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ConfiaEnElProceso OP t1_j5qd6mu wrote

Reply to comment by nemesisinphilly in Former Philly Mayor John Street endorses Rebecca Rhynhart by ConfiaEnElProceso

I was not in town for his run and the only news which reached my ears was the corruption, which seemed legendary.

What positive things was he known for?

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GreenAnder t1_j5qlzj2 wrote

Dude did more then the current mayor, that's for sure

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danstecz t1_j5qqqyf wrote

An actual street did more than the current mayor.

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jea25 t1_j5qggz0 wrote

Google Neighborhood Transformation Initiative. He certainly wasn’t perfect, but he did a lot to clean up vacant lots and raze abandoned houses.

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tsarstruck t1_j5rf49o wrote

NTI was a collosal waste of money.

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katecrime t1_j5tb7al wrote

Only a person who never spent any time in North Philly in the early 2000s could say that.

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ForwardPress t1_j5tv49y wrote

Correct. Ridge on the Rise and the maintenance of vacant lots was awesome but they eventually took the money being used for it and gave it back via tax breaks for Comcast and others and bloated bad faith contracts by the FOP.

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AbsentEmpire t1_j5v1rx9 wrote

You couldn't be more wrong if you tried. It was a very successful program and was widely popular with residents in the most disinvested neighborhoods of the city.

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nemesisinphilly t1_j5qe26q wrote

Only things I remember are towing abandoned cars which is a bigger deal than it seems and demolishing blighted properties. I didn't pay much attention to politics back then.

I think this is more about getting blocks of voters. In a primary like this if it gets her a chunk of North Philly voters it's a win.

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ConfiaEnElProceso OP t1_j5qolr8 wrote

There are two independent things happening with the endorsement.

  1. This almost certainly helps Rhynhart's chances to win. It is an important voting bloc. Just how influential Street is at this point is an open question, but the endorsement is helpful politically.

  2. I think, and I may be mistaken, that this calls into question how much of a reformer she really is. Street is, or was, an insider with a reputation for corruption and shady dealings. If he is showing her the ropes, will she govern in a similar way?

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donttouchthirdrail t1_j5rfrxv wrote

Political corruption is abstract and doesn’t effect people’s day to day life very much. If someone can get the abandoned cars off the streets and sweep them idgaf if their dumbest cousins on payroll.

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ConfiaEnElProceso OP t1_j5rmon5 wrote

I respectfully disagree. Our libraries, schools, sanitation, streets are all underfunded in part due to the graft that is part and parcel of Philly politics.

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donttouchthirdrail t1_j5rocv3 wrote

Nah man, the old machines were great. Get you a job, build a subway, might even get you a job building the subway. Now we don’t get any of the patronage, but we still have all the corruption. Sure, a bunch of guys named Mikey O’Donnelly are in city payroll, but if you’ve got a problem you call up your ward leader and Mikey takes care of it

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KFCConspiracy t1_j5s9cqp wrote

Street lead Philadelphia into the reduction of crime and redevelopment in the early 2000s. He wasn't a great mayor like nutter but he actually did stuff. Unlike Kenney.

Also alongside his corrupt dealings with his brother on the airport project, he oversaw the airport actually becoming nice, and not the shit hole it used to be

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William_d7 t1_j5wrban wrote

He was a really good speaker. He opened for John Kerry during a Kerry campaign stop and he did a great job rousing the crowd.

Kerry put everyone to sleep 2 minutes later.

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