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The Frankford Business and Professional Association will host a mayoral candidate forum on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at St. James Lutheran Church, at 5185 Castor Ave.
Nutter, Fattah, Knox and Republican Al Taubenberger, who is unopposed in the GOP primary, have confirmed their attendance.
Each candidate will have 10 minutes to touch on four topics: crime and safety, taxes, economic development and zoning.
The public is invited.
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Brady said he will continue to campaign on issues of cutting crime and improving schools as two opponents try to knock him off the ballot.
Evans and Knox are supporting efforts to have Common Pleas Court remove Brady from the ballot because he did not list a city pension on his campaign’s financial interest statement that accompanied his nominating petitions.
Brady draws about $8,700 a year from his work as sergeant at arms in City Council and as a liaison to organized labor. He filed an amended form after the omission was discovered.
"The fact remains that many others have been thrown off the ballot for the same infraction or lesser infractions," Evans said. "Bob Brady, in his position as party chairman, was instrumental in making that happen. Fair is fair. No candidate is above the law. If Bob Brady thinks that he is, then I question his ability to lead this city."
Susan Madrak, a spokeswoman for Knox, said "Bob Brady and his machine" have a history of knocking reform candidates off the ballot.
"Now is the time for Bob Brady to play by the same rules as anybody else," she said.
Brady said Knox opposes him because he can’t beat him, despite spending millions of dollars on television commercials. He contended that Evans is "desperate" to grab headlines for his "floundering" campaign.
Brady made a presentation to the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, calling for a decrease in class size to 17 for kindergarten to third grade. He wants to increase the number of non-teaching assistants to maintain order in hallways. He’d also institute a dean of discipline in every school and use more alternative schools to engage troubled kids.
"We must give our teachers the tools they need to prepare our children for the future and create a safe environment where they don’t have to police the halls and fear for their personal safety," he said.
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Nutter is proposing to offer incentives to the Philadelphia business community to hire ex-offenders for jobs.
The Philadelphia Re-Entry Employment Program (PREP) would create a database of public and private sector employment opportunities for ex-offenders, provide tax credits for businesses that hire them and require those who receive city contracts to identify potential jobs and cooperate with the city to expand hiring opportunities.
"The biggest barrier that ex-offenders face in becoming a positive influence in the community is finding a job," Nutter said. "My plan will address the city’s staggering recidivism rate by better incorporating ex-offenders into the workforce.
"Someone who has served time for a criminal offense and paid their debt to society deserves a second chance. We need to offer them that opportunity. We either help now or pay later."
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Fattah last week released a plan to further define Philadelphia as a vibrant capital of arts and culture.
A Fattah administration would re-establish the Office of Arts and Culture, which would be a central point of contact for all arts and culture organizations.
In addition, he would increase the city’s arts and culture budget by 25 percent, including fully funding the Philadelphia Museum of Art and its proposed expansion.
In office, he would encourage partnerships between cultural institutions and public schools to provide curriculum enhancement, internships and increased support for the arts. As an example, he’d increase the distribution of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance’s discounted ticket program.
One of his more ambitious initiatives is to attract federal and state funding to bring a rhythm and blues museum to the Avenue of the Arts. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com