A little over one year away from the end of his term as mayor of Philadelphia, John Street continues to struggle for control the City of Brotherly Love.
Street, who beat out Republican Sam Katz in 1999 in Philadelphia's closest mayoral race ever, has found himself in the middle of several rather thorny issues over the last three years.
The biggest controversy of Street's tenure thus far has been the takeover of some of Philadelphia's ailing public schools by private institutions, most notably the for-profit firm Edison Schools, Inc.
Philadelphia public schools had fallen into dire straits in recent years, prompting a protracted battle last year over whether or not to privatize some of them.
The fight pitted Mayor Street, who is rabidly anti-privatization, against Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker. At one point, Street set up shop in Philadelphia School District headquarters in an act of defiance against a private takeover.
Street did not get his way.
In the end, Edison was hired on to run 20 of Philadelphia's worst public schools, which the company will officially take over this fall. Twenty-two other failing schools will be run by various groups and institutions, including Penn.
Street has also had problems dealing with Philadelphia's City Council, and insiders have said relations between the mayor and Council President Anna Verna have deteriorated in recent months.
The mayor has been embroiled in several other controversies recently, including one over a speech he gave to members of the NAACP. Street was quoted as saying "The brothers and sisters are running this city," causing an uproar over a comment many Philadelphians deemed inappropriate.
Over the last month he has also been in a fairly public feud with prominent Philadelphia attorney Carl Singley. Singley was once a Street advisor, and while their relationship has been strained for a while, Singley last month made vulgar comments directed at Street.
Much on the mind of some city residents has been the construction of two new sports stadiums in South Philadelphia. The stadiums -- one for the Eagles and one for the Phillies -- are intended to replace the 1970s relic Veterans Stadium, which currently houses both teams.
After some initial controversy over the location of the Phillies stadium, construction on both new arenas began last year. The Eagles' new home -- Lincoln Financial Field -- should be completed next year, while the Phillies stadium is projected to be finished by Opening Day 2004.
And while political battles may have mired many Street projects, the mayor has had some success with his Neighborhood Transformation Initiative, a plan to clean up Philadelphia's run-down areas. The anti-blight plan was one of the major items on Street's 1999 platform, and last March, City Council approved $295 million to fund the project.
The plan involves towing abandoned vehicles, cleaning up vacant lots and knocking down unoccupied, dilapidated buildings.
