside, I can assure you that from an insider's perspective what is happening is positively terrifying.

After being handed a substantial surplus, the city is headed for bankruptcy. Serious crime is up, and arrests are down. We are losing business and population. We have one of the highest tax burdens in the country, with a mayor who opposed reductions in the wage tax.

There is no effort made to work in a collegial manner with Council. In fact, if you challenge the mayor, your district gets nothing. Only a few get the "goodies," and the rest are left behind.

And the mayor surrounds himself with thugs and bullies who intimidate and threaten those who dare to express an opinion different from the mayor's.

That is not a way to run a city. That is not a way to unite the diverse groups that make up Philadelphia. And it is easy to make a choice in the seclusion of a voting booth, where no one sees who you vote for.

I felt so strongly that Sam Katz is the person we need to govern this city that I quit a good job to work on his campaign. By doing so, I have probably alienated many people in the Democratic Party - in fact, I was already sent a "message" about "remembering that I'm a Democrat" from John Dougherty, the head of the Electricians Union, via one of his operatives.

But Sam Katz has the knowledge, the ability and the strength to effectively govern Philadelphia. Sam's company was Ed Rendell's partner in the "Philadelphia Miracle" that helped turn Philadelphia around in 1992. Sam's business expertise has been sought by other municipalities. He has a plan to attract new businesses and give new life to our neighborhoods and a vision for our future.

He will be a mayor for all people, not just a select few. It is time to look beyond party politics and look to the person who will revitalize and re-energize Philadelphia.

This election has nothing to do with charm, regardless of what is said by the Ed Kirlins (OpEd Sept. 30) of the city. It has everything to do with who is best to lead the city forward, to recapture the energy and enthusiasm of the Rendell years and to revitalize the city. The status quo is not good enough.

We can do better, and under Sam Katz's leadership we will.

That's why I'm proud to be a Democrat for Katz.


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Is this Robin?

I've heard a lot about you, particularly through my work with the Callowhill Neighborhood Association. Remember McDonalds?

I'm a democrat for Katz because he's inclusive. He seems to have the best interests of the city and its citizens. Street shakes hands with convicted drug dealers AND those convicted of assaulting police. He seems to be very distant from the gay community, which is particulary important to me. Katz has shown up at gay functions, bars and has shown his support for us as citizens and human beings.

I only hope that when Katz is mayor, he sees the "Safe Streets" as a smoke screen. Instead of just putting police on corners in full dress, why not put them undercover and start arresting the dealers? To me it would make so much more sense.

Peter.




[quote="niksiz"]http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/...on/6959258.htm

I AM A lifelong, die-hard Democrat, someone who does not easily pull a Republican lever.

But, having worked on two of Ed Rendell's campaigns, and having served in the Rendell administration's first term as his director of constituent services and as Councilman Frank DiCicco's chief of staff for nearly eight years, I quit my job and am now working on Sam Katz's campaign for mayor.

...rest deleted:

Not being sarcastic, but how do you know they aren't currently doing that as well? It's not like they can go to the local media and say, "In addition to the Safe Streets program, we have 25 undercover officers currently attempting to infiltrate major drug rings."

Well, they may be, but ultimately it's a question of resources. By concentrating such a high percentage of resources (both human and financial) in this one program, the police are presumably not able to devote sufficient attention to other kinds of operations, such as undercover deals. Maybe it's apples & oranges - the beat cops who do Safe Streets aren't the same as the detectives who do undercover work - but overall it seems like a dubious allocation of finite resources, especially given how much it's costing in overtime.

I was left with the impression, after talking to a few cops, that the operation was more of a smoke screen. Of course, it's possible that they wouldn't divulge that there were undercover operations...

Speaking of finite resources, did you know that City Council is set to vote on giving themselves a 15% raise and a big raise to other city workers?

Given that Street is talking about job and services cutbacks, it might be a good idea that they remain at the same pay level:

Here's an opion: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/6957338.htm

I would hope not, simply for their and any other undercover officer's safety.

If it is a case of being nothing more than window dressing, to make some nice looking statistics, that's a real shame.

I agree. I think it's safe to assume that there are still under cover operations. I know they have vice stings in my neighborhood once in a while.

okay, last month's philly Independent had an article on Safe Streets that interviewed two cops. very informative and a must read if you can find a copy. basically, it is a smoke screen. they said many cops doubled their salary in OT last year. moreover, when asked about OT the officers replied "he's up for reelection, we'll go back to voluntary OT after the election." they scare away drug dealers and allow kids to play in the neighborhoods but the dealers are still there, only inside. they also said they had no idea how the mayor planned to pay for it but hoped he knew what he was doing. Safe Street is a short term solution to a big problem. pick up that copy as it talks about a local temple students movie shot at the divine lorraine and a few months ago wrote about the history of the Victory bldg.