Kittens for Katz

by Mary F. Patel

Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz is striving to overcome stereotypes about Republicans as he swings his way through the city in the final months before the November general election. Some of his supporters say he would have a better shot at beating his Democratic challenger, Mayor John Street, if he ran as an independent.

"My dad's name is Bernard and my name is Samuel," said Katz referring to the last Republican mayor in this city, Bernard Samuel, who served from 1941 until 1952. Democrat Joe Clark succeeded him and there have been Democratic mayors ever since.

Republican or not, Katz wants to be known as a candidate without portfolio, a Republican who transcends party.

He picked Sept. 13 as his day for a big rally. He calls it R.A.R.A.

The Katz campaign has spent the summer heavily tapping into power tools known to energize voter enthusiasm: young people and gays.

Young Professionals for Katz has been organizing various events around the city that are aimed at the younger set. The target age is something like 25 to 40.

Michele Greenberg is a event co-chair for the Young Professionals. She was the former marketing director for City Paper and now runs her own marketing and public relations firm called MGM Associates.

She wanted a young person's campaign event that was different from the pedestrian two-hour cocktail party. So Greenberg is organizing an event for Katz in the MTV mode.

She calls it "Sam Katz Unplugged."

"This will be unprecedented," said Greenberg.

The concept will be Katz and an open microphone at the Prince Music Theater. The scheduled date is Monday, Sept. 22, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.

"Katz Unplugged will have no filters," said Greenberg. "It will be an open and honest dialogue reaching out to a young audience. There is no format other then a moderator, and anyone can ask Sam questions on anything. And it's free." She added that the Prince's capacity is 500 and that is the targeted attendance.

If Katz Unplugged gets that many people, Greenberg may consider extending the time, even though she has planned an afterparty fundraiser at Toto.

Katz is also targeting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community. Rebecca Shapiro, a lobbyist on a temporary "lend" from the firm Hill Solutions, is a deputy director of coalitions for the Katz campaign. She is organizing a big Pride for Katz brunch scheduled for Sept. 21 at the Top of the Tower.

The Katz campaign must overcome the fact that some in the LGBT community were angered by Katz's contribution to U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, who has been critical of gays.

Despite that, some gay Democrats are supporting Katz and not Street.

Bob Ravelli is one such Democrat. He is a member of OutFront!, a nonpartisan lobbying organization focusing on LGBT issues.

Ravelli was assistant deputy mayor of transportation under former Mayor Ed Rendell and later moved over to the Office of Strategic Planning under Street. He was laid off last spring and now works for a nonprofit promoting business development.

"I was looking to get out [of the administration] for awhile," said Ravelli. "Rendell really left things in good shape and Street didnít have a lot of time to screw things up," said Ravelli. "But he could in the next four years. The inertia over there [City Hall] is unbelievable. They spin things so that you see only what they want you to see. Itís just a rudderless ship with no long-term vision, no strategies and they donít see the big picture."

Ravelli said that he is looking at Katz as a total package and not just on gay issues.

"He would do the best job to get the city moving. But I was not happy about Katz's contribution to Santorum, I think he still needs to explain that."

The Street campaign disagrees with Ravelli's assessment of the mayor's record.

"We question his vision," said Street's campaign spokesperson Dan Fee.

"The city has seen neighborhoods revitalized, crime's dropped, abandoned houses have been cleaned and government has been downsized. Oops, maybe he's seen that last one."

Working On The Railroad

Mayor Street expressed his support bigtime last Tuesday for the volunteers of the historic Belmont Mansion in Fairmount Park. Through seven years of extensive research, the volunteers had been trying to convince city officials that the third floor of the Belmont should not be destroyed because it had been a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Their diligence paid off.

"I fully support the plan to preserve the historically significant third floor of Belmont," said the mayor. "The irrefutable link of this space to the Underground Railroad is a source of great pride for the African-American community. It is a tribute to the enduring principle of freedom that unites us as Americans and should be preserved for and revered by future generations. I commend Audrey Johnson-Thornton and the members of the Women's Heritage Society for championing this important initiative."