Milton Street creates controversy in Philly election

By Taylor-Lynn Capaldo
Collegian Staff
March 21, 2007

As local elections approach, things are starting to heat up in Philadelphia. The biggest focus is centered on the mayoral race, with speculations as to who is going to be the one to take over current Mayor John Street’s seat.

As the focus shifts from Mayor Street to the possibility of a new mayor, another Street has been frequenting the news. T. Milton Street has been the center of media attention after a slew of publicity stunts, though Street has denied accusations of attempting to attract media attention.

Shortly after announcing his run for mayor in the 2007 primary elections, Street was arrested for failing to pay a total of nine traffic citations. He spent a few hours in jail before being released on bail, and now continues his candidacy as he awaits his trial.

This is not Street’s first run-in with the law, however. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Street has failed to report approximately $2 million in income that he received as a consultant at the Philadelphia International Airport. This trial is set to take place May 14, the day before the Philadelphia primary.

In order to attract attention and rally support, Street announced a political rally March 1 at noon, and stated that if less than 5,000 people came out to support him, he would withdraw from the mayoral race. Though the Inquirer reports that fewer than 200 people came out to the rally and about half of those who showed were reporters, Street remained in the race. At the event, Street preached and sang gospel songs to the crowd over a coffin that he intended to represent the rising homicide rate in Philadelphia.

About five days later, he announced that he would instead run for City Council, against his nephew, Sharif Street. After a total of 19 days in the race, he stated, “With three minority candidates already in the race [for mayor], you split the vote so viciously.”

Street announced his new candidacy only half an hour before the 5 p.m. deadline for all Democratic and Republican city candidates to file nominating petitions. However, after Street handed in the 1,000 signatures necessary to file for a nomination, city officials discovered that many of these signatures had identical handwriting, which led them to speculate that the signatures were forged.

Controversy also surrounds the issue of Street’s permanent place of residence. After an attempted run for the Pennsylvania State House last April, he was told he was ineligible due to his residency in Moorestown, N.J. Recently, Street has changed his permanent address three times since voter registration day Nov. 6, and is known to live in Moorestown at least part-time.

The legitimacy of Street’s petition for his City Council bid was challenged by Samuel Harris, but the case was dismissed by a three-judge panel March 19. A few of Street’s nominating petitions were questioned because his son, who circulated the documents, listed a different address on the petition than his voter records. Street’s campaign also survived challenges to his financial disclosure statement, which were dismissed March 16.

Because of all of the controversy surrounding his political moves, Street has become the laughing stock of Philadelphia. City residents, officials and even other mayoral candidates have denounced his campaigns. According to KYWRadio, Democratic mayoral candidate Michael Nutter referenced Street’s campaign by stating, “We don’t need a sideshow and a circus-like environment to further demean the reputation of this city.”

Nutter isn’t the only one critical of Street’s antics. For more slander of Street, check out the Web site www.ihatemiltonstreet.com for a variety of YouTube videos, newspaper articles and quotes that Street has been kind enough to provide the public with for an interesting form of entertainment.

Though public scrutiny continues and controversy still ensues, Street seems to be set on continuing his run for city councilman. It’s still fairly early in the race, and it’s doubtful that this is all we will see from Street in the upcoming months.

capaldot1@lasalle.edu