Council veteran awaits the call

Thacher Longstreth has always considered himself a "compromise candidate." But the 70-year-old city councilman hopes that in his third try, he may be the Republican party's first choice to be the next mayor of Philadelphia. And he hopes the party agrees. "I've been nobody's first choice, but almost everyone's second choice," Longstreth said last week. He waged unsuccessful bids before in 1955 and in 1971. But Longstreth, like several other Republicans who have expressed an interest in the position, said he will wait expectantly for a nod from Republican party boss William Meehan to launch an all-out campaign. Getting that endorsement will be especially difficult this year -- a year when Republicans could regain City Hall after a drought of over 40 years. And with a Republican victory within grasp, Longstreth said that only a candidate that Meehan believes can win in the fall has a chance for the nod this spring. Tough competition has already taken the field in the Republican ranks, including the old and powerful Frank Rizzo and the new and sharp-thinking Sam Katz. In addition, Longstreth faces fellow City Council member Joan Specter and longshot Dennis Morrison-Wesley. Beyond the announced candidates are likely runners Ron Castille, Philadelphia's District Attorney, and City Council member Brian O'Neill. Longstreth said he will decide whether to run for sure in the next few weeks. "There is a sense that Bill Meehan's support . . . is therefore really an imperative," Longstreth said. Longstreth was born in 1920 and raised on Philadelphia's Main Line. He left the city to attend Princeton University where he was an All-America football player. He started small after graduation, as an advertising salesman for Life magazine. He began his climb up the corporate ladder and, for many years, was an executive in the advertising industry. And his experience in the Navy during World War II may now give him an emotional point or two in his favor, given the war in the Persian Gulf. But in Philadelphia, which is facing growing violent crime and looming budget deficits, there has been some backlash against established Philadelphia politicians like Longstreth, who is a three-term council member. This feeling is common among the electorate, according to Longstreth. "People never think that [candidates] should be chosen from among the inner participants," Longstreth said. "The person who challenges them is pure and pristine." Longstreth has some idea of what has worked and what has not to solve the financial crisis in the city. He said he would follow many of the things that fellow Council member John Street, a Democrat, has proposed. Each idea to increase revenue or to decrease costs must be examined and determined to be legal, practical and politically sound, he said. Then each must be prioritized and implemented. To combat crime, Longstreth said he advocates expanding the Townwatch program which exists in many portions of the city. This program is vital, Longstreth said, because it provides citizens with a set system through which they can report crimes or give police information about their neighborhood. He also said the city should not get involved in social problems which are the state's domain. He scoffed at the idea -- suggested by several other candidates -- that once the city proves it can get its finances in order, the state will be willing to give Philadelphia more aid. "That's baloney," Longstreth said. "Look at the record . . . we are liable to get less." And he said user fees -- to be paid by private non-profit institutions like the University -- are practically certain to be an option that the new mayor will consider. Longstreth predicted that the next mayor will face a situation similar to what New Jersey Governor Jim Florio is facing in his state. The mayor, like Florio, will have to make many unpopular choices and affront many supporters.

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