Mayoral candidates debate the issues

There were few major areas of disagreement last night when the six major mayoral candidates assembled at a Center City hotel to discuss -- in two-minute soundbites -- how they would improve the state of Philadelphia's neighborhoods. Several hundred people gathered at the Wyndham-Franklin Hotel to hear each of the candidates respond to specific yes-or-no questions pertaining to four different topics: safety, city services, education and neighborhood revitalization and investment. The forum was organized by the Eastern Philadelphia Organizing Project to ensure that neighborhoods become a top priority for the city's next mayor. "Our convention is about accountability and democracy," said Ortencia Cortez Santiago, one of the event's hosts. "Our job is not to endorse any one candidate.? We're here to educate ourselves." Questions about public safety addressed the structure of the city's 911 system, as well as the "Same Cop, Same Neighborhood" program, which assigns officers to specific sections of the city to familiarizing officers with the citizens they are assigned to protect. The candidates all responded that they were in favor of 911 reform and police-neighborhood interaction but the five men and one woman looking to succeed outgoing Mayor Ed Rendell took slightly different positions. "Crime can best be deterred by cops? who are familiar to the community," said businessperson Sam Katz, the lone Republican in this year's election field. Katz added that although he supports the "Same Cop, Same Neighborhood" idea, the city must find balance in order to avoid possible corruption. Former City Council President John Street, the frontrunner in the race, declared he would implement the "Same Cop, Same Neighborhood" program in the first year of his administration and mentioned spreading the city's police force in order to deploy several hundred undercover narcotics officers. And attorney Marty Weinberg, currently embroiled in controversy over whether he has lived in the city for the three years required of mayoral candidates, spoke of his childhood in a small Philadelphia rowhouse and the benefits of knowing the patrolling officers while growing up -- a statement that drew some laughter and conversation from the crowd. On the topic of how to improve city services, Katz -- an investment banker and financial advisor -- offered the business-like perspective that it would require more coordinated multi-department services for Philadelphia. Former Philadelphia Housing Authority head John White explained that the city's neighborhoods "have not been a priority" and vowed to make Philadelphia "a great place to visit and a great place to live." While the six candidates were generally in agreement on most of the issues, discord became apparent when the conversation switched to public and adult education. Questions covered class-size reduction, the establishment of an education position in the mayor's cabinet and the connection between welfare reform and adult education levels. "I do not need an education cabinet member to show I am the education mayor of this city," said former City Council member Happy Fernandez, who noted that "reducing class size? needs to be our goal" in order to improve Philadelphia schools. State Representative Dwight Evans, a Democrat, arrived late due to a scheduling conflict but jumped right into the conversation and explained that he was opposed to an educational cabinet position and that class-size reduction should be handled on the state level. On the other hand, Weinberg said that the Philadelphia school superintendent would be a member of his cabinet and identified education as "the biggest item [the city] has to address." Weinberg also shared his belief in alternative schools for disruptive students. Following chants of "neighborhoods first" by the crowd, candidates switched their attention to ways of improving Philadelphia's individual communities. "We can revitalize these neighborhoods if we pay attention," Street said. "And they will be something I pay attention to."

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