POLS ON THE STREET: Mayoral Debates Continue Under Tight Wraps

by Joe Shaheeli

The second mayoral debate was held on Monday evening at WHYY, continuing a program that appears designed to keep public exposure of the two major-party candidates to a minimum.

 

The debate unfolded at 6:30 p.m. before a live audience of 200 but it was livestreamed, not broadcast, with poor sound that made it hard for some watchers to follow. It was broadcast at 10 p.m. – but only on WHYY-FM, not on WHYY-TV. So while listeners could hear the discussion, they were denied the chance to fully assess the candidates’ personalities.

 

“Debate” does not accurately describe the format of the WHYY show, in which two WHYY reporters posed questions in turn to Democrat Jim Kenney and Republican Melissa Murray Bailey. The questions were policy-oriented and gave each candidate scope to display their detailed grasp of issues – a challenge both acquitted themselves well in. But they shied away from “gotcha” questions and inflammatory personal digs. As a result, the candidates kept it polite as a whole, rarely knocking each other’s proposals even as they put forward their own.

 

It was a debate for wonks, not for the general public.

 

There was no disagreement the key issues facing the city are jobs and education. Kenney called for universal pre-school, for placing allied City-government service centers in schools, and for better adult-education programs. “Vocational educations should be coordinated with the Chamber of Commerce to make sure we are educating people for the jobs our businesses need,” he said.

 

In the manner of the seasoned corporate executive she is, Murray Bailey stressed the importance of “metrics.” As Mayor, she would test to find how many children are reading by 3^rd grade. “In some of our schools that figure is 100% right now; in others it’s 8%,” she said. But if children are not reading by then, she asserted, research shows they are unlikely to advance to post-secondary education or training. “We need to know how many students continue their education after graduating,” she said. “We should be measuring outputs as opposed to measuring inputs.”

 

Murray Bailey was confident she can pay for beefed-up schooling and for adding 500 new police officers by cutting low-priority City programs and by smoking out hundreds of millions of dollars in poor procurement practices.

 

Kenney stressed his long commitment to fairness and compassion as a tool for job growth. “I have a detailed knowledge of the disparate impact of marijuana laws on minorities,” he said. He was moved to press successfully for lower-key enforcement of petty marijuana offenses and to halt stop-and-frisk, in large part because of the harm that mass arrests have done to the employment prospects of minorities. He said he would lean on companies that do business with the City to meet diversity and reentry goals.

 

Both candidates see great opportunities in developing Philadelphia as an energy hub. But Kenney knocked Mayor Michael Nutter’s effort to sell PGW to a private owner – not for the concept, but for the way it was handled: “a case study in how you don’t work with City Council.”

 

Murray Bailey assailed the City’s overall regulatory and taxation policies, which she called one of the worst of any American city, “an industrial-era tax structure.”

 

On leadership styles, both candidates presented themselves as good listeners who know how to bring other decision-makers along with them.

 

Asked to boil down their message to voters, Murray Bailey said she stood for job growth and population growth, opportunity and peace. Kenney said his core virtue for public service is his “ability to do the right thing.”

 

The three independent and minor-party candidates were not included in this debate. However, a call from the Kennedy indicated we were in error when we wrote they were for them out of any of the mayoral debates – which favored candidates normally do to keep opposition candidates from getting free exposure.

 

The following is a statement from Kenney campaign spokeswoman Mikecia Witherspoon: “In regards to the misinformation printed in the article ‘POLS ON THE STREET: Jim Kenney Plays It Smart On Debate Rules’ (Oct. 8): At no point did we ever tell the debate sponsors not to include the independent candidates. To the contrary, we told them that it was our preference that they be included.”

For that error, we apologize.

 

Wolf Makes It Official: Kenney!

 

Lucky we didn’t’ decide to hold our breath until Gov. Tom Wolf finally decided to endorse Jim Kenney for Mayor. But he did so at an opportune time, allowing his presence in Philly to also promote the Supreme Court candidacy of Judge Kevin Dougherty.

 

The Governor stressed Kenney’s commitment to expanding access to pre-K and quality public schools for Philadelphians in need. “Jim Kenney and I share the belief that funding education is a moral issue, not a political one,” said the Governor. “Jim’s commitment to expanding early-childhood education and increasing the number of community schools are important steps towards closing the opportunity gap. I look forward to working with Jim to ensure every Pennsylvania child has access to a quality education, regardless of where they live.”

 

“I am grateful for the Governor’s support,” said Kenney. “Philadelphia’s 26% poverty rate affects every person in the City, but it has some of its most-profound effects on our children. Children living in poverty need a pathway out, and the Governor and I are committed to ensuring that public schools can be that bridge to economic opportunity. I look forward to collaborating with Gov. Wolf to provide high quality pre-K programs to children in need, and ensuring the State’s funding formula takes into account the added costs of providing support to children living in poverty.”

 

An Independent Council Candidate?

 

Former City Controller candidate Brett Mandel drew our attention to a fact: Though not organized in any fashion, voters registered as independent and “other” may actually be the swing vote, possibly surprising all of us by voting in an at-large Council candidate.

 

To give him his due, he was promoting Andrew Stober, who has worked in the Nutter administration, and is credited with creating the Indego bike-share system to work for residents with low incomes. His campaign website claims he also helped secure tens of millions of dollars in federal grants, while also reestablished a City energy office which has saved millions of dollars in utility costs.

 

Now if could only he could show us how to reduce our own energy bills, he could tempt many to vote for him.

 

A look at the latest registration statistics supplied by Registration Commissions Gregory Irving shows the possibility of an independent vaulting over a Republican candidate for Council at large if he or she could marshal enough publicity to catch the eye of the electorate.

 

Able to vote in this general election are 781,126 Democrats, 111,644 Republicans, 6856 independents and “other” 95,498. Add the last two categories and you find 112,354 searching the ballot for someone for whom to vote, provided they even make an effort to show up at the polls.

 

That’s why it might be wise for candidates to include in their ads, “Vote for me – no matter how you are registered.”

 

Interest Stirs In 182^nd Seat

State Rep. Brian Sims’ (D-S. Phila.) announcement he is seeking to represent the 2^nd Congressional Dist. post now held by Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-Phila.) has aroused a quiet surge of ambition in people who would like to move into Sims’ State House office if he should move out.

 

No formal announcements have been made at this time. But insiders say Ben Waxman, press secretary for State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-W. Phila.), may wish to serve this Center City District. Waxman has a strong résumé of work for the Daily News and WHYY, as well as for United Food & Commercial Workers. He is active in the Greenfield Home-School Association.

 

Marni Jo Snyder, a criminal-defense lawyer and Villanova graduate, is reportedly testing the waters as well. A third candidate, with a business background, has taken important steps to position himself in this race on the Q.T.

 

McGinty Haul Tops $1 Million In 2 Months

 

US Senate candidate Katie McGinty says she raised $1,015,000 since she announced her campaign Aug. 4, and has about $900,000 on hand. She would be wise to spend some of that money reaching out to our readers, meaning you.

 

McGinty, who has the support of national Democrats, says the fundraising effort was driven by “more than 2,300 grassroots contributors who gave less than $200.” Her campaign says none of the money was carried over from her gubernatorial run. Her announcement came a day after one of her opponents, Braddock Mayor John Fetterman, announced he had raised $170,000 in 17 days. Fetterman reportedly has ties to former Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz.

 

The third Democrat, Joe Sestak, has not announced his latest fundraising totals. But Joe keeps walking across the State to meet voters and drum up support.

 

Suburban Challenge To Congressman Fattah

 

Lower Merion Township Commissioner Brian Gordon has officially announced his candidacy as Democrat for Congress in the 2nd Dist.

 

This seat, held by incumbent Chaka Fattah for over two decades, represents what Gordon calls “a microcosm of America, a condensed version of all the challenges and opportunities faced by people today, from the environment to the economy, from education to discrimination.”

 

Gordon was elected to public office with 73% of the vote.

 

He was born and raised in the Congressional District where he currently lives with his wife Julie, and daughter Emma. He attended Penn Valley ES, Welsh Valley JHS and Miquon Upper School. He earned his BA in labor relations at Cornell University, having studied his junior year at the London School of Economics, and a Juris Doctorate from University of Wisconsin Law School.

His website is GordonforCongress.com.

 

Quinnipiac Univ. Poll Gauges Pa. Voters!

 

Our favorite Quinnipiac University Poll advises us what Pennsylvania voters are thinking in mid-October.

 

It says we ae divided on legalizing personal marijuana use, with 47% in favor and 49% opposed. Men support it 52-44%, with women opposed 53-43%. Support is 66-33% among voters 18 to 34 years old and 51-45 percent among voters 35 to 49 years old. Voters 50 to 64 years old are divided 48-47 percent and voters over 65 are opposed 64-32%. Even if marijuana were legalized, 66% of voters say they would “definitely not” use it. Voters support legalizing medical marijuana 90-9%.

 

Pennsylvania voters disapprove 52-24% of the job State Attorney General Kathleen Kane is doing and say 46-32% she should resign.

 

“All but stripped of her legal authority, Attorney General Kathleen Kane gets a thumbs down from the ultimate authority, the voters who voted her in, and now want her gone,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

 

We still think she can buck the odds should she overcome her legal problems.

 

In the 2016 US Senate race, Republican incumbent Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) leads Democratic challenger Joe Sestak 49-34% and tops Democrat Katie McGinty 51-31%.

 

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has a negative 41-44% job approval rating, down from a positive 45-39% approval rating Aug. 25.

 

US Sen. Robert Casey, Jr. gets a 45-28% approval rating, with a 51-27% approval rating for Toomey.

 

And A Welcome Toomey Pledge!

 

Pennsylvania motorists pay a 70-cent-per-gallon gas tax, which is the highest in the country. “The burden the gas tax has created in Pennsylvania is really driven home,” says Sen. Pat Toomey, “when you compare what the cost of a gallon of gas is in other states. For example, the average price per gallon of gasoline in Pennsylvania is $2.32. But if you cross the Delaware River into New Jersey, the cost per gallon dips to $1.95!”

 

He pledges to fight “those in Congress and running for office who continue to advocate for increasing the federal gas tax. Friend, Pennsylvanians pay enough at the pump, and I am fighting to ensure a gas-tax increase never makes its way out of the United States Senate.”

 

Need We  Say More?

 

We seldom ever comment here on foreign policy. But Russian media broke this story and only then did our key news-media channels mention the fact the US had earmarked $500 million to train anti-ISIS fighters in Syria, and we now learn from our top USA General in the field, the program produced only have five fighters in the field doing just that.

 

State GOP Is Canvassing With 2016 Races In Mind

 

“The Republican National Committee’s field program is using its volunteer network in Pennsylvania to use presidential year campaign strategies to help elect Supreme Court candidates Judges Judy Olson, Mike George and Anne Covey, Superior Court candidate Judge Emil Giordano, Commonwealth Court candidate Paul Lalley as well as local candidates throughout the Keystone State,” according to Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason.

 

It’s because key battleground states such as Pennsylvania where the party will test for holes in its new year-round ground game. Leaders want to determine strengths and weaknesses among volunteers in the field before the 2016 presidential election.

 

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus laid out the plan in July during a leadership conference in Philadelphia. The party will activate neighborhood “team leaders” who encourage people to get neighbors to host house parties, organize door-knocking efforts and hold debate-watching parties. And ultimately, to battle-test our ‘get out the vote’ efforts for next year,” Priebus said.

 

Lost Opportunity For Candidates

 

The newly rebranded Chinatown Night Market Yè Shì event attracted a crowd of 25,000 people and a lively line up of food and cultural offerings in its quest to go back to its roots: Yè Shì.

 

Yè Shì is the Chinese term for the tradition of nighttime street-food festivals in Asia, particularly in China and Taiwan. Our survey indicated few GOP or Dem candidates in attendance. But one of its sponsors, 1^st Dist. Councilman Mark Squilla, enjoyed the event. What a lost opportunity to pick up votes!

 

“The past four years’ Night Markets helped to propel Chinatown as a regional food destination,” says John Chin, PCDC executive director. “This year’s event sprung out of the desire to go back to our roots and celebrate our unique Asian food heritage. We are concentrating on our local restaurants, small business owners and residents, and on having this be a beneficial experience for them.”

 

How To Trim State Budget

 

Looking for ways to trim the budget, the legislature and the Governor should figure how to reduce some of the salaries now being earned by State employees.

 

For instance: PHEAA President and CEO James Preston, $337,016; and Frank Brogan, Chancellor, System of Higher Education, $337,325. Add compensation factors and one can see where cuts can be made.