Indy candidate, wonk if you love Indego

ANDREW Stober is the kind of guy who thinks he can do something - and then just goes for it. Like when he one day realized that he enjoyed leisurely bike rides and then thought, "Maybe I should bike across the country."

Years later, Stober, as a top city transportation official, created Philadelphia's first bike-share program, Indego.

He envisioned a bike program widely used by low-income residents, "not just by young white guys in suits." So, Stober set up a network of bike stations, a number of them in the city's poorest neighborhoods, and developed an affordable cash-payment model. Now, some 135,000 bike trips after Indego's April launch, poor and well-off alike are using it.

Stober also pushed to upgrade traffic signals along some key SEPTA bus and trolley routes, something that hadn't been done since the 1960s, resulting in faster travel and shorter commuting times along routes in Northeast and Southwest Philly.

In May, Stober quit his $129,375-a-year job as chief of staff in the city's Office of Transportation and Utilities, a job he'd held since 2008, to run for an at-large seat on City Council as an independent. If Stober prevails in November, he'll be the first independent candidate to win a seat on Council.

Daily News reporter Wendy Ruderman recently caught up with the 36-year-old transportation and public-policy wonk to chat about biking, his mentor, Michael Dukakis, the hipness of geekdom, and his beat-the-odds outlook on life.

Q You biked across the country at age 23 with a group affiliated with Habitat for Humanity. What was the most challenging part?

People always think riding over mountains is hard, but that's actually not what's hard because there is always a downhill. It's riding into the wind.

I remember a very distinct day in South Dakota, where there was a 45-mph headwind. That was brutal.

Q You set up Indego Bike Share so that it would be embraced by poor residents. Did you encounter people who didn't know how to ride a bike?

We are doing learn-to-ride classes in neighborhoods through the Bike Coalition. But one of the things that we actually learned was that among African-American women, the most excitement about bike share was, "I can go bike riding with my kids.

"So, my kids have bikes, but I don't have a bike. Now if I have bike share, I can go for a ride with my kids."

Q You have a master's degree in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School. You worked for the Colorado Department of Transportation, where you managed the "investment and policy analysis unit." Do you consider yourself a bit of a geek?

Um, sure, I've been called a geek. I've been called a nerd. Thankfully, that seems to be "in" these days.

But I have an incredible passion for making cities work better. I think there is a great opportunity for City Council to reinvigorate its role and oversight of city agencies.

Q Michael Dukakis became one of your mentors while you were an undergraduate at Northeastern University, where he teaches. Did you ask Dukakis what he thought about your decision to run for City Council?

I did. I actually went up to Boston and met with him. So, he had me over to his house. And he made me a bowl of mushroom soup and a ham sandwich, and I sat across from him and we talked.

And he was like, "Well, you know, Deval Patrick and Elizabeth Warren sat in that very same chair, and look where they are today."

And all I could think to myself was, "And you're not telling me about all the people who've sat in this chair who we have no idea who they are because things didn't work out for them." (Laughs)

Q You own a house in South Philly and have a 2-year-old son. What did your wife say about you quitting your job to run for office?

She's been incredibly supportive. We've spent the past couple of years, as I've been thinking about this, saving, so we could afford for me to not be working for eight months.

I've promised her: One way or another, on Jan. 8, I will be employed. So, the plan is for that to be in City Council, but I don't know, I may be taking returns at Macy's. We'll find out.

Q As an independent candidate, you are vying for the two at-large council seats reserved for the minority party. Historically, those seats have gone to Republicans. Why are you so confident that you can rewrite history?

I know the voters are not satisfied with the options that are offered to them. And I think people are hungry, particularly in this election cycle, for people who have been successful outside of elected office.

This year, frankly, I don't think the Republicans are putting forward very compelling options. I think this is the year to do it.