City controller candidate pulls out of race

Michael Williams, a lawyer who was a minority-contracting official in the Street administration, pulled out of the Philadelphia City Controller's race Wednesday and declared his support for incumbent Alan Butkovitz.

"Our city faces difficult decisions regarding Actual Value Initiative property tax increases, labor contracting negotiations, and streamlining or eliminating bureaucratic red tape," Williams said in a news release announcing his decision. "Alan clearly shares my passion for all the issues that are important to me."

Butkovitz has been a strident critic of the property tax reassessments mailed out last month by the Nutter administration and has criticized Nutter's inability to reach labor accords with city unions.

Williams' withdrawal leaves two other Democrats challenging Butkovitz's bid for a third term - Brett Mandel, an aide to Butkovitz's predecessor, Jonathan Saidel, and Mark Zecca, a former assistant city solicitor. The Republican candidate is Terry Tracy, a retailing executive. - Bob Warner