Fattah: ‘I’m going
to win this race’

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Dismissing recent polls that show him in the middle of the pack, Democratic mayoral candidate Chaka Fattah vows, "I’m going to win this race."
Fattah, a 50-year-old former state lawmaker who is in his seventh term representing the 2nd Congressional District, is one of seven Democrats running in the May 15 primary.
Only five — Fattah, businessman Tom Knox, U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, former City Councilman Michael Nutter and state Rep. Dwight Evans — are given a realistic chance of winning.
Though the next mayor won’t take office until January 2008, Fattah expects to turn his attention to City Hall on May 16.
"I plan on getting to work immediately, no disrespect to the Republican candidate (Al Taubenberger), but the Democratic nominee in all likelihood is going to be the next mayor," he said during a Friday morning visit with the Times editorial board.
"I’m not going to spend any time at all on the November election. I will spend all my time figuring how we can put a government together."
Fattah is dismayed that Philadelphia has developed a reputation as the nation’s murder capital. One of his policy initiatives is Gun Safe Philadelphia.
The candidate, who is proud to have a "zero" rating from the National Rifle Association, knows it’s unlikely that criminals will turn in their guns and is troubled that there is no law requiring individuals to report stolen guns.
In addition, he isn’t confident that the state legislature and Congress will pass gun control measures and is worried that the federal courts will soon decide that Americans have an absolute right to any and all guns.
As mayor, he would increase the number of surveillance cameras and direct the police department to assign patrol officers in each district to find illegal guns.
In addition, he would call on the offices of the district attorney, state attorney general and U.S. Attorney to ask defendants about their knowledge of illegal guns during negotiations for pleas or sentences.
For now, he is supporting efforts to encourage gun safety locks and to collect guns from individuals in exchange for $200 grocery vouchers. He also wants to increase funding for a program that makes cash payments to people who report illegal gun possession.
"I think guns should be the number-one focus," he said.
As for one celebrated murder-by-gun case, Fattah defends his call for a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted in the 1981 shooting death of police officer Daniel Faulkner. He said problems at the trial have caused the case to remain in the courts a quarter-century later.
Fattah believes that Abu-Jamal or his brother, William Cook, probably killed Faulkner, but he thinks Abu-Jamal deserves a fair trial.
"It’s my position, and I’m not retreating from it," he said.
Two numbers bother Fattah, an East Falls resident who is married to NBC 10 newscaster Renee Chenault-Fattah. Those numbers are 18 and 25.
Just 18 percent of Philadelphians have college degrees, he said, adding that the figure contributes to the 25-percent rate of poverty in the city.
"We’ve got to get beyond managing the misery," he said.
If elected mayor, Fattah would increase early childhood education programs. Right now, about 40 percent of public school students didn’t attend an early childhood education program, and the candidate argues that youngsters need to learn the alphabet and begin to learn to read by age 6.
Fattah has tried to address the high poverty rate and the low percentage of college graduates by creating CORE Philly, which gives all high school seniors up to $3,000 for their freshman year at Pennsylvania colleges and universities. The program is funded by the city and the School District of Philadelphia.
While early studies show that most of the grant recipients remain in college, there are about 80,000 Philadelphians who have attended college but haven’t graduated. Fattah wants to provide employer tax breaks or tuition reimbursement to help those people complete their degrees.
"We need more college-educated adults," he said.
Explaining that, "The city is its citizens," Fattah as mayor would be less interested in funding tax breaks for corporate giants such as Comcast.
Instead, he wants to give tax breaks to homeowners who make heating, plumbing, electrical and other system improvements to their houses.
In addition, he’d focus on strengthening small businesses. He promises to eliminate the gross-receipts portion of the business privilege tax in his first budget and continue to lower the wage tax and the net-profits tax.
"Most Philadelphians work in jobs with two-hundred employees or less," said Fattah, who is being advised on fiscal matters by Ed DeSeve, who has held financial posts at the city, state and federal levels.
The next mayor of Philadelphia will inherit a budget where 25 percent is made up of municipal health-care and pension benefits. The unions secure their own health packages.
Under a Fattah administration, he would try to get the unions, along with local non-government employers, to find one health provider to save costs without sacrificing benefits.
"The bigger the group, the larger the discount," said Fattah, whose pro-labor voting record has helped him win the endorsements of the gas workers, District Council 47 and a steelworkers local.
Fattah’s grandest proposal is to lease Philadelphia International Airport. He’d invest the payment and use the earnings for initiatives such as after-school programs.
The lawmaker is not one to be dissuaded by people who say the proposal would take too long to implement and wouldn’t yield significant revenue. He notes that 53 of the biggest airports in the world are leased and says such proposals are the "new wave" in public financing because they avoid tax increases.
"We shouldn’t be skeptical of our own abilities," he said. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com