Rematch of sorts
in First District

By Brian Rademaekers
Times Staff Writer

For many residents of the 1st Councilmanic District, this year’s race is déjà vu all over again.
Three-term incumbent Frank DiCicco is again facing rival Vern Anastasio — only in this election, voters will actually have a chance to cast a vote for the lively and outspoken challenger. Last time around, DiCicco was able to knock Anastasio off the ballot weeks before the election through a court challenge over errors in his financial disclosure forms.
That was four years ago. Since that time, Anastasio has barely missed a chance to take a swipe at DiCicco, and the rhetoric on both sides has surged as Tuesday’s primary election draws near.
On the surface, both candidates vying for the nomination appear to come from the same political strain. Like DiCicco, the 37-year-old Anastasio comes from a South Philly family with deep roots. They even grew up in the same Italian Market neighborhood. Anastasio has also spent most of his career moving through various city jobs, a path similar to the one DiCicco took on his way to City Council.
But if you ask Anastasio, he’ll tell you that his campaign represents a complete change of course from the direction DiCicco’s leadership has taken the district over the last 12 years.
Anastasio first got into politics working for DiCicco’s predecessor, Joe Vignola. He later worked as chief of staff for state Rep. Babette Josephs, a Democrat from Center City, and spent eight years working with the city’s Human Relations Commission. His latest employment with the city was as an attorney for the Redevelopment Authority, and he also helped to found the Bella Vista United Civic Association.
Branding himself an "independent Democrat," the young challenger has been hitting the streets over the last several months and calling for a change in what he sees as an outmoded style of Philadelphia politics.
Anastasio says the actions of indicted state Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, a close friend of DiCicco’s who is facing federal corruption charges, define a broken political culture. Anastasio alleges that DiCicco, an admitted Fumo protégé, represents a system of pay-to-play politics, and that the councilman has done more to look after himself than the district.
"If there is no other reason that the people in the First district should be looking for change, it’s Frank’s involvement with Fumo," Anastasio said of his election opponent.
At community meetings and forums across the lower Northeast, Anastasio has also accused DiCicco of ignoring the northern reaches of the district, which include parts of Port Richmond, Kensington, Fishtown and Frankford.
The district includes a diverse mix of neighborhoods and stretches along the Delaware River from Oregon Avenue in South Philadelphia before taking a westward turn toward the Roosevelt Boulevard.
"I’ve been to rec centers in East Kensington that look like they have been bombed," said Anastasio.
Two weeks ago, Anastasio and his "A-team" made an appearance on Jasper Street in Frankford, an area the challenger calls "…one of the two worst drug spots in the city."
With about a dozen volunteers carrying out a street cleaning session on Jasper, Anastasio filmed the event as part of an ad campaign featured on his Web site and the poplar online-video site YouTube.
"We picked up about a dozen (drug) needles in a playground where kids were trying to play," said Anastasio. "…That is just wrong."
For his part, DiCicco blows off Anastasio’s claims of neglect as commonplace.
"Even people in Center City say they never see their elected officials," countered DiCicco. "I have been very active in the northern neighborhoods."
To back it up, DiCicco pointed to his efforts to save two lower Northeast fire stations, a move than recently won him an endorsement from the Philadelphia Fire Fighters Local 22.
The incumbent also touted his work in helping Northern Liberties to obtain land for its Liberty Lands Park and the nearby Orianna Hill Dog Park.
"My opponent has a tendency to embellish things," DiCicco says of Anastasio’s accusations.
As for his Anastasio’s charges that his connections to Fumo tie him to a corrupt political machine?
DiCicco calls Fumo a "friend" and says he won’t "turn his back on him in a time of trouble."
"I am a part of an organization in Philadelphia known as the Democratic Party, and I don’t make any bones about it," says DiCicco.
Speaking last Friday, DiCicco said he was comfortable that his record in the district would bring him a fourth term come Tuesday, and he cited internal polls that had him well ahead of Anastasio.
Not surprisingly, that didn’t put a damper on Anastasio’s optimism. Counting on a largely self-funded campaign that has relied heavily on door-to-door stumping, Anastasio is confident that voters in the 1st district are looking for change.
"We’ve been knocking on doors and asking people one very simple question: What do you need?" said Anastasio, "...I want to make sure that the people of this city get the services they pay for." ••