Inquirer Coverage of the Mayor's Race

Updated November 3rd, 1999

John Street Is Elected Mayor As Katz Concedes Tight Race (11/03/99)
John F. Street, a onetime vendor who rose to become City Council president, yesterday was elected to succeed Edward G. Rendell as mayor of the nation's fifth-largest city

In a city of Democrats, victory was theirs to give (11/03/99)
Party trumped race.

Mayoral race now in hands of voters (11/02/99)
Let the voting begin. Today, Philadelphians go to the polls to pick a new mayor, capping a record-setting, $25 million campaign to succeed Edward G. Rendell. Finally, voters will get a chance to choose between two men they have seen often on TV commercials and at neighborhood forums over the last year: Democrat John F. Street and Republican Sam Katz.

Some election 'troops' receive battle pay (11/01/99)
After all the millions of dollars of TV ads have been booked, after piles of money have been spent for polling and literature, after the campaign consultants have gotten their sizable paychecks, there will be one more thing left to do tomorrow, Election Day: Spend more money.

Katz and Street seek to gain the faith of churchgoers (11/01/99)
Observing an honored custom in Philadelphia politics, John F. Street and Sam Katz settled into the pews of predominantly African American churches yesterday to do a little political evangelizing

Why Sam Katz could pull it off (10/31/99)
The moment has arrived. Gathered for the last time in the Great Hall of Deliberation, the Ferrick Commission is about to fulfill its solemn duty as Official Handicapper to the Race for Mayor.

Loyal Democrats, many black, support Street. White Democrats could go for Katz. Scores are undecided. (10/31/99)
In 4 key wards, indecision lingers

Street, Katz: Turnout Critical (10/31/99)
The longest and most grueling mayoral campaign in Philadelphia's modern history flashes to the finish Tuesday with both John F. Street and Sam Katz having a good shot to win.

Heading to finish line, candidates shifting advertising focus (10/30/99)
The final ads of the mayoral campaign are on television - and on and on and on - and they help point out why John F. Street is in a tighter race than many had thought possible after he won the Democratic primary in May.

White works crowds with Katz as Clinton turns out for Street (10/30/99)
While John F. Street was campaigning with President Clinton yesterday in an attempt to rally city Democrats, Sam Katz was downplaying the importance of party affiliation and stumping with his own biggest Democratic supporter - John White Jr.

Clinton joins the campaign in Phila. (10/30/99)
In an uncommon display of presidential political clout in a local election, President Clinton came to Philadelphia yesterday to pump up the Democratic faithful and boost the mayoral campaign of John F. Street.

Third-party candidate getting respect (10/29/99)
For most of the campaign, John P. McDermott, the Constitutional Party candidate for mayor, has suffered the fate of nearly all third-party nominees: almost total invisibility. But he is getting some attention now. He just might hold the edge between victory and defeat.

Grudgingly, Council Democrats back Street (10/29/99)
It was supposed to be an impressive show of support from some of the people who know John F. Street best: the Democratic members of City Council who had worked with him for years. Instead, the focus became the politicians who looked as if they had to be dragged to the stage.

Katz: Contender in final round (10/29/99)
Today, while John F. Street marshals support from President Clinton and other Democratic dignitaries, Republican Sam Katz will be campaigning for mayor the same way he has for the last year: on stage alone, promoting his business acumen and civic vision, downplaying his party affiliation and lack of government experience.

Costly ads aren't cutting it (10/29/99)
There it was, the Sunday paper, reduced to little more than a sloppy heap on the edge of Dolores Finnegan's sofa. With the mayoral election only days away, Finnegan had given the newspaper a good once-over. And, boy, was she annoyed. "I'm appalled at the money they've been spending," she said after reading that all the candidates vying to succeed Mayor Rendell had spent more than $23 million.

In their last debate, striving to be upbeat (10/29/99)
For many voters, it will stand as their final image of John F. Street and Sam Katz: two weary men in blue suits leaning their heads together in a moment of shared relief.

The Street and Katz comedy hour (10/28/99)
Unlike many political campaigns, in which candidates have to be coaxed into one or two face-to-face debates, the 1999 mayor's race has been full of debates. Republican Sam Katz and Democrat John F. Street have been on the same stage so often, they seem to have perfected their routines. Like a cranky vaudeville act or a bickering but stable married couple, they can be entertaining to watch

In Wissinoming, Katz says point isn't politics (10/28/99)
Though the neighborhood is a Democratic Party stronghold, the mayoral candidate who came to the Wissinoming Civic Association's candidate forum last night was the Republican.

Candidates spar, speak, seek celebrities (10/28/99)
After a feisty morning exchange, mayoral candidates John F. Street and Sam Katz went their separate ways yesterday: Street continued his parade of celebrity Democratic endorsements and Katz lay low, attending a son's birthday and speaking in the evening at two neighborhood forums.

Running hard, Street's on track (10/28/99)
Boosted by top Democrats, he touts his experience and his party

Street, Katz fire big guns during debate (10/27/99)
As the dead-even mayoral race entered its final week, Democrat John F. Street and Republican Sam Katz finally began to drop the gentlemanly demeanor and the gloves last night, turning a live television roundtable into an exchange of roundhouse punches.

Candidates pump up the party faithful (10/27/99)
For months, Sam Katz had been hesitant to be seen in the company of known Republicans. Last night, he was seen with 1,000.

Kennedy coming to city - and Street's aid (10/27/99)
Continuing to emphasize that he is the Democrat in the mayor's race, John F. Street is bringing to the city a nationally known politician whose very name - Kennedy - personifies the Democratic Party.

Legendary Democratic leader backs Katz (10/27/99)
Samuel L. Evans, the nonagenarian activist who was once called "the godfather of black political empowerment" in Philadelphia, says he won't be voting for the Democratic candidate for mayor this year.

Voters can give mayor more say over school board (10/27/99)
Little noticed among the city's mayoral and City Council elections is a ballot measure that, if approved, would have an effect on the way public schools are run - and on the debate about the best ways to fix them.

For Council at-large (10/27/99)
Philadelphia's next chief executive will need more than the support of a cooperative and focused City Council. He'll also need a smart and imaginative Council to move the city from the level of just surviving to actually thriving.

Clinton gives national heft to city race (10/26/99)
Throwing himself into the Philadelphia mayoral election, President Clinton said yesterday that the outcome could have a domino effect on national politics.

Katz: Get city involved in stadium site (10/26/99)
Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz last night told the leaders of the city's tourism industry that city government has to be "a major player" in deciding where the Phillies' new ballpark is constructed.

The pockets are deep (10/26/99)
Their pursuit and spending of Other People's Money has blown away all previous records for a Philadelphia mayoral campaign. Sam Katz and John Street have raised about $14 million so far and are still going strong.

For City Council (10/26/99)
The Republican Party in Philadelphia may have a mayoral candidate who is drawing attention, but it has managed to round up challengers for only five of the nine district seats on City Council now held by Democrats.

Katz strategy: Charm, disarm, and do not alarm (10/25/99)
Republican mayoral nominee Sam Katz's carefully crafted campaign strategy has brought him into a dead heat with Democrat John F. Street, who is better known and has a bigger war chest and a much larger political party behind him.

Sam Katz for mayor (10/24/99)
It's a wise bet on a smart Philadelphian who's shown he can surprise and inspire.

Mayoral campaign returns to basics (10/24/99)
With Nov. 2 nearing, John F. Street and Sam Katz spent a day shoring up their stronghold votes.

Wide eyes at deep pockets of campaign (10/24/99)
The Philadelphia mayor's race, which always figured to topple spending records, has lived up to the wildest expectations.

Millions mounting in fund-raising race; Street slightly ahead (10/23/99)
Democrat John F. Street raised nearly $4.2 million over the summer and early fall for his mayoral campaign, more than his Republican opponent, Sam Katz, but not much more.

Education and attacks mark the campaign's late radio advertising (10/23/99)
Sometimes the most interesting way to see a campaign is not to see it at all - just listen.

The latest poll: They're neck and neck (10/22/99)
A Chamber of Commerce poll of 450 Philadelphia voters earlier this week showed the race for mayor to be a dead heat.

Millions on tap for mayoral advertising (10/22/99)
Sam Katz and John F. Street have already booked more than $2 million worth of TV and radio ads for the last two weeks of the mayor's race, easily a record for general-election media spending in Philadelphia.

Street, Katz get personal with voters (10/21/99)
The two mayoral candidates have distinctive ways of filling their days when they aren't at forums or picking up endorsements or raising funds.

Twofold plans: Grab the swing vote and get the decided to vote (10/21/99)
With their polls showing that neither of them has yet won over a majority of the electorate, John F. Street and Sam Katz each made appeals yesterday to swing voters.

In Summerdale, residents see the contest as a vote for substance, not skin color. Or so they hope. (10/21/99)
Ruth Sherman would prefer to bow out of the discussion. It's not that she's shy. But words are sometimes inadequate when it comes to this subject.

Census, vouchers are issues at forum. (10/20/99)
Reapportionment, school vouchers, and the city Police Department's controversial rape statistics were among the issues that surfaced last night at a mayoral candidates forum in Chestnut Hill.

Rendell is standing behind Street, but quietly (10/20/99)
The mayor has worked phones and raised funds for the Democratic nominee to succeed him but has made few appearances on his behalf.

Naomi Post: A quiet advocate (10/20/99)
Intensely private, John F. Street's wife is a lawyer on a mission.