Also this issue:

End Game
As the 2002 gubernatorial race lurches to a merciful end, here’s a look at where candidates stand on the issues.
-Daryl Gale

The 8-Ball
Playing the Section 8 card in the Hoeffel/Brown race.
-Daniel Brook

Sweet on Sweet
-Mary F. Patel

Freeze Play
-Daniel Brook

"Rat" Infestation
-Deborah Bolling

Data Interrupted
The man who fought The New York Times over freelancers’ rights talks about archives, money and history.
-Deborah BollingBy Deborah Bolling

The Bell Curve
City Paper's weekly gauge of Philly's Quality of Life

October 31-November 6, 2002

city beat

Cruz Control

The importance of being ernst: Green Party candidate Ernst Ford is one of two challengers to State Rep. Angel Cruz.

Despite past legal troubles, State Rep. Angel Cruz poses a formidable challenge to his two opponents.

by Daniel Brook

Last fall, State Representative Angel Cruz was on trial for conspiracy in a ward election vote-buying scandal. This fall, Cruz is likely to be re-elected to the statehouse.

On Oct. 18, 2001, jurors convicted four of the six defendants in the conspiracy case but could not agree on the guilt or innocence of Cruz and ward leader Carlos Matos. Following the announcement of a hung jury, prosecutors declined to try the case again.

This fall, two candidates are challenging Cruz, the Democratic incumbent, in his Kensington district, the 180th. One is Republican Steve Kush, a former firefighter now in the construction business. The other is writer and community activist Ernst Ford, a Democrat turned Green Party candidate.

Ford tried to run against Cruz in the Democratic primary but was forced off the ballot when Cruz challenged the signatures on his nominating petition.

Running against the Democratic nominee in Kensington -- a heavily Democratic neighborhood where allegations of voter fraud and intimidation are routine on Election Day -- has proven difficult for both challengers.

On Oct. 28, the Ford campaign held a rally on Fairhill Square, a few blocks from the boarded-up factories of American Street. Turnout was light and many of those who showed up were Green Party activists from elsewhere in the city. In his speech, Ford criticized the rollback of Operation Safe Streets, the anti-drug dealing program, and the inability of local politicians to provide jobs for the neighborhood. Ford said that the only jobs local politicians create are those on Election Day when people are hired with campaign cash to pass out leaflets in front of polling places.

Ford also accused Rep. Cruz of unfairly "kicking him off the ballot" in the May primary. But according to Thomas Hutt, chair of the Green Party of Philadelphia, Ford is hamstrung in talking about the vote-buying scandal since it ended with a hung jury. "He can't say anything directly because [Cruz] wasn't convicted, but everyone knows what happened," Hutt says.

Republican Steve Kush is also treading lightly on the incumbent's run-in with the law. Instead, he focused on hitting the entire district in a door-knocking campaign. All the walking has helped Kush shed over 25 pounds since the campaign season began.

Kush's platform focuses on providing job training and school choice, and reducing welfare dependency in the district. He revels in telling the story of his mother, once on welfare herself, who worked her way up, getting a GED and then becoming a successful realtor.

While Kush lived for a few years in Center City, he moved back to Kensington from what he called his "ivory tower" to get involved in the community and run for office.

Despite the fact that, as Kush says, "the Republican [party] is courting the Latino voting block," Kush hasn't gotten any money from the GOP. Still, Kush has nothing but glowing words for local Republicans, who he says were helpful in getting people to turn out for his two fundraisers.

As he walks the district, Kush talks less about his conservative Republican platform than about what he can do for the neighborhood. His favorite line -- "When was the last time a politician came by to ask for your vote?" -- gets knowing smiles and nods from voters.

When one resident pointed out a vacant, unstable corner building on Ontario Street that had become a favorite place for neighborhood kids to play, Kush whipped out his cell phone and called Councilman Frank Rizzo's office. After a brief exchange, Kush told the prospective voter that L&I would be on the case and that, if he were elected, constituents would be treated to this level of services every day.

The Green Party appears more concerned about treatment of voters on Election Day. Part of the Greens' strategy is to prevent corruption by having poll watchers at most of the 41 polling places in the district.

But even if the election is free and fair, do Ford or Kush stand a chance? Angel Cruz doesn't think so. In the past Cruz has been quoted as saying that a Latino district needs a Latino representative. Kush is white, and Ford, a Haitian immigrant, is black, though both distribute bilingual campaign literature. While Cruz distanced himself from his earlier statement, he acknowledges that people often vote by ethnicity. "In an Irish neighborhood people vote for the Irish name," he said. Since his district is majority Latino -- Cruz's estimate of 75 percent may be on the high side, but not by much -- Cruz figures he'll sail to victory. Regardless of whether ethnic-oriented voting is right, he says, "It's a good thing for me because it will help me get re-elected."

Running shoestring campaigns, neither challenger has been able to conduct any polls to see where they stand. Since turnout in the primary was only 14 percent of registered voters and only 32 percent bothered to vote in the 2000 presidential election, both candidates claim that victory is possible through mobilizing non-voters. Still, both acknowledge the race will more likely be a contest to see who the main opposition will be to the Democratic party in Kensington. According to Kush, the Republicans are the only viable opposition because "people don't take third party candidates seriously." But according to Ford campaign aide Guy Anthony, "The Republican party really is the third party here."