Posted oN AUGUST 10, 2006

(Missed a CLOUT this summer? We've started an archive.)

BOB BRADY’S next summit may be trickier to pull off than his last one.

The congressman and chairman of Democratic City Committee drew the cream of the state’s and city’s leadership to his crime summit two weeks ago.

Now Brady says he wants to meet with the six other likely mayoral candidates.

“It would be a conversation about the elections,” Brady said. “The one coming up in November and the one next spring.”

This fall, he wants to make sure everyone is focused on electing Gov. Rendell (whom Brady calls “the human vacuum cleaner” of fundraising) and U.S. Senate candidate Bob Casey Jr.

And about next spring? To make sure the candidates stick to the issues, avoid personal attacks and run a dignified campaign.

Good luck with that!

As party chairman, his request might seem perfectly reasonable to likely candidates. But as a potential candidate himself, his request seems, well, suspicious.

“It depends on who is going going to promulgate these ground rules,” said Tom Knox. "If they’re Bob Brady’s ground rules, I’m not so sure. If he wants to bring us together and develop a consensus, that’s another thing.”

“Why should I talk to a politician about what the issues are?” said John Dougherty. “I’m talking to the people of Philadelphia in their kitchens and their churches. I don’t need to talk to Bob Brady.”

So far, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah and ex-City Councilman Michael Nutter have agreed to the sitdowns.

What if the hopefuls turn the tables on Brady and demand, for example, that he set a date to let them know if he’s running?

“If they try to pin me down, it’s not going to happen,” Brady says. “I wouldn’t try to tell any of them what decision to make.”

This will only get better.

Council: It’s special

City Council President Anna Verna hasn’t announced it yet, so we’ll do it for her: There will be a special election in November to fill the vacant seats of Nutter, Rick Mariano and the late David Cohen.

Oh, so now you want to know who’s going to win too?

OK, Bill Greenlee for Cohen’s seat and Carol Campbell for Nutter’s seat. The Mariano seat is a bit trickier.

Figuring winners is easy because, in a special, the Democratic ward leaders pick the candidate. The overwhelmingly Democratic electorate then confirms the choice at the polls.

And who do ward leaders pick as candidates? Other ward leaders!

That makes Greenlee a strong favorite for Cohen’s at-large seat. Campbell gets the nod for the Nutter seat — if she wants it — because her clout within the party is a bit more than that of a couple of other ward leaders who’ve expressed interest.

But the Mariano seat is tricky because two ward leaders and the daughter of a third — Daniel Savage, John Sabatina and Marnie Aument — are interested. None appears to have a clear edge.

This suggests secret deals will be made. If you promise to keep quiet, Clout will report them as they happen.

Knox goes first

The first ads of the 2007 mayoral campaign aired yesterday on cable TV and radio.
Businessman Tom Knox makes his debut in an anti-violence ad that urges people to sign a petition calling on the Legislature to allow the city to pass its own gun laws.
The ads will run 25 to 30 times a day for a month.
Knox will present the petition in Harrisburg Sept. 26 at a special session on gun violence.

Tigre has a tale

Tigre Hill’s documentary about the 2003 mayor’s race, “The Shame of a City,” pounds the Democrats for playing the race card after an FBI bug was uncovered in Mayor Street’s office.

Yet at least three Democratic mayoral hopefuls have approached Hill, sources say, for permission to use his film in their campaigns.

How can that be? Well, besides Street, three other elected officials come off looking pretty bad in the film: likely mayoral candidates Jonathan Saidel, Chaka Fattah and Bob Brady.

And the three Dems seeking to use Hill’s film? Our guess is they’re among the remaining four mayor wannabes: Michael Nutter, Tom Knox, state Rep. Dwight Evans or John Dougherty.

Chasing Amy

We’ve been wanting to say this for a long time: Amy Gutman is a class act.

The University of Pennsylvania president will hold a welcoming reception at her home for the new president of Temple University, Ann Weaver Hart, the former University of New Hampshire prez who assumed command of Diamond Acres on July 1.

This unusual friendliness among academics — many are at least as vicious as politicians behind the scenes — will take place Sept. 7.

Do not expect this era of good feelings between Big 5 rivals Temple and Penn to reach the basketball court, however.

Heat summit

The first mayoral candidate to grab this idea is guaranteed a boost in the polls.

Call a summit and promise to take action on the oppressive heat that has caused the deaths of senior citizens and so much discomfort.

Lay out a list of recommendations. Vow that you’ll solve the problem within six weeks.
We’ll help by listing the average temperature each week.

Who’s says you can’t fool ’em all of the time
.
Staff writer Gar Joseph contributed to this report.