Milton Street's vote total could, like him, say a lot

File this under "Things to Watch for in May": How many people will vote in the Democratic mayoral primary for T. Milton Street Sr. over Mayor Nutter?

Though he has run for various offices over the years, Street hasn't won an election since 1980, when he earned a term in the Pennsylvania Senate in the Third District seat now held by Sen. Shirley Kitchen.

Street last ran in 2007, when he placed 16th out of 19 Democrats seeking an at-large seat on City Council.

Still, he managed to get 10,468 votes - only about 5,000 fewer than Councilman Frank Rizzo received to place first out of six at-large candidates in the Republican primary.

On the other hand, Nutter outperformed Street by far, winning 106,805 votes in the seven-way Democratic primary for mayor.

Of course, this was all before Street served 30 months in prison for tax evasion.

Which raises just this question: Will Street get more votes in May now that he is a federal ex-convict?

- Marcia Gelbart

Stephanie Singer is one of seven Democrats vying for city commissioner, the office that oversees Philadelphia elections. Her goal is to take down Commission Chairwoman Marge Tartaglione, who has served since 1975.

Like Tartaglione, Singer is also ward leader.

But she is not your typical ward leader: She has a doctorate from New York University and is a former Haverford College math professor.

So we asked Singer what odds she gave herself of getting elected.

Her answer: "Given the astronomical number of quantum spin one-half particles in the Philadelphia area, the law of large numbers applies translationally and the symplectic geometry of the next six weeks reveals, umm . . ."

As of print time, Singer was still calculating.

Tune in May 17. - Marcia Gelbart

Gov. Corbett a month ago quietly did what Senate Republicans had suggested he should do - withdraw the nomination of Philadelphia's acting sheriff, Barbara Deeley.

Does that mean Deeley is on the outs? "Heard in the Hall" thinks not.

Deeley has worn the title of the city's first female sheriff with bursting pride since her boss, John Green, retired Dec. 31.

She is not seeking election this year to keep the post, but has promised to make the most of her year in the role. On March 4, Corbett recalled the nomination, which means nothing unless the Senate approves the recall.

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R., Delaware) could not be reached Friday for comment. However, word is that the Republicans have no interest in replacing Deeley, even though she was part of the Green administration, which has been subjected to severe criticism for lack of proper accounting in the office's real estate division.

But Corbett's move gives them an ace against Philadelphia Democrats. And they have been known to play. - Jeff Shields