Street, Katz face off in televised debate

The candidates debated the major issues facing the city, including taxes and schools. Discussing issues, policies and personalities, the two major-party candidates for mayor of Philadelphia sharpened their claws on each other this weekend during their first official televised debate and a subsequent forum on Penn's campus. Tension hung heavy in the the air at both events, as Democrat John Street and Republican Sam Katz pressed each other over key campaign issues like wage tax, public safety and education. The televised debate was taped Saturday morning at WPVI, the local ABC affiliate, and broadcast yesterday at 5 p.m. A second issues forum took place at the Annenberg Center's Zellerbach Theatre on Saturday afternoon. The events highlighted some of the clear ideological differences between the candidates. The city economy and wage taxes was indisputedly the biggest issue dividing the candidates at both events. And several surprises were in store as the candidates pressured each other into announcing positions on issues they had previously skirted. Katz, who has broadly declared that reducing the wage tax is the only way to combat Philadelphia's population loss, said he would cut the wage tax to 4 percent or less. Street repeatedly insisted that this was a "radical" move that could cripple the city's finances. Outgoing Mayor Ed Rendell has spoken frequently about the need to avoid lowering the wage tax too much. Meanwhile, Street acknowledged that he would retain John Timoney as police commissioner -- a step Katz favors, but that Street had until now avoided discussing throughout the campaign. Katz stressed the city's decline in both population and number of businesses, adding that Philadelphia is not customer friendly. A wage tax reduction, he said, would attract people back to the city. "We have to make the community competitive," Katz added. According to the GOP candidate, the city budget needs to be re-evaluated, repeating his campaign mantra of running the city like a major corporation. Street, a former City Council president, prickled under Katz's statements about inefficiency within city government. He then tried to color Katz's goals as irresponsible and impractical for the city. According to Street, it would cost the city about $500 million over a four-year mayoral term to reduce wage tax from the current 4.61 percent to Katz's goal of 4 percent. He endorsed the "modest tax cuts" of Rendell's five-year plan that would reduce the taxes to 4.46 percent over five years. And he questioned how Katz would carry out his promise. "Tell us what you're going to cut," Street demanded. "Are we still going to have a police department?" Street repeated the question several times over the course of the debate but Katz steadfastly avoided answering it. Katz later said, "We have every intention of making a detailed proposal [and] make it public in the course of the campaign." Another key issue over which Street and Katz battled was public safety and security. But while both candidates said they were committed to promoting safety in neighborhoods and productivity in the police force, the discussion centered on who planned to retain Timoney. Katz announced early on in the campaign that he would keep Timoney, the former deputy police chief in New York City who came to Philadelphia in January 1998. Street has avoided the question, because, insiders say, he doesn't want to discuss appointments during the campaign. Street has frequently stressed that he was key in bringing Timoney to Philadelphia from New York, but has avoided committing himself to retaining Timoney. But as Katz continued to goad him on the issue, Street finally came out and snapped: "I'll reappoint John Timoney. Does that make you happy?" Beyond taxes and Timoney, education garnered the most discussion on Saturday, with both candidates saying they would focus on improving the failing Philadelphia school system. Katz said the schools need a new management system, adding that he would not retain Superintendent David Hornbeck. He also said that he would support school vouchers and charter schools -- a move Street said could hurt public educations. "There is no statistical evidence to show that vouchers will drain resources and best kids," said Katz -- who, as Street noted, sent his own children to private schools instead of public. Funding, according to Street, is the key issue at stake for city schools. He pledged to get additional funding from the state and said he would reduce class sizes. But Street did not comment on the superintendent. "Hornbeck is not the issue," he said. Both candidates said they looked forward to following the popular Rendell, who was recently named head of the Democratic National Committee. "I look forward to being a cheerleader of the city," Street said. Katz echoed the sentiment. "I have a very bubbly personality," he noted. Fringe candidate John McDermott, running on the right-wing Constitutional Party ticket, was not invited to either debate.

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