With a mayoral run, Green could win while losing

It's been a dozen years since Philadelphia's last competitive election for mayor.

Remember 2003 - the rematch of Sam Katz vs. Mayor John Street? That bruising battle had everything, including an FBI listening device in the mayor's City Hall office.

For political reporters, it was a glorious time of notebooks overflowing.

And then the drought.

Maybe that's what is driving the media's interest in former City Councilman Bill Green's serious flirtation with an independent bid for mayor this fall.

For Green, the son of a former mayor, an independent run could raise the curtain on his third act in public life, a shot to reframe his narrative.

Green won a City Council seat in 2007 and then a second term in 2011. He resigned last year when Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican, made him chairman of the School Reform Commission.

That didn't last long.

Corbett lost his bid for reelection last year to Democrat Tom Wolf, who demoted Green two months after taking office. And just like that, Green's rebranding himself as an education guy ended.

Green now says education would be his key issue in a bid for mayor, which makes sense because education is the top issue for voters in every poll we've seen this election year.

While Green says he is taking a "clear-eyed view of the prospects," he must know his chances in the Nov. 3 general election are incredibly slim.

Still, sometimes politicians win by losing.

The election is five months away. That's plenty of time to exploit what politicians call "earned media," campaign stories in newspapers, magazines and online, and on radio and television.

Green could use all that to redefine himself again for whatever comes next.

The Republican nominee for mayor, Melissa Murray Bailey, joined the party only in January and is not expected to pose a challenge to former Councilman Jim Kenney, who won the Democratic primary with 56 percent of the vote.

This might be a good spot to note that Kenney and Green got along on Council about as well as Eagles and Cowboys fans interacted in the old 700 Level of Veterans Stadium.

Kenney, the son of a firefighter, had to climb the many rungs on the political ladder to get where he is today. He made note of their very different paths when asked about his past conflicts with Green.

"We don't see eye to eye," Kenney said. "We don't come from the same places in our start. And, in the extent of our careers, we came from different spots. That led to some tensions sometimes."

Kenney was helped this year by strong support from Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which played a key role in Green's 2007 Council election victory.

But in recent years, Green and Local 98 have become estranged. And during that same time, Kenney broke with his old boss, former State Sen. Vince Fumo, who went to federal prison.

Fumo had waged many battles with Local 98 leader John Dougherty.

Kenney was often dragged into those tussles.

And here is where Philadelphia really seems like a small country town of 1.56 million people.

Dougherty and Kenney grew up together; their families lived on the same block in South Philadelphia.

Kenney's entry into the primary for mayor in January probably drove up voter turnout last month.

That likely was a benefit to Common Pleas Court Administrative Judge Kevin Dougherty - John's younger brother - who was on the ballot for one of three open seats on the state Supreme Court.

An interesting race for mayor makes Philadelphia voters more likely to cast ballots, which helps local judges in statewide races.

Dougherty was one of three Democrats who won the nomination last month. They will face three Republicans in November.

Dougherty is the only candidate from Philadelphia. Three of the six are from Allegheny County.

So if Green jumps into the race for mayor and stirs things up, driving voter turnout, the obvious beneficiary would be Kevin Dougherty.

The judge's brother thinks Green is more interested in all that earned media than in making a serious bid for mayor, and hit the same notes on Green's class and background as Kenney.

"I don't believe even Bill Green thinks he has a shot at beating Jim Kenney," John Dougherty said. "They come from two places. Jimmy's the son of a firefighter and Bill's the son of a mayor."

215-854-5973@byChrisBrennan