Critics say his arrogance and defensiveness make him resemble Mayor John Street, but mayoral candidate Chaka Fattah argues that he's passionate about improving the lives of voters.
As the Democratic congressman for the second district of Pennsylvania, Fattah has represented Penn and its surrounding environs in Washington since being elected to the House in 1994.
In that position, Fattah has sought to portray himself as a consummate policy wonk in the mayor's race.
Fattah has consulted a number of local experts - including Penn Criminology professor Larry Sherman - on issues such as controlling gun violence, promoting small businesses and expanding the city's arts and culture venues.
But the centerpiece of all Fattah's plans is his "Opportunity Agenda."
As Fattah said at a Feb. 1 forum in Center City's Rodeph Shalom Synagogue, he wants Philadelphians "voting their hopes" in the May 15 primary.
He points to the 25 percent of Philadelphians who languish below the poverty line as an example of the economic distress and feelings of hopelessness that pervade certain poor black neighborhoods of Philadelphia.
And Fattah argues that he's the right man to go in and fix a broken system that allows such poverty to exist.
"That's what I spent my work doing," he said at a forum Monday night hosted by the Urban League of Philadelphia, noting that his key legislative achievement in Congress was the enactment of GEAR UP, a billion-dollar national program that prepares low-income students for college.
Fattah has also spearheaded programs locally, getting the city and the school district - which is run by the state - to cough up $40 million per year for a scholarship program known as CORE Philadelphia, which has helped thousands of kids pay for their first year of college.
And in a recently released television ad, the Fattah campaign capitalizes on the fact that urban revitalization has been almost a family calling - his parents founded the House of Umoja, which works to stop gang violence and control the effects of poverty on young black men in the city.
But critics say Fattah has his drawbacks too, noting that he can be quite prickly in response to criticism and at times displays a self-confidence bordering on arrogance that reminds some of Mayor Street.
Questions have also been raised, including in a Daily Pennsylvanian editorial, as to whether Fattah has been self-serving in his political career. Fattah decided to run again for Congress despite plans for a mayoral bid, and he has the lowest attendance rate for votes in Congress of any area congressman.
Throughout his campaign, Fattah has emphasized his connections to Penn.
He graduated from the Fels Institute of Government in 1986. His wife, Renee Chenault-Fattah, the prominent NBC10 news anchor, is a Penn Law alumna, and his first-born daughter, Fran, was an undergraduate at Penn.
Fattah has called his time spent at Penn "the most important part of my education in the work that I'm doing."
About this series: This week, the 'DP' will profile each of the five mayoral candidates battling for the Democratic nomination on May 15.
Read profiles of mayoral candidates Dwight Evans and Tom Knox.
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