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09/10/2003 Condo owners courted by Mayor and his challenger (Ed Goppelt)

• Photos
• Hallwatch News

Mayor John Street and his challenger Sam Katz may have addressed the same crowd of 500 condo owners in back to back sessions last night, but they got very different receptions. Both candidates for Mayor were participating in a Mayoral Forum sponsored by the Philadelphia Condominium Managers Association.

The condo owners made no secret of their preference for Katz and anger at Street.

During a Q&A session, one questioner made clear who he hoped would win November's Mayoral election by addressing Katz as "Mayor Katz". For his part, Katz wooed the crowd with silky promises to carefully study the trash issue.

The fact that the City won't pick up their trash was a particular sore point with condo owners.

Enduring occasional jeers and interruptions (sample: "Answer the question!") the Mayor defended a City policy he said dates back 20 years or more: we can't do everything, this is the way it's always been done, we must exercise fiscal restraint, etc. The Mayor's grace under fire led PCMA President Scott Tocher, to remark "I really have to applaud him. He could have not come. He knew it was a hostile environment and he came in and spoke the truth." In June 2002 Tocher led the successful lobbying effort to get a condo trash bill passed.

That he was facing a tough crowd should have come as no surprise to Street who has consistently opposed condo owners' attempts to get the City to treat them the same as other homeowners when it comes to trash. In June, despite feverish behind-the-scenes lobbying by the Mayor, Council unanimously adopted the Condo trash bill. The Mayor allowed the bill to become law by not signing it, then promptly announced he had no intention of carrying it out. City Council sued the Mayor. The Mayor lost, then appealed to Commonwealth Court where oral argument in the case is expected to be heard soon.

Nor has the Mayor always treated the condo owners to the courteous opposition he showed them last night. According to Tocher, in the past the mayor ignored repeated requests by condo owners for a meeting.

At the conclusion of last night's forum, however, the Mayor agreed to a meeting. "We attained all our goals" said Torcher. To date the Street campaign has not yet contacted PCMA to set up the meeting, which was supposed to take place within ten days.

• Read the Inquirer's account of the meeting.

Note: for the sake of those with slow Internet connections, pictures are displayed at their smallest possible size. To enlarge the photos, simply click on the size controls under any photo.

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Challenger Sam Katz: "People's interests should come before politicians'"
2003/09/10 On the need for better city government: "You should be able to pick the phone and get basic things done."

On the Democratic Party's vision for Philadelphia: "I like [Congressman and Democratic Party Boss] Bob Brady, but to write a letter this election is about patronage jobs and yours is at stake is not a vision I share with the Democratic leadership of this city."

"It's not about sustaining the interests and rule of one party, it's about dragging the city into the 21st century"

On missed opportunities for the City: "If we were able to bring together a deal which respected the interests of Lincoln University and bring the Barnes Collection to the Parkway, within one mile we would have the finest art collection outside of Paris"

On the wrong way to implement regionalism with neighboring suburban counties: "you give us your money, we'll give you our problems."

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Mayor John F. Street: "We cannot do everything. We can only do so much."
2003/09/10 Forum facilitator and Channel 3 anchor Pat Ciarrocchi: Why can't the City can't pick up condo owners' trash?

Mayor Street: "That's the way it is; that's the way it has always been"

"If the City Solicitor opines a bill violates the Home Rule Charter, there's not very much City Council can do about it."

"I've been doing this 25 years. I'm never going to tell you something I don't think we're going to be able to do."

"We have a number of pressing issues in the city. We can't do everything everybody wants."

"I think people should be honest about this and be candid. If we keep reducing taxes we're going to have to talk about cutting services. The last politician who said we're going to have a huge tax cut and everything will be wonderful was the President of the United States."

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J. Otis Smith
2003/09/10 Smith: "Mr. Mayor, thank you for the range of issues you've raised. You've done well on some, but you and I both know there's one still in the room so I'll give you one more shot at it from a different angle. Condos and condominiums are neighborhoods, too. Do you see how [not picking up condo owners' trash] doesn't seem fair? If you're not picking up our trash our taxes must be going somewhere else we're not getting the use of."

Mayor Street: "It's true your taxes are being comingled into the City's general fund."

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The Crowd
2003/09/10 According to PCMA officials, about 500 people attended the standing room only event.

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Marcia Halbert to Katz: What about Rendell?
2003/09/10 Halbert is President of the Board for the Kennedy House Cooperative. Halbert asked Katz: "Shortly, Ed Rendell, a democrat, will start to campaign vigorously for Street. What, if anything, can you do to blunt that?" Katz replied that he would tell voters exactly what Rendell told suburban Republicans while campaigning for Governor of Pennsylvania: "this should not be about party."

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Josh Bernstein: "It's much easier and cheaper for the City...to pick up trash from the same dumpster"
2003/09/10 Bernstein is past honorary counsel for PCMA.

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Mayor Street: "I have given my life to this City"
2003/09/10 "I'm a lawyer. I didn't have to be an elected official. I could have done a whole lot of things. I have been a full time public servant since 1980. "

"I have made public service my business. I'm not a person who is here today, gone tomorrow, run in an election, lose, come back."

"My responsibility as a city official is simple." Pulls out pocket copy of Declaration of Independence and Constitution. "Our job in this City is to achieve three things: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

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Jay Cohen: "Thank you Pat, Mayor Katz!"
2003/09/10 Cohen is President of the Rittenhouse Square Condo Owners Association. "Condos actually save the City money, but are never rewarded for it."

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Diane Harris
2003/09/10

Harris is manager of Academy House. As one of the members of the PCMA Mayoral Forum Committee she helped plan and implement last night's event. The event's other organizers were:

• Scott Tocher, Rittenhouse Hotel
• Beverly Sherman, Society Hill Tower
• Tom Davis, Kennedy House

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A Member of the Media
2003/09/10 Media turnout for the event was good with both TV and print media represented: Channel 3, WB-17, PA Cable Network, and the Inquirer all covered the event.

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2003/09/10

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Challenger Sam Katz makes his exit
2003/09/10