Sam Katz (Philadelphia)

Sam Katz (born December 28, 1949) is an American politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is most notable for his three unsuccessful races as a member of the Republican Party for Mayor of Philadelphia. Although he ran as a Republican, Katz is currently registered independent. Marcia Gelbart, "Ever so quietly, Sam Katz positions himself for an end run in the fall", Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/24/07 ]

Personal

A 1967 graduate of Central High School in Philadelphia, Katz earned a BA in political science from Johns Hopkins University and an MA in urban affairs and policy analysis from The New School for Social Research. He worked for the Greater Philadelphia Partnership as a Research Analyst before co-founding Public Financial Management, Inc., which advises local and state governments on raising capital. After leaving PFM, he worked in a number of business ventures. Between the 1999 and 2003 campaigns for mayor, he was the CEO of Greater Philadelphia First, now the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

Political career

Katz began in politics as a Democrat, having worked as a campaign manager for future Bill Gray and future mayor and Congressman Bill Green. [http://inquirer.philly.com/opinion/cv/katz001.html Larry Fish, "Samuel P. Katz: Working hard to stay loose", Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/14/1999] ] He later worked on Wilson Goode's 1983 campaign for mayor, but broke with Goode in 1987 and supported former mayor Frank Rizzo. Gar Joseph, "Katz's GOP Conversion, Was it Revenge, Ambition or Ideology, Philadelphia Daily News, 9/21/1999 ] He switched to Republican in 1990.

Katz made his first run for Mayor of Philadelphia in 1991. He ran third in the Republican primary election behind Rizzo and Philadelphia district attorney Ron Castille. After Rizzo's death in July, Katz attempted to pursuade the party to give him the nomination, but lost out to Joe Egan.

In 1994, Katz made a run at Governor of Pennsylvania in a primary race that featured future Governor Tom Ridge, State Attorney General Ernie Preate and Mike Fisher, the 2002 GOP Candidate for Governor. [http://www.goerie.com/risingson/running_for_governor.html Ed Pallattella and Scott Westcott, "You'll be governor…or you'll get another job", Erie Times News, 1/21/2003] ] Even though Katz had endorsements from the Philadelphia newspapers , [http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/1994/03/03-03-94tdc/03-03-94dnews-3.asp Julie Nash, "Ridge garners Republican endorsements", The Daily Collegian, 3/3/1994] ] and State Auditor General Barbara Hafer, Robert Zausner, "Hafer Backs Katz for Governor", Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/15/1994 ] Katz finished third in the four-way primary, receiving little support outside Philadelphia. Robert Zausner, "Democrat Singel and GOP's Ridge Win Nominations for PA Governor", Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/11/1994 ]

1999

1999 was the year in which Katz emerged from the Republican field, running unopposed in the GOP primary for mayor. Tom Infield, "A GOP Stake in Sam Katz, The Unopposed Republican", Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/19/99 ] He was selected as the candidate to run for mayor against city council president John F. Street who withstood a negative advertising barrage to win a divisive Democratic primary. G. Terry Madonna, "The Street Victory, May 1999", Center for Politics & Public Affairs, Millersville University] ]

Katz, running as a liberal to moderate Republican, ran on a platform of cutting the high wage taxes in the city and bringing back businesses which had fled. Street ran citing his support of the Rendell administration's policies which many had felt rescued the city from a financial crisis. With a 75% voter registration advantage for the Democratic Party, Katz faced an uphill battle.

The race turned out to be racially divisive with Street holding 94% support of the African-American majority wards and Katz boasting support from about 80% of the white-majority wards. [ [http://www.insiderpa.com/archive/insider11-2003.htm Al Neri, "Philadelphia Mayor: John Street in a re-election landslide", This Insider, November 2003] ] Although both of the city's major daily newspapers, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News endorsed Katz's candidacy, in the end, Street held on to a slight 7,200-vote majority on election day. G. Terry Madonna, "1999 Philadelphia Mayoral Election ", Center for Politics & Public Affairs, Millersville University] ]

2003

After his close 1999 defeat, Katz was ready for a 2003 rematch with Street. Despite a good local economy and some success in bringing development to the city, the mayor was unpopular in many circles due to several corruption scandals which had come to light during the mayor's term. None of the scandals were attributed to the mayor personally, but investigations of many in his inner circle (including his brother Milton) were a cause for concern for many residents. Katz's 2003 platform went back to the issue of wage and business tax cuts, but also included an anti-corruption platform to take advantage of the atmosphere in the city.

With Katz running strong, the entire election changed in October, 2003 when a sweep of the mayor's office turned up a listening device. The FBI admitted that they had planted the device, although the mayor, himself, was not a target of the probe. At first, it seemed that the discovery could seriously hurt Street's re-election bid. However, Street deftly turned the issue around on his opponent. The campaign attacked the FBI for targeting a black mayor in the middle of the campaign. Street was able to use the issue to tie Katz to President Bush, who was unpopular in the city. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9802EFD91639F936A35752C1A9659C8B63 Lynette Clemetson, "Philadelphia Easily Gives Second Term to Its Mayor", New York Times, 11/5/2003] ]

The move worked, bringing liberal white voters back into the Democratic camp. By election day, Street had opened up an insurmountable lead and won 58% of the vote. The race was captured in the documentary film "The Shame of a City," directed by Tigre Hill, which gave viewers an inside look at the campaign.

Post-political career

Katz is focusing on business ventures at this time. He formed an investment partnership to invest in China and regularly consults firms on doing business there. In April 2007, Katz changed his party registration from Republican to independent. This set up a possible run for mayor in the fall of 2007 as an independent. However, when Michael Nutter won the Democratic nomination for mayor, Katz announced he would not run as an independent.

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