Everything about Philadelphia Mayoral Election 2007 totally explained
The
2007 Philadelphia mayoral election was held on
November 6,
2007 when
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania,
United States elected
Michael Nutter as the
mayor of Philadelphia starting in 2008. The incumbent mayor,
John F. Street was barred from seeking a third term because of term limits. The Democratic primary campaign saw two well-known, well-funded Philadelphia congressmen –
Bob Brady and
Chaka Fattah – eclipsed by self-funding businessman
Tom Knox and reformist former councilman Nutter, who won by a surprisingly large margin in the
primary election on
May 15. He went on to face
Republican nominee
Al Taubenberger in the general election, which he won by a large margin and with the lowest
voter turnout in a Philadelphia mayoral election without an incumbent since 1951. Mayor Nutter was sworn in on
January 7,
2008.
Background
The 2007
Philadelphia mayoral election was held to select the replacement for incumbent
mayor John F. Street who is prevented from being re-elected a third time because of
term limits. Nearly four out of five Philadelphia voters are registered
Democrats and the city hasn't elected a
Republican mayor in close to sixty years.
Issues
The two major issues in the mayoral campaign were crime and corruption. Philadelphians felt crime was the most important issue because of the city's rising murder rate. There were more than 400 murders in 2006, the most in almost a decade.
Corruption was also an important issue. A corruption probe resulted in the conviction a close to two dozen people, some with close ties to mayor John Street.
Primary
Michael Nutter won the Democratic mayoral primary on
May 15. Opponent
Tom Knox came in second, with
Bob Brady,
Chaka Fattah and Dwight Evans coming in third, fourth, and fifth respectively.
Al Taubenberger became the Republican candidate after running unopposed.
Election
On
November 6 Michael Nutter easily won the mayoral election, beating Al Taubenberger by a more than four to one ratio. Nutter's margin of victory was so large the
Associated Press declared a winner after just one percent of the vote was counted.
Turnout in the election was light with only 28.7 percent of registered voters casting a ballot. The 2007 election had the lowest turnout in a Philadelphia mayoral election without an incumbent since the Home Rule Charter of 1951.
The candidates for mayor were:
In the general election, Michael Nutter became the odds-on favorite to win the election. Nutter raised US$2.9 million dollars for his campaign while Taubenberger raised no more than US$20,000. The candidates held numerous joint appearances and had few disagreements. Towards the end of the race Taubenberger was advertising himself as the "super
underdog".
Other disagreements dealt with the city's requirement that public employees live within in the city, which Taubenberger proposed getting rid of. Nutter said he'd keep the rule, but would get rid of the restriction that allows only people who have lived in the city for at least one year to apply for city positions. Nutter and Taubenberger also disagreed on the city's decision to charge rent for the
Cradle of Liberty Council as result of the
Boy Scouts of America's policy on
homosexuals which the city says violates city's laws on discrimination. Nutter supported the decision saying his administration wouldn't subsidize discrimination. Taubenberger said the decision was wrong because the Boy Scouts do too much good and keep kids off the streets.
Polls
General election
Opinion Polls
Candidate
| Oct 17–21 |
| | Michael Nutter |
74%
|
| | Al Taubenberger |
8%
|
| | Undecided |
18%
|
| Pollster |
Keystone poll |
Link
|
Democratic primary
Opinion Polls
Candidate
| Jan 31 |
Feb 15 |
March 13 |
April 5 |
April 17 |
May 1 |
May 14 |
| | Bob Brady |
8% |
18% |
17% |
16% |
17% |
11% |
13%
|
| | Dwight Evans |
10% |
10% |
13% |
10% |
10% |
9% |
6%
|
| | Chaka Fattah |
26% |
32% |
22% |
17% |
18% |
18% |
13%
|
| | Tom Knox |
22% |
22% |
25% |
24% |
32% |
29% |
25%
|
| | Michael Nutter |
12% |
8% |
11% |
12% |
14% |
27% |
36%
|
| | Undecided |
22% |
|
|
21% |
|
|
|
| Pollster |
Keystone Poll |
SurveyUSA |
SurveyUSA |
Keystone Poll |
SurveyUSA |
SurveyUSA |
SurveyUSA |
Link
|
|
|
|
|
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