New voters could shake up city politics
Thomas Fitzgerald, Philadelphia Inquirer, December 27, 2005

No elected officials have yet been swept from office, but analysts say thousands of new Center City residents have the power to shape Philadelphia politics - if they choose to do so.

Without deep neighborhood ties, the new residents appear to have less allegiance to longtime leaders and the party structure itself. Authorities have noticed an uptick in the number of people picking the "nonpartisan" affiliation when they register to vote in the two main Center City wards.

As of last month's general election, a little more than 21 percent of voters in Ward Five were not affiliated with either the dominant Democrats or the Republicans. In Ward Eight, 20.5 percent were registered nonpartisan. The citywide average: 8.6 percent.

"Maybe they're just turned off," said Norman Berson, Democratic leader of the Eighth Ward. "My hunch is they're less interested in politics, and more interested in their jobs and lifestyle."

Since Philadelphia is so overwhelmingly Democratic, most of the action for voters is in the party primary - and those registered nonpartisan are not eligible.

City Councilman Frank DiCicco figures his First District has gained up to 10,000 new residents over four years - since the last census-based redistricting - because of the boom. These new constituents are vocal about "education, taxes, and crime," DiCicco said, and he hears plenty of complaints that Center City streets could be cleaner.

Some hold out hope that the new residents will help fuel the budding movement to fight political corruption.

Last month's charter-change referendum tightening controls on no-bid contracts, for example, won better than 95 percent support at the polls in Center City, compared with the citywide average of 87 percent.

"The important thing about many of these new people moving into the city is that they have different expectations," said Marc Stier, a founder of the reform group Neighborhood Networks. "They are not resigned to politics' always being corrupt - unlike a lot of people who have been in Philadelphia a long time."