Is Democratic mayoral candidate Milton Street really an independent?

T. Milton Street Sr. certainly presents himself as independent-minded.

He has the voter registration to back that up.

Street, a former state senator who served 26 months in federal prison for unpaid taxes before running for mayor in 2011, filed nominating petitions Tuesday to run again for mayor, as a Democrat.

One problem: The city Board of Elections lists him as a registered "independent," not a Democrat.

"I changed that a long time ago," Street said Wednesday when alerted to his registration status.

The Pennsylvania Department of State voter records also list Street as a registered independent.

Street is scheduled to formally announce his candidacy for mayor on Thursday. He formed a political action committee in November to seek that office as a Democrat.

Street challenged Mayor Nutter in the 2011 Democratic primary, winning 24 percent of the vote while still under federal supervision for his three misdemeanor tax convictions.

Street then changed his voter registration on March 7, 2012, to independent to run in a special election for the 197th District state House seat.

Street in 2012 described himself as the lone member of a political party known as "Milton Street."

He lost that race as well.

City election records show Street voting as an independent in elections from 2012 to 2014.

"That would be a problem for them down there," Street said of the Board of Elections, claiming he voted as a Democrat in the 2013 and 2014 elections.

Voters and candidates have until Tuesday to file legal challenges against the candidates who filed petitions Tuesday to get on the May 19 primary ballot.

Street's registration could be an issue if someone files a challenge.

Street on Tuesday claimed there were many "fraudulent" signatures on the petitions of State Sen. Anthony H. Williams, another candidate for mayor.

Street claimed to have "five or six sources" who provided that information but he adamantly refused to provide any evidence to support his claims.

"I'm not telling you how I know it," he said. "I'm telling you I know it."

Street said he is "organizing a group of citizens" to legally challenge the petitions filed by Williams.

Al Butler, spokesman for Williams' campaign, offered this response:

"It's Milton Street. Consider the source."

This would not be the first time voter registration served as a potential problem for Street.

Street won a two-year term in the state House in 1978 and then a four-year term in the state Senate in 1980. He switched his registration from Democrat to Republican shortly after winning the Senate seat, shifting control of that General Assembly chamber to Republicans.

Voters ousted Street from the Senate after one term. That was the last public office he held.

brennac@phillynews.com

215-854-5973 @byChrisBrennan