Amidst a resounding chorus of "ayes," the Philadelphia Republican City Committee unanimously voted to endorse Sam Katz for mayor at a meeting in North Philadelphia last night. Katz proudly accepted. Stressing the urgent need to restore the city's momentum by encouraging population growth and "getting Philadelphia working again," Katz expressed his intentions to make good on the city's potential. "In the last three years, the momentum and the wind that was in the city sails has gone out," Katz said. "We don't feel that great future that we felt a few years ago, and that's about leadership." This November, Katz -- a Philadelphia native who has served as CEO of Greater Philadelphia First since 2002 --will likely face off against incumbent Mayor John Street for a second time. He lost to Street in the 1999 mayoral race by less than two percent of the vote -- a significant accomplishment in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans four to one. In his speech last night, Katz pledged to raise the city's population to 1,750,000 by 2020, an increase of approximately 16 percent. "I'm prepared to be measured on the strength of my ability to turn around population loss and grow this city for the future," Katz said. Tax issues, retention of businesses and young residents and potential solutions to the Convention Center debacle were a few other issues that Katz addressed. Cutting taxes may prove one of Katz's most attractive platforms to voters. He is out to decrease the wage tax, which he cited as an obstacle to declaring that "this town is open for business." As for the catastrophic Convention Center, Katz lamented the loss its mismanagement has brought to "the everyday folks of our city." "I've offered a plan, a proposal to bring about regional taxation, to get the state involved," Katz said. "My opponent has offered a law suit."
Katz also stressed the importance of unity in running the city. Summing it up in the catch phrase -- "One city, one team" -- he then elaborated further on the importance of cooperation. "It's about building a better future," Katz explained. "For white, for black, for Latino, for Asian, for rich, for poor, for middle... for every person and every family and every community in this city." On that note, Katz stressed that "this is a campaign we need to take to every single neighborhood." "I think I made some mistakes in 1999," Katz said. "I think we ran an excellent campaign, but not good enough to win." "We need to turn stones, little stones and big stones, to win this election," he continued. "We almost did that in 1999 despite the mistakes -- this has got to be a people-to-people campaign." After his speech, the committee presented Katz with gifts, including a pair of size-13 red Converse All-Stars to help him get the city moving. When asked about his slogan, "Sam I am," Katz replied, "'Sam I am' is who I am, I'm Sam -- Sam is the guy who's running for mayor, and you're going to hear a lot about Sam." The crowd of nearly 300 included such notables as Philadelphia Councilmen Frank Rizzo and Brian O'Neill, Republican City Committee Chairman Vito Canuso and Counsel Michael Meehan. Katz's campaign chairman and prominent Philadelphia businessman Brian Tierney, a 1979 College graduate, was present as well. Katz's family also turned out for support, including his wife Connie and his parents Amy, a 1945 College graduate, and Bud, who is currently a member of Penn's Senior Associates Program.
