Candidates Turn in Petitions; Andy submits close to 4000 signatures. Campaign 2007 story by Patrick Kerkstra, Philadelphia Inquirer

Campaign 2007

Street fight leads Council field

Milton Street and nephew Sharif Street are among 56 who filed petitions to run at large or in districts.

By Patrick Kerkstra

Inquirer Staff Writer

The field of 56 City Council candidates that emerged after Tuesday's petition-filing deadline contained few big surprises - except, of course, for Milton Street.

T. Milton Street Sr.'s last-minute entry into the at-large Council race - which will pit him against his nephew Sharif Street - seems destined to be challenged before Tuesday's 5 p.m. deadline, and he may well not make it to the ballot.

"He'll be knocked off. The question is who does it, who doesn't want their fingerprints on it," said political consultant Larry Ceisler, who predicted the Council race would become a "circus" if Street made it to the final ballot.

If he is knocked off, it won't be his nephew's doing, said Dale Wilcox, a spokesman for Sharif Street's campaign. Wilcox otherwise declined to comment on Milton Street's candidacy and said Sharif Street was not available to discuss his uncle.

Milton Street said he was expecting petition challenges and was "prepared for the battle all the way."

The Streets and 19 other Democrats are vying for five at-large Council seats in what will likely be the primary's most closely contested race. The incumbents demonstrated Tuesday why they remain the favorites, filing petitions with no fewer than 5,300 signatures, led by Jim Kenney's 7,044.

Most challengers filed 2,000 to 3,000 signatures with their petitions. Andy Toy netted nearly 4,000, and Sharif Street led the nonincumbent pack with 5,600.

That might seem like overkill, since only 1,000 signatures are required for an at-large candidacy. But candidates often view a high signature count as a sign of strength, and a healthy cushion is mandatory, given that petitions are so frequently challenged in court.

A group of loosely affiliated Council challengers called on incumbents to refrain from filing frivolous challenges.

Kenney called their request "whiny" yesterday.

"I have no intention of challenging anybody, but there are rules for getting on the ballot, and you need to show that you can follow the rules," he said.

The Philadelphia Board of Elections said it had received no notice of challenges yesterday afternoon, but candidates and their surrogates were filing into the office throughout the day to look over their rivals' petitions.

Four Democrats are challenging Donna Reed Miller for her Eighth District seat. Conspicuously missing from that list is former City Commissioner Alex Talmadge, who decided at the last minute not to file the 2,000 signatures he collected.

"I've studied the numbers very carefully, and I knew that with so many challengers in the race, none of us would win," Talmadge said yesterday.

Talmadge said he planned to gather the remaining challengers and persuade them to support a single candidate in a campaign against Miller.

Assuming challenges don't whittle the district Council candidate field further, five Democrats will fight it out in the Fourth District, including incumbent Carol Ann Campbell.

In the Ninth District, three Democrats are looking to take out entrenched Councilwoman Marian Tasco. Three-way primary races are shaping up in the First, Fifth and Seventh Districts, while Council President Anna C. Verna faces off against a sole Democratic challenger, Damon K. Roberts, in the Second.

The Republican Party is fielding primary candidates for seven of 10 district Council seats, including incumbent Brian J. O'Neill in the 10th. All five of the party's at-large nominees - including incumbents Jack Kelly and Frank Rizzo - will advance to the November general election.

Phila. City Council Candidates

At-large Democrats

Blondell Reynolds Brown (i)

Jesse W. Brown Jr.

Maceo Cummings

Michael K. Ellis

W. Wilson Goode Jr. (i)

Bill Green

Derek S. Green

William K. Greenlee (i)

Caryn Hunt

Jim Kenney (i)

Rodney Little

Lurina Marshall-Blake

Harry Massele

Benjamin Ramos

Juan F. Ramos (i)

Matt Ruben

Marc Stier

Sharif T. Street

Milton T. Street Sr.

Andrew Toy

Alexander Wilson

At-large Republicans

Phil Kerwick

Jack Kelly (i)

Patricia A. Mattern

David Oh

Frank Rizzo (i)

First District

Vernon Anastasio (d)

Frank J. DiCicco (i, d)

Henry Lewandowski (d)

Michael A. Seidenberg (r)

Second District

William Black (r)

Damon K. Roberts (d)

Anna C. Verna (i, d)

Third District

Jannie Blackwell (i, d)

Keith A. Hairston Sr. (r)

Fourth District

Raymond Bailey (d)

Carol Ann Campbell (i, d)

Melvin C. Johnakin Jr. (r)

Curtis Jones Jr. (d)

Matthew N. McClure (d)

Alfred J. Sanford (d)

Fifth District

Darrell L. Clarke (i, d)

Haile C. Johnston (d)

John J. Longacre (d)

Sixth District

Michael Ebsworth (r)

Joan L. Krajewski (i, d)

Seventh District

Marnie Aument-Loughrey (d)

Maria Quiñones-Sanchez (d)

Daniel J. Savage (i, d)

Gary Grisafi (r)

Eighth District

Irv Ackelsberg (d)

Cindy M. Bass (d)

Maurice J. Houston (d)

Donna Reed Miller (i, d)

Greg Paulmier (d)

Ninth District

Cecil Hawkins (d)

Raymond Jones Jr. (d)

Marian B. Tasco (i, d)

Lamont Thomas (d)

10th District

Sean Patrick McAleer (d)

Brian J. O'Neill (i, r)

i - incumbent

d - Democrat

r - Republican

SOURCE: Philadelphia County Board of Elections