It was interesting that while just about everyone considered Street's run for mayor a joke, he was treated like a legitimate candidate, invited to forums, appearing on TV like someone who should be mayor.
Even the Inquirer editorial board asked Street in for an endorsement interview. But we do that with every candidate we can find. Believe it or not, some get their names on a ballot and then don't want to be found.
Of course, Street never showed up. After postponing his date with the board again and again, his son, T. Milton Street Jr., called about three times after the scheduled hour for the meeting had passed to say they were "on the way." With a pile of other work to do, I told him to forget it, but regretted that what I expected to be an entertaining, if not enlightening, political discussion wouldn't occur.
Street's 24 percent in the primary is significant because it may be enough to entice his brother to run for his old office. But it wasn't going to take much to do that. The former mayor is obviously bored with teaching a few college courses.
John F. Street was occupying some idle time by running the Philadelphia Housing Authority board. But fired PHA Executive Director Carl Greene messed that up with the sex-harassment allegations against him, which prompted a federal inquiry and the board's removal.
If John Street doesn't run for mayor as an independent, he may seek an at-large City Council seat. Either way, he can irritate Nutter. Street has never said it, but when you talk to him, you can tell he gets rankled every time Nutter insinuates that he had to fumigate City Hall to get rid of its rotten ethics.
