Two Penn employees, candidates maintain their grass is Greenest

It's not easy being Green. Just ask John Hogan -- he's running for one of the seven at-large seats on Philadelphia's City Council, and as a member of the minority Green Party, it's bound to be something of an uphill battle. But he's determined.

"If I work very hard and I'm pretty lucky, I think I can win the seat," Hogan says.

A full-time serial specialist at Penn's Biddle Law Library and longtime member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Hogan, 46, would like to see a fairer tax structure, higher availability of affordable housing and better schools.

His calm, even voice exudes gentleness -- Hogan's platform may seem idealistic, but a single conversation with him makes it more than clear that he is genuinely committed to change.

Raised in Illinois, Hogan currently lives in Mount Airy with his two cats Nick and Nora. Nick was orphaned in the library and Hogan took him in.

"We came in one morning after finals, and there was a cat in the library," Hogan explains. "So I named him Nick after Nicholas Biddle."

But if you're wondering how this warm-hearted Greenhorn will ever get by in the City of Brotherly Love where City Council is about as loving as a pack of wolves, never fear. Just because Hogan puts forth a kind demeanor doesn't mean he can't stand up for himself -- this Green has teeth.

Hogan aspires to relinquish the network of entrenched bureaucracies that control Philadelphia. And as the largest employer in the city, Penn can certainly be counted among those corporate lions that Hogan judges to be in need of taming.

"Penn is in a tough situation," Hogan says. "It does own a lot of property and have a lot of money. It casts a very big shadow, especially in West Philadelphia."

Hogan was a leading voice in the 1998 fight to defend street vending on Penn's campus. The University petitioned City Council to pass a bill moving street vendors off the major thoroughfares on campus, including all of Walnut Street. Hogan explains that Penn wanted to push the unsightly food carts out of the way to lure in new, deluxe retail establishments.

The chic shops on Walnut Street attest to the University's victory, won despite an organization called the Penn Consumer Alliance, which formed in opposition to the legislation. Hogan was active in the PCA and attended several City Council hearings on the matter.

He says that Mayor John Street, then City Council president, was very direct with him: "Penn is the largest employer in the city, and when they want something like this, they're going to get it," Hogan recalls Street saying.

Rather ironic since Street started out as a street vendor himself, selling coffee and pretzels out of a cart on the nearby Temple University campus.

Hogan has been less than impressed with Street's tenure as mayor.

"The system we have in Philly is one that [Street] decided to stick with," Hogan says. "Money talks and contributors to political campaigns are first in line for jobs. I don't accept that system."

Hogan cites the Pennsylvania Convention Center debacle as the culmination of the corrupt system.

"It's a really good example, by which I mean a bad example, of what can happen with a system where politicians are more interested in doing favors for their supporters than they are with getting the work of the city done," he says.

And colleagues note that Hogan is all about getting things done.

"He's always got a handle on what's happening and why... and how to help his fellow union workers," says Mike Wisniewski, a library acquisitions bookkeeper at Van Pelt Library. "He's very sincere, scrupulously honest and hardworking.... The city would certainly benefit from his being on the council."

Hogan sees his campaign as "an opportunity to get Greens and progressives working together." He hopes to find his voter base not only among Greens, but also among union members such as public employees and teachers.

"I lived in West Philadelphia for about 20 years and still have active Penn connections," Hogan says. "I think a lot of my votes will come from West and Northwest Philly."

That certainly includes area college students. Hogan plans to "have an operation on campus that beats people up until they register," he says with a laugh. He explains that he could be an advocate for students' needs if elected councilman.

Hogan, who won't be competing until the general election in November, has certainly gotten an early start. He'll need to snag 130,000 votes in order to win the election, but right now, he's concentrating on the thousands of signatures he'll need to collect before he can officially get onto the ballot.

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