Education, crime key local issues

Education, housing and crime are among the issues that West Philadelphia residents say are most important in the upcoming mayoral election, in which incumbent John Street will face off against Republican challenger Sam Katz.

But while locals feel strongly about the pertinent issues, opinions are far less firm on which candidate is best equipped to remedy these persistent problems.

"It's not about political parties anymore," said Walter Palmer, West Philadelphia resident and adjunct professor at the School of Social Work. "You have to keep looking for evidence of" how the candidates differ. "The political labels are almost irrelevant."

Palmer said that "there's a blur" between the Democratic and the Republican candidates and that both candidates will "speak to those issues" of "health care, education [and] housing."

"Look at more tangible evidence of what these people are doing, who it is that they're surrounding themselves with."

Still, residents had definitive thoughts on which issues the candidates should focus on.

"I believe that the most important thing without question is the school system... for all of Philadelphia," Spruce Hill resident Rich Kirk said. "It's kind of a disaster area."

"I don't think it's good that the city lost control of the public school system," he continued. "I'm not sure it would have been that way if the Republicans had been in."

Local resident Mary Goldman also stressed the "need to improve the schools," but noted that both Street and Katz "care about the schools."

"There's a lot of stuff they're not that far apart on," she said.

One problem related to the public school system stems from the fact that "young families cannot afford private schools [and] they won't come and stay if we don't have better schools," Goldman said.

"There's no money of any real amount with 'No Child Left Behind,' and testing kids doesn't make them learn," she added.

Goldman said health care is another cause for concern, citing the need for everyone to have it, "and we've got to be able to pay for it. We can't go into debt."

Residents also voiced concern over housing issues regarding the need to remedy homelessness and to provide low-income housing.

Street "has championed the transformation of the neighborhoods," Palmer said.

Kirk also cited the blighted neighborhoods in the city as an issue that the next mayor will need to focus on.

Garden Court resident Sylvia Barkan said she feels that preservation of Philadelphia's parks and green spaces is "foremost."

"I'm a Street person," she continued. "I really feel that the best interests of this country and this city is not to elect someone who would be very close to the Bush administration."

"I don't think [Street] has done enough" in terms of concentrating on those areas, Kirk said.

While he said he believes Katz has a better sense of economics and law, "I'm not sure I would vote for him."

"There are compelling reasons to vote for either candidate," Kirk added.

Business owners in the area have an additional stake in the outcome of the election.

"For me, the most important thing is reducing the wage tax and, in general, just making it easier for businesses to do business in Philadelphia," said Greg Salisbury, a local resident and owner of Rx, a restaurant on the 4400 block of Spruce Street.

"I think it's a toss-up" when it comes to voting, he continued. "West Philadelphia is such [an area] of neighborhoods, and Mayor Street is much better with neighborhoods. And Katz is going to be better with anything economic."

Salisbury explained that as a community member, he would like to see Street win, but as a business owner, "I'd like to see Katz."

Regardless of who the next mayor is, local resident and member of Neighbors Against McPenntrification Larry Falcon said "the collusion between the city and Penn has to cease."

"Penn has people strategically placed... handling state and federal grants coming into the city," he said, noting the detrimental effects of such a relationship.

In addition, the mayoral candidates should continue to focus on the drug and other crime problems in the city, he said.

"The homicide rate is outrageous," he said. "We need to get the guns off the street. We have to develop better jobs... especially for the young people."

But many residents noted that while issues such as these are key, a question of the candidates' characters also seems to have come into play -- especially in light of the recent Federal Bureau of Investigation probe surrounding Street -- and overshadowed the election.

"It's really tragic for the city to be in this turmoil," Goldman said.

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