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Michael Nutter points to his wife at a fund-raiser. His opponent, Al Taubenberger, last reported raising just $20,000 in the primary.
Nutter's all-out dash for cash
Some question the presumptive mayor's push to attract donors.
With fewer than seven weeks to go before Philadelphia voters elect a new mayor, GOP candidate Al Taubenberger, with no bark and few bucks, would seem little threat to Democrat Michael Nutter.
RECENT NEWS
Tom Ferrick Jr. | Making city better with less
Let's begin with some good news for a change: Philadelphia government is reasonably well run and generally efficient. Trash is picked up on time almost all the time. The city has some acclaimed programs that are imitated in other cities: Its aid to the homeless effort is one example. It has tried innovations in governance that others have emulated, such as the five-year budget plan begun in the Rendell era. Its Web site wins awards.
Nutter absent from Council - but his hand is felt
Voting by Council members was influenced by the man expected to be the next mayor.
The Michael Nutter era unofficially began yesterday as the Democratic mayoral candidate cast a long shadow on important Council legislation. He wasn't in Council chambers, but his influence was palpable in the postponement of two referendums and the introduction of a Nutter-conceived bill to help ex-offenders get jobs.
 
Nutter meets with Bloomberg in the Big Apple
NEW YORK - During his long day here, Philadelphia's would-be mayor got one piece of obvious advice from this city's chief executive, and one not so obvious.
Mayoral candidates feast on informed residents' views
As far as candidate forums go, last night's affair in Mount Airy pitting Democrat Michael Nutter and Republican Al Taubenberger was a decidedly low-key, intimate affair.
 
Nutter proposal on ex-offenders will be a bill
Months before the mayoral election, Democratic nominee Michael Nutter will see one of his campaign proposals on the path to becoming law.
Nutter's delicate dance of election and governing
Michael Nutter's campaign manager, Tricia Enright, opened a Webcast with supporters Thursday with these words: "Now, we need you to redouble your efforts to send a message that the citizens of Philadelphia want change."
Center of a political storm
Gov. Rendell wants to tip the expanding Convention Center's balance of power back toward Harrisburg.
It's called the Pennsylvania Convention Center - and, if Gov. Rendell gets his way, it may soon live up to its name.
'Outraged' Nutter to Street: Make city safer or step down
Democratic mayoral candidate Michael Nutter yesterday depicted himself as "an outraged black man" as he criticized Mayor Street for not doing enough to reduce violence crime.
Money talks - on Knox's behalf
The millionaire mayoral candidate jumped to second place in a new poll and had twice as much cash as his nearest rival.
A wealthy candidate's expenditure of up to $2 million on early TV advertising is reshaping the landscape of the race for mayor of Philadelphia.
 
Some clown breaks into Street's Wikipedia page
Another reason not to trust Wikipedia, and this one's a doozy. According to the online encyclopedia - which has a well-earned checkered reputation as both an everyman's Britannica and a site where bias, slander and outright untruths reign - Mayor Street once played Bozo the Clown.
Coalition gives city 10 ways to improve life at little cost
A coalition of 69 civic groups yesterday issued a 10-point action plan designed to help Philadelphia's next mayor and City Council make neighborhoods cleaner and healthier.
Echoes of the past in Brady's present
When Bob Brady announced his mayoral candidacy on Thursday by declaring that "help is on the way," veterans of past Democratic campaigns may have felt a sense of deja vu. The line was the key refrain of John Kerry's 2004 acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention and a constant theme in the campaign that followed.
Nutter anticrime plan to call for civil-rights limits, cameras
If elected mayor, he says, he will declare a "crime emergency."
Mayoral candidate Michael Nutter is expected today to formally release the details of a crime-fighting strategy he first outlined last fall, beginning with declaring an emergency in those Philadelphia neighborhoods most beset with violence.
Brady hires PICA chief in campaign policy role
Bob Brady has hired a policy person. Philadelphia mayoral candidate Brady, mindful that he's seen as less conversant in municipal governance issues than some of his four rivals, has tapped the head of the state board that oversees the city's finances to drive his campaign's public policy effort.
Primed, ready for real race
Analysis: As five Democrats vie to be mayor, the one who can best articulate a vision for Phila. may have the edge.
When the big dog jumped in the pool last week, some water sloshed onto the deck, but the rest of the dogs kept paddling.
Differing styles - even in way they enter race
In making their bids, five Democratic mayoral candidates told voters much about themselves and their messages.
With the entry of Bob Brady this week, the announcement season for the Democratic mayoral primary apparently has come to an end.
Fattah proposes checkups yearly for the uninsured
"Health care is going to be a priority," the mayoral candidate said of his latest policy initiative.
Mayoral candidate Chaka Fattah wants Philadelphia doctors and other medical professionals to provide free yearly checkups for every uninsured Philadelphian. He also wants city workers, union and nonunion, to get health coverage from the same insurance provider.
Brady announces he's in the running
He addressed a largely union crowd in his bid to become mayor.
With feisty promises of better schools and safer streets, U.S. Rep. Bob Brady (D., Pa.) launched his Philadelphia mayoral campaign last night before a boisterous crowd of union members, elected officials, and loyalists from the city Democratic organization that the congressman has commanded since 1986.
Phila.'s top deal-maker readies an inside pitch
Rep. Bob Brady has led the city's Democrats since 1986. His mayoral effort will test the machine.
When Bob Brady finally announces his mayoral candidacy at the Convention Center tonight, it will end months of will-he-or-won't-he speculation about the congressman and longtime leader of the mighty, if moldy, Philadelphia Democratic machine.
Brady to make inside pitch
The party boss will put his machine to the test.
When Bob Brady finally announces his mayoral candidacy at the Convention Center tonight, it will end months of will-he-or-won't-he speculation about the congressman and longtime leader of the mighty, if moldy, Philadelphia Democratic machine.
Dougherty bows out of mayoral primary
He cited relatives' health, but made it clear that he could run one day.
John J. Dougherty, whose mayoral ambitions made him one of the most visible Democrats in Philadelphia politics over the last few years, said yesterday that he would not be running for mayor after all.
Dougherty a big player
His Local 98 commands $2.1 million in campaign funds.
Labor leader John J. Dougherty may be out of the mayor's race as a candidate, but as head of a union with 4,572 members and $2.1 million in cash on hand in its political fund, he can still be as big a behind-the-scenes player as he wants to be.
Brady says he'll make it official by entering the race for mayor
The worst-kept secret in Philadelphia politics is now official: U.S. Rep. Bob Brady is running for mayor. Brady, the chairman of the city's Democratic Party, let it be known yesterday that he would announce his candidacy at the Convention Center on Thursday evening. Brady's campaign sent an e-mail to reporters yesterday promising that the veteran politician would be "laying out a comprehensive agenda for making the community safer, improving public schools, strengthening the economy, and lowering the tax burden for small businesses and families."
Phila. candidates struggle to define street-crime issue There's little difference in their platforms, but the rhetoric makes them appear quite different.
As poll after poll lists crime as the top concern of Philadelphia voters, the candidates in this spring's Democratic mayoral primary have responded with similar sets of policy prescriptions - while couching them in sharply contrasting language.
Crime issue is visceral but elusive
The mayoral candidates agree on the basics of fighting crime, but their rhetoric varies widely.
As poll after poll lists crime as the top concern of Philadelphia voters, the candidates in this spring's Democratic mayoral primary have responded with similar sets of policy prescriptions - while couching them in sharply contrasting language.
Fattah promises unprecedented 'era of openness'
U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah yesterday vowed to improve ethics in City Hall while making his government available in neighborhoods across town as part of "a new era of openness unlike any ever seen in our city."
ON THE BALLOT: CANDIDATES & QUESTIONS
Ballot Order of Candidates

The Committee of Seventy offers a listing of candidates for mayor, judge, City Council and other races in the city.

Ballot Questions

The Committee of Seventy lists the nine questions on the ballot, along with an explanation in plain English.

AUDIO
Post-election Podcast
Listen here as columnist Tom Ferrick Jr., senior writer Larry Eichel and political reporter Thomas Fitzgerald discuss the Democratic mayoral primary.
Mayor candidates at Central High
Central High School hosted five of the six Philadelphia mayoral candidates - U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, former City Councilman Michael Nutter and businessman Tom Knox, all Democrats, and Republican Al Taubenberger, president of the Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. State Rep. Dwight Evans did not attend. Listen here as the candidates answer questions from the students. Also, listen to some of the students' thoughts on the forum.
AD WATCH
The 30-Second Spot
As the mayor's race continues, political ads are featuring candidates sharing their track record in office or making promises. But what is really being said in these campaign commercials? The Inquirer's team of political reporters breaks down the 30-second spots of each candidate to reveal the message in the ads.
AN INSIDER'S VIEW
Who's saying and doing what in city politics
Each Monday, follow the goings-on in City Hall from the inside through the eyes and ears of Inquirer reporters.
SLIDESHOWS: ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL WITH PHOTOGRAPHERS ERIC MENCHER & TOM GRALISH
MAYORAL CANDIDATES
A Council record of accomplishment

Website: Nutter for Mayor

The Issues
Phila.'s neighborhood 'anchor' man


Website: Evans for Mayor

The Issues
A growing sense of mission at home

Website: Fattah for Mayor

The Issues
Maker of the deal, keeper of peace

Website: Brady for Mayor

The Issues
A man who can make numbers sing

Website: Knox for Mayor

The Issues
Sure winner faces long odds
EDITORIAL BOARD MAYORAL PROJECT
Great Expectations
The Inquirer and the University of Pennsylvania’s Project on Civic Engagement are conducting a regionwide dialogue about what Philadelphia needs to do to become a great city.
Commentary
As part of the Great Expectations project, Inquirer columnist Tom Ferrick Jr. offers his own take on the candidates, the issues and the complexities of the race.
PRIMARY BALLOT TUG-OF-WAR
Opponents' appeal
On March 27, 2007, six supporters of Philadelphia mayoral candidate Tom Knox filed an appeal in Commonwealth Court seeking to overturn a lower court's ruling keeping candidate Bob Brady on the May 15 primary ballot.
Brady's Supreme Court petition
On March 30, mayoral candidate Bob Brady asked the state Supreme Court to bypass the Commonwealth Court and issue a ruling on whether his name should be removed from the ballot.
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