Court says Milton Street can stay on ballot

T. Milton Street Sr., the former Pennsylvania state senator who served time in federal prison for unpaid taxes, will remain on the May 19 Democratic primary ballot for mayor, according to Commonwealth Court.

A panel of three judges - Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter, Renee Jubelirer Cohn, and Patricia A. McCullough - on Thursday rejected an appeal seeking to remove Street from the ballot because he was registered as an independent when he filed March 10 to run as a Democrat.

"There was never any doubt in my mind," said Street, who represented himself in the case. "The law was clear. But in politics, we do what we do."

Lawyer Kevin Greenberg, who filed the appeal, said he was reviewing Thursday's ruling and would shortly decide whether to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Greenberg originally challenged Street's candidacy in Common Pleas Court on behalf of Joseph Coccio Jr., treasurer of the Transit Workers Union Local 234. Coccio's union has endorsed another Democrat, State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, for mayor.

Common Pleas Court Judge Chris Wogan ruled March 25 in Street's favor. Wogan also rejected a challenge claiming Street did not live in the city.

Street, who ran for mayor as a Democrat in 2011 while under supervised release from federal prison, changed his party registration in 2012 to independent while running for a state House seat.

He testified in Common Pleas Court that he mailed in a form to change his registration back to Democratic after his 2012 campaign and did not know last month that he was still listed in city records as an independent.

Street, who has not held elected office in three decades, spent 26 months in federal prison for unpaid taxes on $3 million in income. He won 24 percent of the primary vote in 2011 while trying to defeat Mayor Nutter's bid for a second term.