Daily News Mayor's Race Archive

It wouldn't be the same with Katz (10/19/99)
Smart, aggressive, determined and disciplined are but a few of the words used to describe both Sam Katz and John Street.

He means business (10/19/99)
Sam Katz has proposed an ambitious economic development program called "Philadelphia is Open for Business" that he says will help reverse the loss of jobs and residents from the city. The elements of the Republican mayoral nominee's plan were contained in a 23-page paper released yesterday that attempted to link a broad variety of issues into an integrated blueprint for economic improvement.

After half-century of voting Democrat (10/19/99)
Every election since 1932 - which means for the past 67 years - Max Silverstein has voted Democratic. And now here he is, sitting in the front row of what is supposed to be a joint appearance of the two candidates for mayor, and he's actually thinking about voting Republican. For the first time in his life.

Peace prevails at debate (10/18/99)
Philadelphia's two able, qualified and dull mayoral candidates met in their second televised showdown yesterday morning.

Friendly fire between candidates (10/18/99)
Their words say one thing: That Sam Katz and John Street have sharply different views of how to govern America's fifth-largest city - a battle between a tested government official who says he knows how to make City Hall work and a businessman-outsider who would shake things up. But their style seems to say something altogether different.

Street ad drives home a point (10/18/99)
As the mayoral race enters its final laps, Democrat John Street's campaign is hoping that Sam Katz's private lobbying for state tax dollars for a motor track near Reading will throw a monkey wrench into his GOP rival's stretch drive.

Birthday song for candidate Street (10/16/99)
On the campaign trail at Friends Hospital yesterday morning, Democrat John Street told the Northeast Chamber of Commerce the plain facts: Yesterday was his 56th birthday.

Adding up the figures (10/16/99)
After a confusing day of dueling statistics, the city budget office yesterday released the following estimates of the cost of the Street and Katz wage-tax reductions

A taxing tangle (10/16/99)
Democratic mayoral candidate John Street and his allies continued to slam Republican Sam Katz's wage-tax-reduction plan yesterday, claiming an error in Katz's numbers reveals his inexperience in government.

Sam and John show, on a nearby stage (10/15/99)
Burns and Allen. Martin and Lewis. Sonny and Cher. And now, Sam and John, bringing their increasingly familiar form of political cabaret to a community forum or debate near you, in a limited run ending Nov. 2.

A KATZ GOOF Discrepancy in his numbers looks evident (10/15/99)
Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz's long-awaited plan to reduce the wage tax is full of phrases like "performance measures" and "outcome-based budgeting." The plan itself might be labeled "Faith-Based Tax Cutting."

Talk of big wage tax cut (10/15/99)
Answering John Street's call for a tax plan, Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz proposed a "Philadelphians First" program yesterday that would cut wage taxes 13 percent and dramatically change the way City Hall operates.

Street attack doesn't add up (10/14/99)
Ever since a Daily News/Fox 29 Keystone mayoral poll revealed that he and financial whiz Sam Katz are neck and neck, John Street, who ruled City Council with his legendary control of the city budget, seems to have lost the will to do his math homework.

Behind GOP scene (10/13/99)
With Philadelphia's Republican Party in the hunt for recapturing City Hall after a 48-year absence, party leader Michael Meehan doesn't really mind when Sam Katz tries to downplay his ties to the GOP.

Lots of people just don't care who's mayor (10/13/99)
Philadelphians who don't care at all about the mayor's race are the most cohesive group of city residents.

Street, Katz swap barbs (10/13/99)
John Street says it's time for Sam Katz to stop bragging about the role he played as an adviser to the newly minted Rendell administration on how to dig the city out of its financial crisis in early 1992.

Ridge won't stump here (10/12/99)
If the race for mayor has an "Invisible Man," you could argue that it's Gov. Ridge. For while the state's most prominent Democrat, Mayor (and national party chief) Ed Rendell, is clearly seen as an asset for fellow Democrat John Street, the state's most prominent Republican, Gov. (and VP possibility) Ridge is seen nowhere near Sam Katz.

Clout - Connected (10/12/99)
While Republican Gov. Ridge won't be visible in the race for Philly mayor, his press secretary, Tim Reeves, already is part of the debate.

Out-of-state groups back Street & Katz (10/12/99)
Out-of-state political action committees are pouring thousands of dollars into the Philadelphia mayor's race, often without registering or following other mandates of Pennsylvania law.

Neighborhood activists hear candidates (10/11/99)
They could be called the "B-list" issues of Philadelphia politics: abandoned cars, graffiti enforcement and kids paying to ride city buses to school. But last night, some of these "quality-of-life" issues took center stage in the mayor's race as Republican Sam Katz and Democrat John Street vied to win the support of about 400 neighborhood activists from Kensington, Logan and surrounding areas.

Ex-mayor had much clearer hold on black vote when he ran (10/11/99)
Despite his 19 years in City Council, where he was hailed as Mayor Rendell's partner in rescuing Philadelphia from financial ruin, John Street's support in the black community appears to be softer than W. Wilson Goode enjoyed even after his administration bombed the MOVE house.

For Street, a balancing act (10/11/99)
In his quest to succeed Mayor Rendell, Democrat John Street has been forced to walk a tightrope, balancing his need to invigorate his natural base of support among African-American voters while not alienating white ones.

Readers debate mayoral merits of Katz and Street (10/11/99)
When Gov. George W. Bush becomes president, I'm sure he will cut off all funding for federal programs in Philadelphia's social and liberal agenda. He may even fire all federal appointees. Sam Katz may do the same thing for city appointees.

Both sides try to draw blood in close election (10/09/99)
Pull a cat's tail enough, and he'll scratch back. After several days of negative TV ads from Democratic mayoral candidate John Street, Republican foe Sam Katz swatted back yesterday with a 30-second spot accusing Street of "trying to scare voters and run a negative campaign."

Dems get pep talk for Street (10/09/99)
U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, the city Democratic leader, gave what is called a stirring closed-door pep talk to his ward leaders yesterday on behalf of John Street - in danger of becoming the party's first losing mayoral candidate in 50 years.

Candidates debate (10/08/99)
What George Bush did with the "L-word" in 1988, accusing opponent Michael Dukakis of being a card-carrying liberal, John Street is now trying to do with the "R" word. Sam Katz is really a Republican, Street insisted yesterday in a debate broadcast on public radio and television.

Politics dilutes college forum (10/08/99)
Inviting mayoral candidates to an "issues forum" is a good way to get the media to attend. It's not necessarily a good way to get attention for your cause.

Talent pool is broad (10/08/99)
Philadelphia's next mayor will need a few dozen sharp, loyal people to get things done. There's a cadre of successful managers in City Hall now who are wondering what the future holds. Will some of them stick around?

The candidates do have differing views on tax cuts and school vouchers (10/07/99)
John Street has been hammering away at the differences between himself and Sam Katz on education vouchers and taxes, while Katz has stressed the similarities. This is a glass-half-full or half-empty argument, but the candidates do have genuine differences on the two issues.

Lukewarmly, PFT to endorse Street (10/07/99)
The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers has decided to endorse mayoral candidate John Street, in a move viewed largely as a choice between the lesser of two evils.

It's neck and neck (10/06/99)
The statistics say that it should be a rout, that Republicans can't make it a close race for mayor in a city where Democrats outnumber them 4 to 1, where a GOP nominee hasn't won in the last half-century

Both have supporters in areas of expertise (10/06/99)
Democrat John Street, who started as a community activist, is seen by more Philadelphia voters as the candidate who would improve neighborhoods, city streets and race relations.Republican Sam Katz, a financial consultant by trade, is seen by more Philadelphia voters as the candidate who would do better at cutting taxes, improving the local economy and balancing the city budget if elected mayor.

Brady puts Street together with Fumo (10/06/99)
U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, the city's Democratic chairman, has brokered an alliance between state Sen. Vince Fumo, the prince of South Philadelphia Democratic politics, and mayoral nominee John Streetb>

Street attack (10/05/99)
 Saying "I have the strongest record of tax reduction of anybody in this city," Democratic mayoral nominee John Street yesterday assailed Republican foe Sam Katz for promising to reduce the city wage tax to 4 percent without so far offering a plan to do it.

Registration ends with Dems 4-1 (10/05/99)
Registration for the mayoral election closed at midnight last night, and while final totals aren't available, it's clear Democrats will hold their near 4-to-1 edge.

Katz, Street talk of school violence (10/05/99)
In the wake of violence yesterday at Bartram High School, the Daily News asked the two major-party candidates for mayor what proposals they offered for dealing with disruptive students.

Pols' big question: What's with Jerry? (10/05/99)
It's the No. 2 question that being asked by anyone who's following the Philadelphia mayor's race, right after: "Who's gonna win?" What exactly is Jerry's game?

They focus on issues (10/04/99)
More entertaining on a sunny October weekend than the Eagles' sputtering offense, at least, the first two major debates of the Philadelphia fall mayoral campaign had something for everyone.

No purring from Katz (10/01/99)
Remember all that criticism of Democratic mayoral candidate John Street for taking a week's vacation in late August, little more than two months before the biggest election of life? Well, what about the vacation that GOP candidate Sam Katz seems to be taking with the balloting just five weeks away?

Mayoral hopefuls want more information (10/01/99)
The two leading mayoral candidates reacted yesterday to the City Council resolutions calling on the city administration to provide it with information on the pending deals for new stadiums.

Revolutionary notion (9/30/99)
Just one week after the Daily News expressed amazement at the lack of heat in the mayoralty campaign, John Street has suggested that Sam Katz's education-reform ideas are a "radical, radical, radical departure from anything we have heard in the area of public education."

Candidates courting city's Hispanic voters (9/30/99)
John Street is barreling along in his effort to capture the Hispanic vote. The question is, does it matter?

Street steps up his attack on GOP opponent (9/30/99)
Democratic mayoral candidate John Street sounded like a preacher yesterday, exhorting a coalition of 150 African-American ministers to help him energize their flocks for the coming election.

Happy day for Sam (9/30/99)
Lightning, it seems, can strike the same campaign twice. Former Democratic mayoral candidate Happy Fernandez has decided to support Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz

Many ideas, no funding (9/29/99)
It was 1967 and John Street was a 250-pound substitute teacher at Germantown High School, sporting a size-52 suit and a sense of trepidation. A young teen stepped up to the sub, cursed him out and prophesied that nobody at the school could or would discipline him.

AFSCME locals cool to Street (9/29/99)
If Al Gore's presidential hopes are slowed by "Clinton fatigue" - a national weariness with our president - Democratic mayoral candidate John Street may be running into some Rendell drag when it comes to city union endorsements.

Street rips Katz school voucher plan, calls for debate (9/28/99)
John Street, who took his first jab at mayoral rival Sam Katz in a TV ad over the weekend, threw a left hook at the GOP candidate yesterday.

When pols' polls just don't add up (9/28/99)
A poll of Philadelphia voters found mayoral candidates Sam Katz and John Street in a statistical dead heat. Another poll found John Street with a 23-percentage-point lead.

Street TV ads hit Katz on school aid (9/25/99)
With just over five weeks until Election Day, John Street is going after Sam Katz on TV.

Clout (9/24/99)
It had the feel of a routine endorsement, in this case the Democratic District Attorney Lynne Abraham standing by the Democratic mayoral contender John Street. But Street says don't be blinded by mere politics.

Candidates make pitch to retailers (9/24/99)
They were developers, Realtors and retailers and nearly all of them had one thing in common: But for nine or 10, almost none were registered to vote in Philadelphia.

Critics tread on Street (9/24/99)
Mayoral candidate John Street didn't have time to attend a state House hearing on campaign finance reform. But if his ears felt an occasional tingle yesterday, it may have reflected the criticism directed Street's way by several campaign reform advocates, stunned by some of Street's recent comments on political fund-raising

School vouchers: Confusion's the issue (9/23/99)
As a political issue in a mayoral campaign, vouchers are like abortion. The candidates can talk all they want about both issues but can't do much about either.

Spinning again (9/23/99)
It used to be called simply "PR" and it didn't matter much to the average voter. Today, it's called "spin" - celebrated even in a hit TV show called "Spin City" - and it's considered critical to winning elections.

Some gun sense from Street and Katz (9/23/99)
By now, everyone is used to politicians promising the moon and the stars. Now come politicians promising a lawsuit. John Street, borrowing a page from State Rep. Dwight Evans' playbook to be the Democratic nominee for mayor, has announced that, if elected, he will sue gun manufacturers for the violence their product produces.

There's no downside to promising (9/22/99)
I don't get it. And I don't buy it. I don't get why John Street refuses to say whether he'll reappoint John Timoney as police commissioner if Street wins the mayor's race in November.

Terminal views on the big race (9/22/99)
One guy said he didn't give a "flying fandango" about the upcoming mayoral election. Another said Hizzoner, Ed Rendell, should run for a third time, despite what the city charter says.

Analysts see retention of top cop as an issue (9/22/99)
Might the bright lights of New York City beckon Police Commissioner John Timoney? That's what the latest issue of New York magazine speculates in its Intelligencer column. The item says that several candidates in the 2001 mayoral race have been talking with former New York Police Commissioner William Bratton and Timoney about one or the other coming back in their administrations.

Gun makers in their sights (9/22/99)
Sometimes, even in campaigns, you hear it: a straight answer. Yesterday, Democratic mayoral candidate John Street said he will do what Mayor Rendell hasn't and sue the nation's firearm manufacturers for gun violence in the city's streets.

So far, it's a yawn (9/22/99)
In exactly 41 days, a remarkable thing is going to happen in the city of Philadelphia. Voters may turn over the reins of power in City Hall to a Republican for the first time since Harry Truman was in the White House and the Athletics played baseball in Shibe Park.

Plan may take too much time (9/20/99)
On Labor Day, Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz released a plan to improve performance and reduce the cost of government through cooperative efforts with city. Is Katz's plan sound?

Street eyes new push on issues (9/20/99)
More debates. More talk about the issues. Less talk about politics. That's the strategy that some political insiders are pushing for one of the leading mayoral candidates as the race to succeed Mayor Rendell enters its frantic final six weeks.

Candidates still awaiting decision from some bigs (9/16/99)
John White Jr.'s surprise endorsement of Republican Sam Katz may be the biggest event so far in the race to succeed Mayor Rendell, but there are other key players still undecided. Here's a look:

Mayor: They must have made a deal (9/16/99)
Mayor Rendell first soft-pedaled the impact of Democrat John F. White Jr.'s stunning endorsement of Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz, when asked about it yesterday. Then he said it was probably part of a political deal, a concept that is probably not unfamiliar to the mayor.

John, more may jump ship if you don't make changes in style (9/16/99)
There are plenty of powerful messages contained in John White's enthusiastic endorsement of Sam Katz for mayor. And, if he's listening, one of them might even help John Street figure out why one of the city's most charismatic Democratic leaders has embraced the GOP candidate for mayor.

Talk abounds after comment on difficulty of finding quality black men (9/16/99)
There's no transcript to document his words, no tape recording to reproduce the voice inflections that might shade his meaning. But John Street's remarks during an Aug. 31 meeting about the alleged difficulty of hiring qualified black men has generated lots of talk.

Yes to Street's PICA Plan (9/15/99)
The relationship between Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority has been about as unwieldy as the agency's name.

Political bombshell: White to back Katz (9/14/99)
In a move that will rock Philadelphia's political world, John White Jr. - the Democratic mayoral candidate who lost the May primary but became a favorite of liberal voters who may decide the November election - is slated to cross party lines and today endorse the GOP's Sam Katz.

Street demands debate on education (9/14/99)
It was a strange sight indeed. John Street, Democratic mayoral candidate and presumed front-runner, stood in front of Smedley Elementary School in Frankford yesterday and challenged his Republican opponent, Sam Katz, to a debate on school vouchers and the future of public education.

Street gets `touchy-feely' (9/11/99)
What did 19 years on the Philadelphia City Council teach John Street? Turn your television on in the next week and you're liable to find out, over and over again, as the Democratic nominee for mayor kicks off his air war for the hearts and minds of voting Philadelphians.

A moving account on voting (9/10/99)
I've known Tommie St. Hill for years. But I've only recently discovered just how much smarter he is than yours truly. For one thing, he left the daily grind of journalism while you-know-who didn't. And, for another, while he and I both live in the 'burbs, he still votes in Philadelphia.

Clout (9/10/99)
Most of John F. White Jr.'s closest political allies are urging the defeated Democratic mayoral candidate to cross party lines and endorse Republican Sam Katz in the fall election, political sources say, and there's a strong possibility that White will do just that, perhaps as early as next week.

Dem candidate thinks giving state oversight may get more school funding (9/8/99)
If a state oversight board could help pull the city out of fiscal disaster in the early '90s, mayoral candidate John Street figures it might work again, this time for the Philadelphia School District.

Mayor race under way - and there IS a choice: Interested yet? You should be (9/7/99)
This week marks the traditional beginning of the mayoral election campaign. Are we interested yet?

Street, Katz labor for union voters (9/7/99)
Democrat John Street got to walk in the Labor Day parade yesterday and received a polite, but far from enthusiastic response, from a small crowd of union members.

Katz wants debates (8/25/99)
Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz has asked Democratic opponent John Street to meet with him in at least 25 debates or public forums before the Nov. 2 election.

Whose poll is correct is a matter of opinion (8/24/99)
Are Sam Katz, bidding to become Philadelphia's first Republican mayor in a half-century, and Democrat John Street locked in a dead heat with the election just 10 weeks away?

Will Katz be the Rizzo of 1999? (8/23/99)
The dynamics in the mayoral contest between John Street and Sam Katz are a replay of Wilson Goode's re-election against Frank Rizzo in 1987.

Police discontinue sales of old guns (8/21/99)
With no fanfare, the Philadelphia Police Department has halted the controversial practice of re-selling its older guns back into public circulation as it buys new ones, and is now likely to melt down any outdated weapons.

Campaigner Katz steps on the Gas Works (8/20/99)
With the headquarters of the Philadelphia Gas Works as a backdrop, Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz had the perfect foil yesterday.

The campaign trail goes through Logan (8/19/99)
When Republican Sam Katz arrived on 11th Street to meet residents of the city's sagging and blighted Logan section, he was quickly greeted by Elizabeth Girod, a forceful, elderly woman.

Candidate Katz takes the initiative (8/19/99)
What do Philadelphia's mayoral candidates think of the Redesigning Government collaborative between labor and management? Ironically, it's the Republican who likes it.

Street & Katz spar on union backing (8/17/99)
Like a dormant volcano, the simmering mayoral election battle between Republican Sam Katz and Democrat John Street unexpectedly boiled over yesterday in a heated war of words over a national labor leader's surprise broadside at Katz.

Low Profile: Some pundits think front-runner Street should be out hustling votes anyway (8/16/99)
Last Tuesday night, Democratic mayoral nominee John Street took the stage for Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky's annual comedy night, told a few jokes and did something he hasn't done much since winning the primary in May.

Sam Katz filed timely $$ reports (8/12/99)
Your editorial (Aug. 6) on financial disclosure in the mayor's race made excellent points, but failed to address two others.

Pols stand up for Variety Club (8/11/99)
Did you hear the one about the two serious policy wonks who walked into a comedy club? The punchline is that Democrat John Street and Republican Sam Katz were funny enough at the annual Stu Bykofsky Candidates Comedy Night charity event last night to give Philadelphians a glimmer of hope that the next four years won't mean soaring deficits of humor at City Hall.

First mayoral debate is set (8/10/99)
Street. Katz. And Mondesire's got 'em! Democrat John Street and Republican Sam Katz have agreed to their first mayoral debate, sponsored by the local chapter of the NAACP.

Philly pols spend most (8/9/99)
After years of watching Mayor Ed Rendell and his would-be successors tap dozens of wealthy campaign contributors for donations of $10,000, $20,000 or more, Philadelphians might think this is normal behavior for big-city pols.

Can the city set rules for campaigns? (8/9/99)
Can Philadelphia set its own rules to reduce the influence of money in city politics? That's what New York, Los Angeles and many other cities have done.

Katz dogs Street for ducks (8/9/99)
Democratic mayoral candidate John Street has been skipping joint appearances with his Republican opponent, Sam Katz, and the Katz people are grumbling.

Showing us the money (8/6/99)
Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz has called on the Pennsylvania Legislature to change the commonwealth's campaign finance laws. John Street has responded that he, too, favors reform.

Clout - Connected (7/30/99)
Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz was goofing around during a photo shoot with photographer David Fields when he gave the hearty Philadelphia traffic salute you see below.

Candidates have lots of cash (7/21/99)
With the race for mayor already swimming in cash, both mayoral candidates are scrambling for high ground on the issue of campaign finance reform.

Welker vote fraud: Ooops! (7/16/99)
Lawyer Bruce Marks, who briefly won a seat in the state Senate by convincing a federal judge that he was the victim of vote fraud, is on the case again.

Katz wants delay on PGW actions (7/15/99)
Republican mayoral contender Sam Katz has asked the Rendell administration to stop trying to fix what may be broken at financially and politically troubled PGW, the city-owned natural gas utility.

Welker files 5th District primary challenge in U.S. court (7/15/99)
Believing a May primary victory was stolen from her, Fairmount businesswoman Julie Welker took her complaint to federal court yesterday and did so with a lawyer who well knows the slimy underbelly of Philadelphia electoral politics.

Katz dogs Street for ducks (7/9/99)
Democratic mayoral candidate John Street has been skipping joint appearances with his Republican opponent, Sam Katz, and the Katz people are grumbling.

White's coy on Street request for his support (7/8/99)
The No. 3 candidate in May's Democratic mayoral primary had a lunch date yesterday with winner John Street at new political hot spot Treetops, but the former housing chief is still withholding his endorsement for now.

Katz: Reform election finances (7/7/99)
Declaring that the 1999 mayor's race is too expensive and some donations for it too large, Republican candidate Sam Katz says the Legislature should step in to reform Pennsylvania's campaign-finance laws.

For past articles, click here.