Gar Joseph | From bug to blog: In '07, Sam Katz is back

WHAT'S A mayor's race without

Sam Katz

?

The Republican businessman was there in 1991, running against the late Frank Rizzo and Ron Castille for the GOP nomination, when Rizzo called Castille a gun-waving drunk.

Katz was there again in 1999, as the Republican candidate, paying for an ad in the Democratic primary to attack John F. White Jr. because Katz thought John Street would be easier to beat.

After losing to Street in one of the closest elections in city history, Katz tried again in 2003 when discovery of an FBI bug in Street's office blew up the campaign. Democrats successfully spun the bug story as a Republican dirty trick aimed at a black mayor.

Now, he's back again. Not as a candidate, but as a blogger for Philadelphia magazine. His first post on the current campaign is slated to go up on phillymag.com Monday.

We caught up with Katz yesterday to get a sampling of his views.

* On Tom Knox's suggestion that Bob Brady might not be smart enough to be mayor:

"This has the makings of a significantly fratricidal event. It's one thing to challenge [Brady] on the issue of disclosure, another thing to call him a moron. I agree with Brady when he said it was mean-spirited."

* On Michael Nutter's TV ads attacking Mayor Street:

"It's a very strategically interesting move. Whether it's politically smart I don't know. He defines himself by defining his opponent, who happens to not be running. But I don't know what else he could've done. This is a math game and the math isn't great for Nutter and Dwight Evans."

* On Chaka Fattah as front-runner: "It's surprising that Fattah has allowed his strong lead to get frittered away. I've seen evidence that fundraising hasn't come easily for him. He's not on the phone as much making calls. I know the people who get those calls and they're getting them from everyone else, but they aren't getting them from him."

* On how the limit on campaign donations has tilted the race toward self-funded millionaire Knox: "There's no doubt Tom Knox will have plenty of money. The question is will anybody else have enough to do more than one thing? If not, then it comes down to a two-way race between Knox and Fattah."

* On whether the campaign finance limits were a bad idea since it gives an edge to millionaires like Knox: "The fact that someone is pouring pollution into the water doesn't mean that trying to clean it up is a bad idea."

Nutter: A two-front war

Not only is Michael Nutter campaigning for mayor, he's also trying to hang on as leader of the 52nd ward in West Philly and Parkside.

His second-in-command, Steve Jones, presided over a meeting that ousted Nutter. Democratic City Committee has been asked to decide whether Nutter or Jones should head the ward.

This week, Nutter sent 52nd ward committee members a letter saying that Jones had received $15,000 in campaign money that he'd failed to account for.

The letter asked Jones to offer an explanation of why the payments, mostly from judicial candidates over the past three years, were made to him and what he did with the money.

Neither Jones nor Nutter returned our calls, but Carol Campbell, city committee secretary, called the letter "a dastardly act."

Campbell said the judicial candidates made their checks out to Jones because Nutter wanted them that way.

"Michael said to me he wanted the checks made out in Steve Jones' name," said Campbell, who acted as a conduit for the judges' Election Day street money.

Campbell said she checked back with Nutter later to make sure he got the money for the ward "and he said yes, he got the money."

This dustup winds up in the lap of another mayoral candidate, party chairman Bob Brady. He said a party committee headed by ward leader Mike Stack would resolve the issue next week.

The party's policy committee also meets next week to decide whether to endorse judicial candidates this year and if so, who. It's expected the party will also field a slate for City Council, Traffic Court and the row offices. The party has already endorsed Brady for mayor.

City Council: Convicted celeb

Having a convicted felon at City Council is no big deal, since so many convicted felons have served on Council.

But it was kind of fun yesterday seeing the man whose actions led to an FBI bug being placed in the mayor's office back in 2003: Shamsud-din Ali.

Ali, the Muslim cleric who was convicted on multiple corruption charges in federal court in June 2005, was standing behind lawyer Jimmy Binns. Binns was being saluted by Council for establishing the Hero Plaque Program honoring police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty.

Ali, out on bail awaiting a decision on his appeal, stood directly behind Binns, who represents him on the appeal, along with a bevy of police and fire officials.

After the event, Ali shook hands with Register of Wills Ron Donatucci. Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson also walked over and warmly shook his hand.

"I've know Shamsud-din for a lot of years and he is who he is," Johnson said. "I respect him and that's it."

Ali referred all questions to his attorney, Binns, who said the oral argument on his appeal is in late April. He hopes for a reversal or at least a new trial.

"He was here because he's a friend and he does come to plaque ceremonies," Binns said.

Flavia TV: On tonight

This is the 40th and final reminder in the Daily News that Clout-created celebrity Flavia Colgan's new TV show, "Miracle Quest," debuts tonight at 8 on the Travel Channel.

In tonight's episode she investigates the stigmata of Padre Pio and the miracle of San Gennaro in Italy, where every year on Sept. 19 the dried blood of the saint turns liquid (sneak preview: "I definitely saw the blood in the vial!")

On Thursday at the National Constitution Center, Colgan will premiere the show's second episode (Lourdes) for friends.

Bucks for Brady?

A caller wanted to know why there were "Bob Brady for Mayor" campaign signs sprouting along Street Road at I-95, which happens to be in Bensalem, Bucks County.

That's easy: It's for all the Bucks County residents who still vote in Philadelphia! *

Staff writers Gar Joseph and Mark McDonald contributed to this report.