John F. Street

File:John Street.jpg

John Street

John Franklin Street (born October 15 1943) is the 97th Mayor of the City of Philadelphia. He was first elected to a term beginning on January 3, 2000, and was re-elected to a second term beginning in 2004. He is a Democrat and became mayor after having served 19 years in the Philadelphia City Council, including seven years as its president, before resigning as required under the Philadelphia City Charter in order to run for mayor. He followed Ed Rendell as mayor, assuming the post on December 21, 1999 after Rendell resigned to take up the chairmanship of the DNC.

Biographical details and political career

Street was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, graduated from Conshohocken High School, received an undergraduate degree in English from Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama, and his law degree from Temple University. He grew up as a member of farming household, and is a Seventh-day Adventist.

At the same time that Street practiced law, he also began a media career in Philadelphia. Street worked for television station WPSG-TV and for a four year period, he played the character Bozo the Clown on Philadelphia's Bozo the Clown children's television show. When Street ran for Philadelphia City Council, he ceased his media career.

As councilman from North Philadelphia and Center City, as Council President, and as Mayor, he has sought to balance the interests of Philadelphia's low income citizens, and the interest of the business community. Somewhat conservative in the context of the politics of Philadelphia's African-American communities, he was backed by the Republican councilmembers for City Council President.

Street is very passionate on the importance of the Democratic Party. He once floated the possibility of being a candidate for statewide office in Pennsylvania. Since some recent corruption scandals, those prospects have diminished.

In light of recent scandals and FBI probes, his relationship with the City Council are tenuous at best. He and former councilman Michael Nutter, an announced Democratic candiate for Mayor [1] when Street's term expires in 2007, are engaged in a political sparring match. However Street did endorse and campaign for a 2005 revision of Nutter's New York-style smoking ban.

The April 17, 2005 issue of Time Magazine listed him as one of the three worst big-city mayors in the United States.[2] Mayoral spokespersons have disputed the validity of the list, claiming it simply capitalized on the recent scandal in which the mayor has not been indicted, while ignoring the mayor's recent accomplishments. Others critical of the list have pointed out that one of the best-ranked mayors, Richard M. Daley, has also been surrounded by corruption controversies.

Often described as prickly, Mayor Street has frustrated citizens, City Hall insiders, and political allies with his personal style. Most recently, Street set off a minor firestorm in the local media and blogosphere for backing out on a 50-mile bike ride won as part of a charity auction by a Philadelphia tax-reform advocate. The Mayor, an avid fitness fan had pledged the bike ride, which raised $400 for the charity, but when confronted with having to actually take the bike ride with the reform advocate, Street repeatedly cancelled and then backed out, offering to refund the money rather than take the ride.

Policy

Street with President Bush in Philadelphia during Independence Day in 2001

During Street's first term, much emphasis was placed on the "Neighborhood Transformation Initiative." Opponents raised objections to the program's emphasis on demolishing abandoned buildings rather than seeking re-use or restoration of the sometimes historic properties. Others hailed the program for bringing much-needed investment to the city's many poor neighborhoods.

The city's public schools were among the worst in the country when Street took office, and much of his attention early on went into difficult decisions about the schools. In November 2001, a compromise between Street and the Republican-controlled General Assembly allowed for the privatization of the Philadelphia Public Schools. Edison Schools took over day-to-day operations of some of the worst-performing city schools, while a small number were taken over by other institutions, primarily area universities.

In August of 2001, the lucrative Philadelphia Parking Authority was taken over by the Pennsylvania government in a compromise designed to help the Philadelphia School District out of its fiscal crisis. Many believed that the Parking Authority's revenues were politically insubstantial in comparison with the high-profile patronage positions on the Parking Authority's board that were transferred from Democratic to Republican hands in the move.

Drawing ire from skateboarders, he banned skateboarding from the internationally famous Love Park after the city had hosted the X-Games in 2001 and 2002 at the Wachovia Center. In 2004 he turned down a $1-million offer from DC Shoes to maintain and renovate the park to allow skating. Instead the city spent $800,000 on adding obstacles to prevent skaters from skating in the park.

Street created the Office of Health and Fitness after the city was named the fattest city in the nation by Men's Fitness magazine in 1999. The magazine cited the low number of athletic facilities and high number of fast-food restaurants. Street also signed into law a smoking ban on September 12, 2006.

Street has also advocated for the construction of a city-wide Wi-Fi network. The network is to be run by the non-profit organization Wireless Philadelphia in partnership with the city and commercial internet service providers. Opponents of the plan suggest that government involvement will quash innovation. Supporters hope that the plan will help bring information access to poor Philadelphians and make the city more attractive to young and educated people.

In a 2002 address at a convention of the NAACP, Street said that “the brothers and sisters are running the city. Oh, yes. The brothers and sisters are running this city. Running it! Don’t you let nobody fool you, we are in charge of the City of Brotherly Love. We are in charge! We are in charge!” This observation attracted some criticism and charges of racial divisiveness. [3]

The murder rate in Philadelphia hit a seven-year high during Street's tenure. In 2005 there were 380 murders, up from 330 in 2004. Forty-Five percent of those murdered were 25 or younger, and many believe 2006 will be worse for the city. [4]

On July 27, 2006 John Street launched the Adolescent Violence Reduction Partnership (AVRP) as a way to prevent high risk youth (target age 10-15) from being victims of combat violence. He also expanded the Youth Violence Reduction Partnership (YVRP) into the 19th Police District in West Philadelphia. [5]

City Hall corruption scandal

During the re-election campaign against Sam Katz, the FBI acknowledged that it had placed listening devices in the Mayor's office as part of a corruption investigation of Street's friend and fund raiser Ron White, who died before going to trial. Former city treasurer Corey Kemp, a member of Street's administration, was sentenced to 10 years in jail after being found guilty on 27 corruption-related charges in May 2005. Additional prosecutions of members of Street's administration were expected in the wake of the Kemp conviction.

Boy Scout Controversy

On July 31, 2006, Mayor Street ordered the local Boy Scout's council, Cradle of Liberty, to admit gay scout leaders, vacate the city-owned building that it has occupied since 1928 or pay market rent. Although the city subsidizes rental space for more than 75 community and activist organizations, including 14 other youth organizations and several religious groups, the Mayor took the position that the Boy Scouts were not in compliance with the city's anti-discrimination ordinance. [6]

External links

• Official Biography
• CityMayors profile

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