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And the troops have been grumbling amid talk that today's payoff at Democratic City Committee is going to be only $100 or $150 per voting division. That amounts to $50-$75 per committeeman or committeewoman for 14 to 16 hours of work on Election Day.
This is in contrast to $200 to $300 per division in most elections.
If $100 is the number, said one ward leader, "There are going to be disappointed ward leaders, angry committee people and nonexistent voters on Tuesday."
But Clout has good news. When ward leaders show up at party headquarters at 11:30 this morning, the checks will be for $200 per division, according to Democratic chairman Bob Brady.
Not bad, he says, for a low-interest race topped by a mayoral contest in which Michael Nutter holds a 74 percent to 8 percent lead over Republican Al Taubenberger in the latest Daily News Keystone Poll.
"Where's the race?" said Brady. "You have the [state] Supreme Court, Superior Court and the Republican [City Council] at-large and that's it. It's a little tough to raise money."
City Committee this week has been calling on candidates to pony up some dough. They hit pay dirt on Wednesday, when Nutter wired a $200,000 contribution.
While Nutter's huge lead means he won't need a big turnout, other candidates do - especially the Democrats running for judge statewide.
"If you look at my TV commercial, it doesn't ask people to vote for me," Nutter said, "I just ask them to vote."
He said he considers turning out voters for the other Democratic candidates "part of my responsibility."
Which is why he plans to spend $1 million over the next few days on TV ads, print ads, lit drops and a door-to-door get out the vote effort.
"There was never a question" about making a major contribution to City Committee, Nutter said. "I've been talking to Bob and [party finance chairman] Frank Oliver, and I gave more than I was asked to give."
Although ward leaders will be relieved, at least one thinks the widespread angst was overblown.
"I think we've been spoiled a little bit," said ward leader Ron Donatucci. "In some of the past elections, we didn't need the kind of money we got. It got out of control. I can remember one election where it was $400 a division."
Debate debris
OK, a few leftovers from Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate.
Was Hillary Clinton trying to create a new fashion trend: Soviet chic? Or was the grim, boxy, black-and- brown pantsuit-blouse combination something her advisers said would make her look tougher and more determined?
Clinton is smart and tough enough that she could hold her own in any frock.
In the post-debate spin room, meanwhile, we had Gov. Rendell wondering why there hadn't been more substance and less UFO chat.
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