SEPTA strike foils DNC's visit to Phila.

The Associated Press Pickets from an acrimonious strike sent the committee choosing a site for the 2000 Democratic National Convention packing just hours after its arrival, but the group promised Philadelphia would stay in the running. ''In fact,'' said Joe Andrew, chairperson of the Democratic National Committee's site-advisory group, ''we'll get to spend more time in Philadelphia than in any of the other cities.'' ''Obviously, as Democrats, every single member of the committee is a supporter of organized labor and believe in the principles of organized labor,'' Andrew said. ''The committee's interest here is making sure that Philadelphia has as good a shot at this thing as any of the finalists.'' The DNC committee is visiting six other candidates -- Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and New Orleans -- for its national convention, which amounts to a $150 million windfall for the winner. The committee insisted its untimely departure Tuesday is no blow to the city's chances. ''We still are very much in favor of looking at Philadelphia as one of the finalists,'' said vice-chairperson Larry Gorski. The announcement came hours after SEPTA and the union appeared near a contract deal. Then union local president Steve Brookens stormed out of the negotiations, and some 200 workers marched down Market Street to set up pickets near Independence Hall, where the DNC group was to arrive for a tour at 5:30 p.m. Mayor Edward Rendell said the committee had already decided to leave town. ''We don't want them to have to decide who's right and who's wrong,'' said Rendell, who set as a priority winning one of the national conventions in 2000. ''All of us here are ready to do our best job certainly to play out this visit. With all of the strife that's currently in the atmosphere here, it would have been a distraction.'' Philadelphia had three days of touring and selling planned: visits to Independence Hall and fancy restaurants, parades by police cruisers, fire trucks and the Mummers and the pitch itself. ''I'm a little let down because I got myself psyched up for this visit,'' admitted Rendell. But he did not take the opportunity to criticize the union, only declaring himself ''disappointed'' that a contract had not been reached. He insisted the postponement is not an embarrassment to the city. ''Strikes are a fact of urban life. If you look at all of the contenders, they've all had strikes in their history,'' he said. The strike started June 1 during the Republican site-selection committee visit, but did not disrupt the tour.