Fattah wants
to stay local

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Knocked from his early front-runner perch, Chaka Fattah is trying to stage a comeback in the mayoral race.
Fattah, who trails Tom Knox and Michael Nutter in the latest polls, thinks he can gain ground by focusing on the city’s 25 percent rate of poverty.
The high number of poor people in the city, he argues, is a root cause of crime.
"Lack of opportunity is driving the crime in our city," he said. "We must build a city of opportunity and responsibility to lessen crime and violence in our communities."
Poverty, educational opportunities and crime are all linked, according to Fattah.
"If we want to cut the crime rate, we have to cut the poverty rate," he said.
Fattah, a congressman who represents Lawndale, Northwood and Frankford as part of the 2nd district, has been contrasting his message with that of Nutter. In Fattah’s view, Nutter focuses too much attention on issues such as ethics and parks and not enough on education.
In campaign commercials, Fattah suggests that Knox and Nutter will make massive budget cuts, putting schools and services at risk.
As mayor, Fattah would want the responsibility of making improvements to public education. He would modernize classrooms with wireless Internet connections, laptop computers for every child and so-called "smart boards." He would also earmark $15 million for after-school programs, especially for youths ages 12 to 16.
All children would be eligible for pre-kindergarten programs in a Fattah administration. Right now, only 66 percent of kindergarten students have had formal early child care.
"Early childhood education is the key to opportunity," he said.
Educated students will be able to find work after graduating high school or be ready for college, he said. They will ultimately help lift the low percentage of Philadelphians with college degrees.
"Education is going to be my number-one priority," said Fattah, who plans to pay for his education plan and other initiatives by leasing the operations of Philadelphia International Airport.
According to Fattah, the lease would produce $1.9 billion, along with $150 million to $160 million in annual earnings.
To improve the job market, Fattah would give a tax credit to businesses that create at least five jobs.
The candidate promises to increase the city’s funding for Community College of Philadelphia. He would also work to convince the 80,000 adults who have earned some college credits to complete their degrees.
"Education is the best way to get Philadelphians into well-paying jobs," he said.
Another top priority for Fattah is crime and safety. As a congressman, Fattah has organized a program that allows individuals to turn in guns, no questions asked.
The city, he believes, should establish funds to reward citizens for tips leading to the confiscation of illegal guns and provide grocery vouchers to people who turn in guns. If elected mayor, he would direct the police department to designate specially trained officers in each district to locate illegal guns and add resources to the homicide unit to solve more murders.
In addition, he would encourage the district attorney’s office to require suspects to tell prosecutors where they obtained their illegal guns as part of any plea agreement.
A Fattah administration would also want to "multiply the eyes" by adding 1,000 surveillance cameras in high-crime areas.
Fattah, 50, husband of NBC-10 news anchorwoman Renee Chenault-Fattah, has been in public office for half his life. He served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate before winning a seat in Congress in 1994.
In his bid for mayor, he has received numerous union endorsements, including AFSCME District Council 47, Gas Workers Local 686 and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 8. Other organizations backing Fattah include ACORN, which works for affordable housing, and the Valiants, a group of black firefighters.
Fattah received a boost on Monday when Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, a leading Democratic presidential candidate, made a fund-raising appeal on his behalf. ••