Every election, incumbents and their wannabe counterparts engage in a ritual dance — the endorsement shuffle.
It goes something like this: Pick an organization, glad-hand the membership, get their pledge of support, accept a check, take a photo, issue a press release. Repeat.
Mayor John Street apparently has been having some trouble with his two-stepping recently — and it resulted in him blowing his top at a room full of sanitation workers, prison guards and City Hall clerks, among other blue-collar laborers.
At a meeting of District Council 33 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees two weeks ago, the mayor reportedly flipped out when he sensed the membership was leaning toward endorsing Republican Sam Katz.
What reportedly ensued was Street admonishing kitchen workers for making noise while he spoke and telling the audience he would win with or without their support.
The daily newspapers picked up the story; so did the Associated Press. Is the backing of the blue-collar municipal workers — even with their considerable power at the polls — worthy of an apparent blow-up and the negative attention associated with it?
Probably not, said political analyst G. Terry Madonna.
Madonna is the chairman of the political science department at Millersville University and a very popular guy each election season. He also is in charge of Millersville’s Center for Politics and Public Affairs, which is measuring the pulse of Philadelphia voters for the third consecutive mayoral election through its Keystone Polls.
Endorsements do not determine elections, Madonna said, because much of the public views them with marginal interest.
"What endorsements tend to show is a broad-based organization that supports a particular candidate. People can identify or not identify depending on the type of organization," he said. "So if you are a working man or woman and a labor union endorses somebody, you may take note of that."
Key word being "may."
There are questions whether or not endorsements pull that much weight within an organization. In the last 10 years, Madonna said, labor unions have been inconsistent when it comes to delivering votes for their endorsed candidates. And large groups, like the American Association of Retired Persons, often cannot be counted on because they encompass such a politically diverse membership, he said.
Yet endorsements continue to be a popular tool for most campaigns.
Last month alone, Katz announced he had the support of the Pennsylvania Gay and Lesbian Alliance, Fraternal Order of Housing Police, Association of Catholic Teachers, Collaboration of African Communities, United Food and Commercial Workers, Carpenters Union, Teamsters, Pentecostal Clergy and the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.
Street added the support of the Machinists Union and OutFront! — a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organization — to his list of endorsements that already included other leaders in the gay community, the Fraternal Order of Police and the Valiants, a group of black firefighters.
While some of these organizations might not inspire the average voter, Madonna said these supporters could be valuable in other ways. A campaign donation usually accompanies an endorsement and often, so does the promise of campaign volunteers.
"It really does depend on the campaign, the organization and their commitments," Madonna said. "Some, it’s just a paper endorsement … some people make serious commitments."
Sprucing up the ‘hood
Some residents in one section of South Philly might qualify to have their homes partially repaired on the city’s tab through the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative.
Mayor John Street last week announced the start of the Targeted Basic Systems Repair Program, which will benefit select neighborhoods considered to be on the cusp of becoming blighted.
Ten community development organizations have been selected to administer the funds, including the South of South Street Neighborhood Association. The goal of the program is to help qualifying homeowners afford essential repairs.
Many of the people who will benefit from the repair program will be older residents who are living on fixed incomes and cannot afford the upkeep of their homes, said Drew Bergman, the program’s director at SOSNA.
The city is focusing on 10 blocks within SOSNA’s coverage area: the 1900 block of Montrose, 2000 and 2100 blocks of Fitzwater, 2000 and 2200 blocks of Catharine, 2200 and 2300 blocks of Madison Square, and the 2000, 2100 and 2300 blocks of St. Alban’s Street.
The average annual income on these blocks is too high for residents to qualify for an existing municipal program, the Basic Systems Repair Program, which provides free fixes for homeowners.
To qualify for TBSR, a homeowner must earn less than 80 percent of the area’s median income and occupy the dwelling to be repaired.
For those who do, the city will grant matching funds up to $15,000 for plumbing, heating, electrical, roofing and facade repairs. So if a home needs $30,000 in repairs, the city will pay for half, and the homeowner will be responsible for getting loans to cover the rest.
"In practice, we don’t know if that’s going to happen," Bergman said. "A lot of people that have been targeted probably either can’t get the loans or aren’t going to want to take on the debt, so we’re trying to find some additional funds."
The city will determine the value of the work needed to be done using inspectors from the Philadelphia Housing Development Corp.
This program, Bergman said, would give homeowners a chance to stay in a neighborhood many believe to be on the upswing.
"Ideally, you are going to get a double benefit of solidifying some blocks that had started to have some blight issues," Bergman said, "and you are going to increase the demand for the area overall. At the same time … it’s going to give longtime homeowners a chance to stay in the area and not be pushed out."
For more information, contact Bergman at 215-546-0363 or dbergman@southofsouth.org.
The neighborhood also learned this week it would be getting a financial pick-me-up from filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan.
On Sunday, Mayor Street and the director announced during services at Greater St. Matthew Baptist Church, 23rd and Fitzwater, that Shyamalan would be donating $1.5 million to refurbish the abandoned homes in the neighborhood prominently featured in his movie The Sixth Sense.
The city will nearly match that sum, Street said, contributing $1.2 million in Neighborhood Transformation Initiative funds to acquire the vacant properties.
Smoking out Web cigarette sales
Cigarette retailers peddling discount smokes via the Internet may soon find it more difficult to do business in Pennsylvania.
State Sen. Anthony H. Williams introduced legislation last Wednesday that would ensure online merchants paid their tobacco taxes and did not sell cigarettes to minors.
The bill would require Internet outlets to obtain proof of age from their customers, just like their cornerstone counterparts must do.
"We cannot stand by idly while irresponsible fly-by-night Internet cigarette dealers illegally sell to children," Williams said.
The legislation also would force merchants to report their Pennsylvania sales to the state Department of Revenue for tax purposes. According to the senator, businesses selling cigarettes online rake in $5 billion annually and have eluded paying $1.4 billion in taxes.
"Many of these Internet sites openly boast about ignoring the federal Jenkins Act, which requires them to report their sales to respective states," Williams said. "Some flagrantly lie about not being required to report or submit applicable state taxes."
If the bill passes, those who violate the law will face fines, Williams said, and the state will have the power to confiscate butts shipped here illegally.
