In January's Keystone Poll, two-thirds of Philadelphia voters said crime, not political reform or anything else, was the issue. Most analysts believe reform questions will influence the margins of the race at best, but activists believe anger is rising in Philadelphia, as it did across the state last year after the legislature gave itself a pay raise.
"I think we're breaking through, people are waking up," said Anne Dicker, a founder of the liberal group Philly for Change and a leader in the movement against two proposed casinos. "People in Philadelphia want change," she said, a desire that "cuts across a lot of lines."
The shifting legal and political terrain around the city's caps on campaign giving has already forced four of the mayoral campaigns to adjust tactics and strategy several times.
First, they had to raise cash under the limits of $5,000 from an individual donor and $20,000 from a political committee. Then came Kenney's first proposal, to eliminate those caps, followed by his second, to have floating caps.
Even with Kenney having backed down, the hard limits might not last: A pending lawsuit scheduled for a hearing March 7 in Commonwealth Court could result in judges' striking down the city's campaign-donation caps as a violation of the state constitution.
Millionaire Tom Knox, who has already loaned his own campaign $5 million and vows to spend "whatever it takes" to win the mayor's office, is the cause of much of the uncertainty. Knox sent a jolt through the race with a $2 million TV ad blitz that rocketed him to second place in a January poll.
