Mayor Rendell wins landslide victory

Only 30 percent of city residents cast ballotts and Lisa Levenson It was vintage Americana last night at the Warwick Hotel in Center City, where Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell accepted a second term surrounded by balloons, whistle-blowing supporters and the sounds of a five-piece brass band. "Politics in Philadelphia are what you think of politics being like way back when," said College freshman Shannon Burke, who worked the phones at Rendell's campaign this fall. As analysts had predicted, Rendell, a Democrat and University alumnus, led the vote count all through the evening, eventually gathering 76.6 percent of the vote with 91.3 percent of precincts reporting. His opponent, former State Senator Joe Rocks, received 20.7 percent of the vote. Until the mayor finally appeared at about 11:15 p.m., the more than 500 supporters in attendance seemed to care more about the score of the televised Flyers game than the status of the election. College junior Ysmenia Benson said that attendance at the Rittenhouse Square polls where she worked this morning also showed low enthusiasm. "People were deterred by the bad weather, and in areas of strong Rendell support, people didn't feel their votes were needed," she said. Rendell campaign staffers estimated an overall turnout of about 30 percent. This is a marked decrease from 1991, when 38 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. But Kevin Geary, a senior at St. Joseph's University who is president of College Democrats of America, said the numbers were "not too bad, considering the weather" and the fact that this was an off-year election. Geary attributed the mellow mood of Rendell supporters gathered at the Warwick last night to the fact that the results of the mayoral contest had been anticipated throughout the entire election season. "Rendell's record speaks for itself," he said. "No one's going to top that." In his acceptance speech, Rendell thanked his campaign staff and commended Republican challenger Joe Rocks and Consumer Party candidate Lance Haver for the energy and ideas both brought to the race. Standing with his wife and son, and backed by City Council President John Street and U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Phila.), Rendell also lavished praise on the managers and commissioners who keep the city running. "What we have accomplished in last four years was memorable," the mayor said. "We took a city that was on the brink of disaster and we brought it back to life. And I am most proud of the fact that we brought it back to life as one city, working together." Rendell said that because of impending federal budget cuts, which he described as "a 2,000-ton freight train coming up the tracks from Washington, D.C." and heading straight for Philadelphia, it is even more crucial for city residents and his administration to continue being smart, innovative and more productive. "There can be no relaxing," he said. "We can take a few days off to savor this tremendous victory, and then it's back to work just like we've worked for the last four years." Campaign coordinator Patricia Pisauro said Rendell's victory means "four more years of continuing the progress we've made -- better city services, more federal aid and a balanced budget." Wharton junior Jeff Brown was among the Rendell supporters in attendance last night. Having examined Rendell's policies in a finance course, Brown said Rendell is an interesting politician to study. "He has been termed as a Republican in Democrat's clothes," Brown said. "Fiscally, he is very conservative, even though he must appease the voters in one of the most liberal cities in the country."