John Street (Mayor of Philadelphia): Remember His Name Because Many Won't

The last time that Street received more than passing notice in the media, other than the Philadelphia Daily News or the Inquirer, was when the new IPhone had its debut. On June 29th, Street was propped up in a lawn chair in a city alley adjacent to a Best Buy electronics retail store. At 3:30 A.M. that day, he was waiting in line to be among the first to purchase one of the newest in phone gadgets, the IPhone.

Did I mention that his lawn chair was located next to a (full) Dumpster? Or that it was raining? Or that a new version of the IPhone has already been announced for purchase by December of this year? Street, the 'invisible man' of Philadelphia politics, has already admitted a fascination with all things electronic. It's too bad that he couldn't have put his passion aside for once, just for once, during a weekend in which 43 acts of violence occurred in the city of which he serves as mayor.

At last count, the city has over 244 homicide cases so far, and it's only early August. Many theories have been explored as to why the city is home to so many senseless, violent deaths. City statisticians, culling information from the Coroner's Office, note that a significantly high number of these homicides involve African American men between the ages of 15 and 35. Residents in West Philadelphia as well as members of the clergy, activist groups, and the families of the victims, are genuinely worried.

During the weekend that Street lounged around waiting for Best Buy to open, there were at least nine acts of violence in the city, including one incident that took place following a televised boxing event at Abay Wheeler's Bar in southwest Philadelphia. Three men were shot dead, one clings to life, after tempers flared regarding bets placed on the bout.

One of the biggest problems that challenge the Philadelphia police department in solving these homicides is the reluctance of witnesses to be perceived as 'snitches'. Bystanders who stood two or three feet away from the victim of a shooting can't seem to remember who the shooter was, what he/she looked like, what he was even doing there in the first place. Philadelphia isn't the only city trying to cut through this apparently cultural phenomena; it's nationwide, it's actually the topic of several high-profile rap songs.

Whether we like it or not, we live in a culture right now where a certain percentage of people - black, white, male, female, old or young - believe that it's wrong to cooperate with law enforcement and give them the names or any information regarding suspected perpretators of violence. Throughout the country, rallies - many of them at the sites of recent murders - are being held to try to change this thinking. Local ministers, police departments, and community activists have spoken of the need to 'speak up'.

Some progress can be seen from time to time. Recently, a 16 year old boy in nearby Camden, New Jersey, was shot three times by a trio of youths who were after the boy's brand new (and expensive) bike. He was shot while riding in a local county park. It was no small matter of consolation to his grieving parents and family members when 'someone' tipped off the police that they had seen a group of young men pushing the bike (covered in a sheet) through a housing development. The three young men confessed to the crime.

Street has been notoriously publicity-shy, stating that the appearance of his leadership, rather than the actual acts performed in office, will taint his legacy. He does not attend the memorials for homicide victims that swell up all too often following a death. "The police commissioner is the face of the department", Street has said. "He does a pretty good job. I don't go to shootings." (This, coming from a public officials whose usual greeting is the line "I'm having a great day!".)

With his departure from public office looming ahead in the foreseeable future, Street, for once, stepped up to the plate. On the Monday following the deaths of the three bar patrons, Street showed up at Abay Wheeler's and addressed the crowd of local residents and grieving family members.

His presence at such an event was such a rarity that a city hall email alert was sent to members of the media at 2:47 P.M., informing them of Street's presence at the press event to be held at 3:30 P.M.

Street talked about fighting the "attitude that kills", that of withholding information from the police about crime. He vowed to personally make sure that the bar was closed down until the gunman had been arrested. He said that the bar would be shut down until its bartenders, owner and staff share with the police who was inside the bar on that fateful night.

If the bar's staff won't cooperate with police, Street added, he would see to it that charges for obstruction were filed against them. Significant applause followed his remarks, until Street said "Anyone from this community, anyone that really cares, tell us now what you know." That last remark drew a hush and no applause from the crowd.

So paranoid is Street about his public image, even under these most trying of circumstances, is really bizarre. John Street is an African American Democrat elected in a city highly populated by African American Democrats. These people are his constituents, his base. A comparison between Street and his predessor, Ed Rendell, is compellingly telling. Rendell, now the Governor of Pennsylvania, was a Caucasian Democrat who truly believed that he was a 'man of the people'. Not a public relations event went by when the photogenic and personable mayor Rendell wasn't present. He was out there in the city for ribbon-cuttings for new retail establishments, on hand to publicly welcome notable city visitors and celebrities alike.

He made his presence known on sports televison and talk radio shows, chatting up pre and post game games for his beloved Philadelphia Eagles. Whereas Street was exceptionally selective about lending his public persona to causes, community groups and functions, and nearly all of Philadelphia's touted universities and colleges, then-Mayor Rendell shone in what seemed to be an all-encompassing spotlight. It seemed that there wasn't a city cause or group that he wouldn't publicly endorse.

Some of his best work was televised ad campaigns to draw tourists to visit Philadelphia, especially a recent one that invited residents of suburban areas outside of the city and across the many bridges crossing over to New Jersey and New York that Philadelphia was "more fun when you slept over". (Downtown Philly hotels and restaurants worked together to entice those of us in the suburbs to come and spend the night with discounted rates and deals.) I am hard pressed to think of any television campaigns in which Street has taken part.

It's a shame, really, but the bitter truth is that John Street will be more remembered for what he didn't do than what he may have accomplished as the mayor of Philadelphia. He'll be hard-pressed to deflate the facts that mark his last months in office: the highest homicide rate in the city in the past 15 years, and the highest-number of city prisoners (well over 9,000) currently being housed is an all-time city record. Perhaps, in the end, Street will chalk it all up to his bitter relationship with the media. At the Abay Wheeler Bar press event's end, Street yelled at a reporter that "No matter what we do here, you'll find a way to write this story in a negative way."