Milton Street

T. Milton Street Sr., Mayor Street's brother and mayoral candidate turned City Council hopeful, will have to wait longer to find out if he's staying on the ballot. He appeared in Commonwealth Court yesterday, defending himself against an eligibility challenge that he says is masterminded by his nephew and fellow City Council candidate Sharif Street. The court's judgment is expected next week. To the surprise of many, Milton Street prevailed in a Common Pleas Court decision last month.

MILTON STREET: What's there to say about him that he hasn't already said about himself? How about this: If Milton were running for national office, I think he'd actually be a Republican. It seems crazy that someone who speaks out for the rights of ex-cons (a platform plank I agree with) and who finds much of his support in communities of color would be a member of the GOP. I don't say this for partisan reasons, but Street's mayoral campaign is taking a page from the Republican playbook: Here's a guy who's amassed millions of dollars over the years speaking on behalf of everyday folks.

In a white-stucco office building in Essington, the computers were booted up yesterday morning, the bare walls shone under fluorescent lights, and the empty bins in the garage awaited spare parts for airport baggage carousels. Milton Street was ready for business. But instead of taking over the maintenance of equipment at Philadelphia International Airport yesterday as planned, Street was on the phone scrambling to find a lawyer to represent him in what he considers an inevitable court battle against his brother, the mayor of Philadelphia.

He's retired and lives off his Social Security benefits. Oh, and 71-year-old T. Milton Street Sr. is in arrears for nearly $800,000 - though Street says the "real number" is closer to $400,000. These were some of the Facts According to Milton gleaned from a 38-page statement of financial interests he submitted last week as he filed paperwork to try to become Philadelphia's second Mayor Street. His rival in the primary, Mayor Nutter, handed in nominating petitions with 7,257 names.

RE ELMER Smith's recent column on my father, T. Milton Street: It didn't mention any of his accomplishments as a state senator or representative. It mentioned antics, not substance. If you only admire him for the theatrics, you admire him for the wrong reason. State Sen. Street was a visionary, ahead of his time. He predicted years ago the problems the city would face with the funding for public education and submitted a bill for games of chance - that was substance. Now, 25 years later, we have just that.

Mayor Nutter has drawn second position to Milton Street for the May 17 primary ballot. Ballot positions for other races also are being drawn in Room 676 at City Hall. Nutter took his 2d place position in the Democratic race in stride. "I do have full confidence the voters will be able to find my name on the ballot," he said. Follow reports on the drawing at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/heardinthehall/ .

Although Mayor Nutter captured the Democratic nomination Tuesday, the nettlesome fact remains that a recent convict who owes nearly $800,000 in taxes snatched one of every four votes from a reformist mayor who four years ago drew crowds to City Hall just to shake his hand. Nutter interpreted the 24 percent of voters who backed T. Milton Street Sr. as a reflection of an electorate angry with a shortage of jobs and rising costs, a ripple effect of the national economic crunch. But one person with a different view is John F. Street.

A well-known public servant is off to serve his country. T. Milton Street Jr., who once helped his father seize a courtroom, will now try to take Kuwait. Street's U.S. Army reserve unit, the 1018th Reception Battalion out of Fort Dix, N.J., has been activated and is being shipped to Saudi Arabia today. Yesterday, Street, 24, and his father T. Milton Street Sr., the former state senator, returned to Traffic Court, scene of their epic political struggle last November over unpaid traffic tickets.

Although Mayor Nutter captured the Democratic nomination Tuesday, the nettlesome fact remains that a recent convict who owes nearly $800,000 in taxes snatched one of every four votes from a reformist mayor who four years ago drew crowds to City Hall just to shake his hand. Nutter interpreted the 24 percent of voters who backed T. Milton Street Sr. as a reflection of an electorate angry with a shortage of jobs and rising costs, a ripple effect of the national economic crunch. But one person with a different view is John F. Street.

T. Milton Street Sr. - running for Philadelphia mayor and under indictment - has parted ways with his court-appointed attorney. Street, 67, appeared in federal court yesterday to allow Jeanne Damirgian, a former federal prosecutor, to withdraw as his counsel in the government's corruption and tax evasion case against him. Damirgian told U.S. District Court Judge Legrome D. Davis that she had proposed legal strategies for Street's defense, but...

YOU CAN SAY a lot of things about former state Sen. Milton Street Sr. - he went to federal prison for not filing taxes; he owes more than $1 million in back taxes to the feds, New Jersey and Philadelphia - but you can't say the man doesn't hustle for a living. City Councilman Curtis Jones Jr . tweeted a picture Wednesday of Street selling campaign buttons emblazoned with President Obama 's image outside the Democratic National Convention, in Charlotte, N.C. Jones called Street a "friend and brother, taking advantage of an entrepreneurial opportunity.

T. Milton Street Sr., a former hot dog vendor, mayoral candidate and prison inmate who was first elected to the state House in 1978, will appear on North Philadelphia ballots next month with a shot at joining the legislature again. Street, 72, submitted nominating petitions Monday with enough signatures to win an independent spot in the April 24 special election, to fill out the term for the House seat vacated by Jewell Williams, now the city sheriff. Street's candidacy is still subject to challenge, but he cleared the first hurdle by collecting more than 335 signatures and turning them in to the state Election Bureau in Harrisburg.

I T IS WITH a profound sense of trepidation that Clout now attempts to explain what is happening in the race for the 197th Legislative District, in North Philly. Put another way: Now we know how air-traffic controllers feel when the tower turns hectic. Consider: *  Gary Williams , a ward leader in the district who was bumped from the April 24 Democratic primary ballot by a judge yesterday because of problems with his nominating petitions, was chosen by his fellow ward leaders to be the candidate for a special election for that seat on the same day. *  T. Milton Street Sr ., the former legislator and federal inmate, has decided to drop out of the primary race for the seat to become the lone member of an independent political party called Milton Street.

It's that time of year for citizens to fight fraudulent signatures, ferret out carpetbagger candidates, and, in general, stand up for democracy. In reality, of course, when people challenge a candidate's nominating petitions, there's often some cynical political maneuvering. "Heard in the Hall" is not sure which category two recent challenges fall into. The question of where T. Milton Street Sr. lives seems to crop up every time he runs for office. The former state senator, onetime hot dog vendor, and ex-con is best known as the brother of former Mayor John F. Street.

Toby Rich, the "Mayor of Girard Avenue," grew up in East Germantown. Rich, 57, was raised by his father after the death of his mother when he was 8 years old. A younger brother, David, lives in Miami. A sister, Cheryl, died of cancer in 2009. He attended John Jenks Elementary School, where he became the first African-American school president, then attended Germantown High School, but was kicked out at 16 after cops busted him for selling and using dope. Nearly 10 years later, he received his GED during a short stint in a detention center.

The 24 percent of the vote that ex-convict T. Milton Street Sr. got in the Democratic mayoral primary Tuesday was significant, but it sounds more impressive than it actually was, given the dismal 18 percent turnout. Street, who played the media as well as Yo-Yo Ma plays the cello, somehow planted the preelection notion among pundits that if he got 15 percent of the vote, it would be a rebuke of Mayor Nutter. So now he's boasting that he triumphed. "We made an impact. Philadelphia elections will never be the same," said Street, who was released last June after serving a 30-month sentence in a federal prison for failing to file his income taxes on time.

WAS MILTON just a warm-up act? With the primary election over, Mayor Nutter can celebrate an easy win over former state Sen. T. Milton Street, who raised no money and still owes more than a million bucks in back taxes. But Nutter's margin of victory - he took 76 percent of the vote to Street's 24 percent - has left the general-election door cracked open for a third-party candidate. And a close look at the returns shows that Nutter's support is softest among many of the city's African-American voters.

Although Mayor Nutter captured the Democratic nomination Tuesday, the nettlesome fact remains that a recent convict who owes nearly $800,000 in taxes snatched one of every four votes from a reformist mayor who four years ago drew crowds to City Hall just to shake his hand. Nutter interpreted the 24 percent of voters who backed T. Milton Street Sr. as a reflection of an electorate angry with a shortage of jobs and rising costs, a ripple effect of the national economic crunch. But one person with a different view is John F. Street.

Beyond the candidates on the ballot, here are some winners and losers in yesterday's primary elections:   WINNERS: T. Milton Street Sr. He may have lost his run for mayor, but he somehow managed to persuade more than 35,000 people to vote for him. He-or his brother John-will be back, no doubt. Electricians union leader John Dougherty, who got his right-hand man Bobby Henon elected to Council. DROP opponents. They got their wish yesterday as voters ousted at-large Councilman Frank Rizzo and City Commissioner Marge Tartaglione.

HERE'S a new one for you: an American election in which the problem wasn't too much money, but not enough. Yesterday's dismally low voter turnout in Philadelphia - roughly 21 percent - is at least somewhat the fault of a lack of TV and radio commercials that might have rallied voters to come out. And for that you can blame the lack of a serious challenge to Mayor Nutter - opposed only by recent tax dodger Milton Street - and for that you...