EDITORIAL: Street must build consensus

John Street won a closely contested race to become Philadelphia's next mayor. Now, the real challenge begins. The task Street faces is not an easy one. He is asked to take Philadelphia from solvency to vibrancy. He is expected to restore order and competence to our city's schools; to bring large and small business to the city; to continue the process of streamlining city government. To do so, he will need to build coalitions, working with those who opposed and supported his candidacy in equal measure, serving all of Philadelphia's neighborhoods and people. He must balance different roles: A champion for those Philadelphians who stay of necessity, a salesman to those who stay by choice. And he must act as an unbiased mediator between Philadelphia's peoples while simultaneously serving as a passionate advocate to the outside world on the city's behalf. It is our belief that Street is up to these challenges. He has demonstrated an ability to work with past foes, to build consensus and -- in his seven years of working with Mayor Ed Rendell -- to bring sense and order to the city's finances. To be sure, there is a lack of closure felt in an election decided by under 10,000 votes. The selection of this leader over his opponent feels vaguely arbitrary. One cannot help but think how easy it would have been for a mere handful of registered voters to have chosen differently -- or to have chosen to participate in the first place. But to view the election in these terms is fair to neither candidate. Philadelphians selected John Street to lead them, and did so by the narrowest of margins because we know of no better, more perfect way to reach a decision when one must be made. An election binds both those who participate and those whom they choose. It is now the responsibility of Philadelphians to unite behind the leadership of the man they have selected to lead them. However, it is equally important to recognize that an election this close chooses a one candidate over another, not one agenda over its opposite. Street's mandate is to lead, but his task is to balance the spectrum of issues about which Philadelphians care, not just those he has previously championed. Here, too, we believe Street amply qualified. But let the mayor-elect speak for himself: "Give us a chance," Street declared early Wednesday morning. "We sometimes differ politically. But in the end, isn't it the people, the interest of the people that counts most?" Wise words indeed.