Posted on 11/19/2006 7:59:07 AM PST by philsfan24
Standing at the High School of the Future, he pitched himself as the Mayor of the Future.
U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, who just 12 days ago won election to his seventh term, yesterday stamped out questions of where his political ambitions will take him next, declaring himself a 2007 candidate for mayor.
"I don't know if the skeptics are listening," he told hundreds of supporters on a sunny, crisp afternoon near the city's Parkside neighborhood. "But the answer to the question that's been debated for many, many months is that, yes, I'm going to offer myself as a candidate for the Democratic nomination."
His words ended any remaining speculation that Fattah would choose to stay in Congress now that Democrats will be in the majority.
"I am proud of the work that we have done in Washington. But I'm coming home because I want to serve Philadelphia."
Sharing a stage with his four children, for 20 minutes he outlined a legislative record built in Washington and Harrisburg, and sounded themes focused on helping those residents who are impoverished, undereducated or otherwise disadvantaged.
"I want to transform this city from a city of brotherly love to the city of real opportunity."
The afternoon featured a Chinese dragon and a high school drum corps, the type of pomp that usually accompanies such events. Present also were two of Gov. Rendell's major fund-raisers, Alan Kessler and Herb Vederman.
But absent were most major political and other celebrities - including Mayor Street, Fattah's longtime ally, and wife Renee Chenault-Fattah, a television news anchor. Fattah later compared his wife's absence to that of Rendell's wife, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Marjorie O. Rendell, from many of her husband's events because of her obligation to remain politically neutral.
Early polls have shown Fattah, the second to announce for mayor, leading a Democratic field that could include seven contenders in the May 15 primary.
Former City Councilman Michael Nutter entered the race in July.
Wealthy businessman Tom Knox is tentatively expected to announce his candidacy Nov. 30. State Rep. Dwight Evans is expected to declare next month, followed by former City Controller Jonathan Saidel in January.
U.S. Rep. Robert A. Brady and labor leader John J. Dougherty have yet to rule out a run.
"Chaka enters this race as the No. 1 seed. He's a triple-threat politician who understands and executes policy, politics and fund-raising like few others," said Ken Lawrence, who lobbies in City Hall. A past financial backer of Fattah, Nutter and Evans, he said he was supporting Fattah now that he had declared - an action the Fattah team hopes to see more of in the coming weeks.
Fattah said he would open a mayoral fund-raising account tomorrow. He did not announce a campaign team or open an official office, but those pieces are partially in place. In December, Fattah created a mayoral exploratory committee that has staff, office space, and policy papers on nine target issues - crime, housing and education among them - ready to go.
Yesterday's announcement was one of three events Fattah organizers planned this weekend. A prayer breakfast with religious leaders of different faiths took place yesterday morning at 1,000-seat Pinn Memorial Baptist Church in Wynnefield.
The evening before, he held a thank-you reception with wine and a chocolate fountain at the Independence Visitor Center for the 250-plus people who worked on his exploratory efforts.
In an interview there, Fattah suggested he would have more value to Philadelphia as mayor than as a representative.
"My relationship with the Democratic majority in the House and Senate... means I would be in a position to know every committee chairman by first name," he said. "These relationships are not in isolation from the question of who can lead."
Fattah sits on the powerful Appropriations Committee - a seat he said he intends to keep until leaving the House. But he suggested his committee seniority, and influence, had dropped with the recent elimination of two subcommittees on which he previously served.
Fattah's decision to announce this month, political observers and campaign strategists say, was driven by his need to raise money - a tougher endeavor under the city's strict new fund-raising caps - and an effort to project himself as the unquestionable front-runner.
"The purpose of announcing this early would be to knock others out," history professor Randall Miller of St. Joseph's University said.
By contrast, Street did not announce his candidacy for his first mayoral run until February 1999 - three months before the Democratic primary. And well before he announced, he had nearly $2 million on hand.
Fattah has far less in the bank - $523,000, according to the campaign finance reports for his congressional committee.
Nonetheless, he has vowed not to transfer any of his congressional money, nor any money remaining from the exploratory effort, to his political committee for mayor. He has not detailed how he will spend the leftover money.
As a declared candidate, Fattah will have to abide by the city's fund-raising limits, which restrict individuals to giving $2,500 in a calendar year, and businesses and political committees to giving $10,000.
Those limits, however, will likely double once Knox is in the race because of a "millionaire's provision" in a new city law. As of the law's Dec. 16 effective date, the higher limits are allowed if a candidate - Knox, in this case - spends at least $250,000 from his own wallet.
While Street is expected to back Fattah, Rendell is taking a different tack.
The former mayor, who was expected to return last night from a vacation in Puerto Rico, said after his reelection Nov. 7 that he would stay out of the mayor's race because of his ties to most of the likely candidates.
"So it would be impossible for me to choose. Impossible," Rendell added.
Fattah downplayed the significance of winning such support.
"At the end of the day," he said, "endorsements are most important from voters, and it happens on Election Day."
Here's his Wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaka_Fattah
And here's another interesting tidbit:
http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/1704
Comandante Chavez's Friends
LATE LAST YEAR, 16 U.S. congressmen voiced their approval for Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. Representatives Barney Frank, John Conyers, Chaka Fattah, Jan Schakowsky, Jose Serrano, and others complained in a letter to President Bush that the United States was not adequately protecting Chavez against a groundswell of internal opposition to his increasingly authoritarian rule--an upsurge that might lead to his ouster. Elected to power in 1998, Lt. Col. Chavez has hijacked democracy in Venezuela and is openly moving the country toward totalitarianism. Beyond Venezuela's borders, he celebrates, protects, and does business with terrorists.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/002/346jorji.asp
Pa. Families Latest to Get Venezuelan Oil
PHILADELPHIA Jan 27, 2006 (AP)— Low-income families in the Philadelphia area will receive discounted Venezuelan heating oil in the latest deal bringing fuel to U.S. communities that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez claims are neglected by Washington.
Citgo, the Houston subsidiary of the Venezuelan national oil company, will ship 5 million gallons of heating oil marked down by 40 percent for distribution to low-income families next month in a deal brokered by Democratic Rep. Chaka Fattah.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1549103
And don't forget, he's a supporter of Mumia! That upstanding political prisoner. /s/
You should have to step down from one political office to run for another. Otherwise you are taking time from your present duties.
Frank Rizzo, Jr, save your pop's city !
Er, well, I was 6 when Frank, Sr. left office in '80. :-P
They don't quite make 'em like that anymore.
Hard to believe that Arlen Specter was considered the savior for the Philly GOP when he ran against Rizzo's predecessor in '67, shows how bad things are. :-(
I'm assuming that Rep. Dwight Evans is someone completely different from the former Major League baseball player of the same name.
philsfan, I just moved to Philadelphia after having been away from the Delaware Valley for 20 years. I live near Rittenhouse Square, and I can tell you that around here, the city has never been livelier or more prosperous. There are million dollar condos going up right and left around Center City. The restaurant and cultural scenes, among others, are buzzing.
The problem is in many neighborhoods in North or West Philly, which the city government seems to be willing to permit to be havens for drugs and violence. These crime-infested neighborhoods, sadly enough, are the ones that vote most heavily for the same Rat programs and politicians that keep them down. It's crazy.
I don't think there is ever much hope politically for Philly, or any other big city, because the voters endorse corruption and the unions keep a stranglehold on efforts to change things.Still, even with all of that, there are amazing neighborhood rebirths here in places that would have seemed impossible 20 years ago -- Northern Liberties, Old City, Manayunk, Spring Garden -- even Fishtown and Kensington have skyrocketing property values. Sometimes progress is made even in the face of every obstacle.
Now I understand why a recent pro-gun-grabbing pollster asked me to rate Fattah's performance on a scale of 1-100. I laughed and told him "a -10".
times were a little different then, but you are certainly correct about our old Philadephia lawyer.
"Aw, poop!" ping
Now, now, there's no need to insult assclowns by comparing them to the worthless Fattah (or the Streets for that matter).
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