September 23-29, 2004

political notebook

by Mary F. Patel

They're All Blue

As Election Day rapidly approaches, some local Democrats are wondering whether their party should be sorry that they didn't support Howard Dean as their candidate for president. With Democratic candidate John Kerry trailing George Bush in the latest Knight Ridder-MSNBC poll, would the odds be different now if Dean had won more primaries?

Kerry's critics are doing more than challenging his valor in Vietnam. They have generally been focusing on his position on Iraq, not specifically one position, but all the positions he has taken which, they assert, proves he's vacillating and actually has no real position.

Former City Councilman Angel Ortiz, an early Dean supporter who served as the one of the candidate's point people in Pennsylvania, says it's looking like his man would have been a great candidate right about now.

"You can't be ashamed of being too liberal," says Ortiz, noting that Dean remained steady in his antiwar position. "Dean was right when he said that we are no safer since [Saddam] Hussein's capture. The problem with Kerry is that he should have been meaner. He waited too long for the attacks and let Bush define him. But Kerry can still pull it out."

Elliott Curson, a political consultant, says that any governor is a better candidate than a U.S. Senator. Dean was the popular former governor of Vermont.

"There have only been two U.S. senators that have been elected as president, John Kennedy and Warren Harding," says Curson. "Other presidents have been U.S. senators like Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, and Harry Truman, but they were vice presidents first. If Dean hadn't been so far to the left and ran on the strength of his office, he would have done better than Kerry. Kerry has a 20-year record that he's not talking about because whatever he says, [the Bush camp] will refute him as he has thousands of votes which could show contradictions."

Not everybody agrees with the premise that Dean wouldn't face the same adversity. Jerome Kaplan, a Center City attorney and political activist, says candidate Dean would have taken a harder hit from Bush than Kerry.

Last Sunday afternoon, Kaplan hosted a fundraiser for PA Victory '04 at his apartment for Kerry, John Edwards and the statewide Democratic ticket. Kaplan said he was pleased with the turnout of more than 100 people.

"We also sold buttons," says Kaplan, noting that the event raised $6,500. "We got them from Kerry.com and we sold them for $1 each."

Kaplan says he "broke his own rule" about giving speeches because he felt obligated to say something since the news reports about Kerry's latest poll position were a downer for him.

The Inquirer recently reported on the poll by Knight Ridder (the corporate news chain that owns both the Inky and the Daily News) that showed Bush leading Kerry in six states that are close but that went his way four years ago.

"I asked people to give of their time and to register people to vote," says Kaplan. "But Kerry should be doing more than just running an antiwar campaign. He needs to focus more on Medicare and jobs."

From the Development Files

The high demand for upscale housing continues. Old City is experiencing a developmental boom with numerous high-rises and condos attracting occupants before they are even built.

At the end of last month, 34 condo units in a building going up as part of the National Warehouse development on North Second Street were sold in one day. Matrix Development Group, an organization based in northern New Jersey with projects across the country, purchased the National Products building last year along with other properties from the same owner on the east and west sides of Second Street to build residential housing. There will also be over 10,000-square feet of retail space included in the project.

Steve Patron, a principle of Matrix, said, "as the day wore on, we raised our prices."

The Matrix/K. Hovnanian Enterprises project consists of two phases. The condos sold were on the west side of Second Street, which currently is an empty hole.

Patron said architectural plans for each unit were displayed for buyers. Prices ranged from $300,000 to $400,000 for condos. Penthouses sold for $1 million.

"It was just amazing," says Patron, noting that the next phase will soon continue on the east side of Second. "That will be trickier because of the [existing signature building's] orange facade."

The city is experiencing a trickle-down effect from Manhattan where a good portion of real estate is going for more than $1,000 a square foot. Philly hasn't reached that level yet, but in areas like Rittenhouse Square, Society Hill and Old City, some people are paying more than $800 a square foot.