GOP's Katz focuses on battle with Dem. Street

Republican Sam Katz is out to prove that the City of Brotherly Love can love a Republican, too. The Philadelphia summer may be hot -- but not too hot to stop GOP mayoral contender Sam Katz from hitting the streets in a relentless campaign to make himself known among voters of all party affiliations. Katz, who ran unopposed this past May, is looking to become Philadelphia's first Republican mayor since the early 1950s. He will face off against Democratic nominee John Street in this fall's general election. Katz said Tuesday that the thrust of his campaign this summer and fall is making himself known to Philadelphia's voters. "We're focused on getting out to the neighborhoods and being extremely visible in community events," he said. For Katz, in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a margin of more than three to one, conquering traditional party lines could be the key to a successful campaign. And so far, the response from a diverse pool of voters has not only been positive but has successfully transcended simple party lines, according to Katz Campaign Director Bob Barnett. Still, Katz is looking to persuade more than just the man in the street. In a letter sent last week to Philadelphia Democratic Committee members, Katz offered his hand in friendship to his traditional partisan enemies. Barnett said yesterday that many of those members have called or written back in support of Katz. "The party lines are not what's relevant [in this race]," Barnett said. "People are much more concerned about what's going on in their neighborhood." Street's power, however, lies not only in his affiliation with Philadelphia's large Democratic party, but also in his extensive experience as City Council president and his endorsement from popular Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell. Street garnered 35.4 percent of the vote during May's Democratic primary, edging out lifelong politico Marty Weinberg by a mere four percentage points. Street was unavailable for comment this week. During the last few weeks of the primary campaign, Katz released a series of negative television commercials aimed at Weinberg and Democrat John White, an almost unheard of move that many political experts claimed was Katz's attempt at picking Street as an opponent in the general election. But Katz said that he has never preferred to run against any one candidate and he would face any opponent with the same competitive drive. Earlier this week Street met with Weinberg for the first time since the primary election, a sign of a possible future alliance between the Democrats. But whether Weinberg will give his support to Street is not yet clear. "I've always assumed that the Democrats would be together," Katz said. "I have no other expectation." Katz rejected the notion that the possible alliance would hurt his campaign, stressing that voters are more concerned with issues that affect their neighborhoods, such as "public crime [and] poor performing schools," than with the party affiliations of each candidate. "Those are the things that people care about, not who's having lunch with whom," Katz said. Barnett echoed Katz's sentiment, explaining that "voters are going to have to chose between Sam Katz and John Street -- not the other candidates." Katz said he expects his campaign to raise and spend about $5 million and, so far, he says, the fundraising is right on target. "The response since the primary has been fantastic," he added. Barnett said that much of the campaign's funds will be used on media advertising, including radio and television ads, although he acknowledged that it was still too early for more detailed plans. "We will run an aggressive campaign that will hopefully be persuasive to the voters," Katz said. Katz has been making the rounds in Philadelphia ever since he began campaigning, but he said that the current race is "particularly intensive because its just two people."