2007 Philadelphia mayoral election
2007 Philadelphia mayoral election Turnout 29%[ 1] 10 pp
Results by wardNutter : 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%
The 2007 Philadelphia mayoral election was held on November 6, 2007 when Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , United States elected Michael Nutter as the Mayor of Philadelphia starting in 2008. The incumbent mayor, John F. Street was barred from seeking a third term because of term limits . The Democratic Party primary campaign saw two well-known, well-funded Philadelphia congressmen – Bob Brady and Chaka Fattah – eclipsed by self-funding businessman Tom Knox and reformist former Philadelphia City Council member Nutter, who won by a surprisingly large margin in the primary election on May 15. He went on to face Republican Party nominee Al Taubenberger in the general election, which he won by a large margin and with the lowest voter turnout in a Philadelphia mayoral election without an incumbent since 1951.[ 2] Mayor Nutter was sworn in on January 7, 2008.
Background
The 2007 Philadelphia mayoral election was held to select the replacement for incumbent Mayor John F. Street , who was prevented from being re-elected a third time by term limits . Nearly four out of five Philadelphia voters are registered Democrats and the city has not elected a Republican mayor in close to sixty years.[ 3]
Issues
The two major issues in the mayoral campaign were crime and corruption . Philadelphians felt crime was the most important issue because of the city's rising murder rate. There were more than 400 murders in 2006, the most in almost a decade. Corruption was also an important issue. A corruption probe resulted in the conviction a close to two dozen people, some with close ties to Mayor John F. Street.[ 3] An early poll on issues concerning young adults, crime was the number one issue with public transit , economic development , education and job growth rounding out the top five.[ 4]
Democratic primary
January 2007 mayoral candidate forum
Philadelphia City Council member Michael Nutter won the Democratic mayoral primary on May 15. His opponent, businessman Tom Knox came in second, with congressmen Bob Brady and Chaka Fattah and State Representative Dwight Evans coming in third, fourth, and fifth respectively.[ 3]
Businessman Tom Knox had started off strong as his self-financed campaign created a barrage of advertising . However, Nutter's message of government reform and criticism of mayor Street gained him enough support to win the primary.
Polling
Results
Democratic primary results by ward 20%-30%
30%-40%
40%-50%
50%-60%
60%-70%
70%-80%
20%-30%
30%-40%
40%-50%
50%-60%
60%-70%
Results by ward
Ward
Nutter
Knox
Brady
Fattah
Evans
Bass
White
Total
votes
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
1
1,099
29.37%
1,206
32.23%
1,253
33.48%
114
3.05%
59
1.58%
6
0.16%
5
0.13%
3,742
2
3,095
57.06%
1,095
20.19%
775
14.29%
332
6.12%
118
2.18%
7
0.13%
2
0.04%
5,424
3
1,966
38.59%
832
16.33%
418
8.20%
1,400
27.48%
457
8.97%
17
0.33%
5
0.10%
5,095
4
1,675
34.79%
634
13.17%
561
11.65%
1,665
34.58%
253
5.25%
21
0.44%
6
0.12%
4,815
5
4,541
70.40%
1,108
17.18%
316
4.90%
293
4.54%
179
2.78%
3
0.05%
10
0.16%
6,450
6
971
34.87%
461
16.55%
362
13.00%
839
30.13%
136
4.88%
10
0.36%
6
0.22%
2,785
7
328
15.11%
1,180
54.35%
475
21.88%
122
5.62%
43
1.98%
15
0.69%
8
0.37%
2,171
8
5,073
71.65%
1,155
16.31%
296
4.18%
338
4.77%
199
2.81%
11
0.16%
8
0.11%
7,080
9
3,829
74.80%
486
9.49%
138
2.70%
401
7.83%
255
4.98%
6
0.12%
4
0.08%
5,119
10
1,915
25.82%
650
8.76%
293
3.95%
1,166
15.72%
3,367
45.40%
18
0.24%
7
0.09%
7,416
11
907
28.41%
513
16.07%
456
14.28%
903
28.28%
374
11.71%
29
0.91%
11
0.34%
3,193
12
1,933
39.07%
711
14.37%
310
6.27%
1,209
24.44%
742
15.00%
32
0.65%
10
0.20%
4,947
13
1,618
34.54%
694
14.81%
467
9.97%
1,333
28.45%
530
11.31%
34
0.73%
9
0.19%
4,685
14
533
30.90%
341
19.77%
247
14.32%
418
24.23%
166
9.62%
15
0.87%
5
0.29%
1,725
15
3,042
66.00%
765
16.60%
355
7.70%
290
6.29%
146
3.17%
6
0.13%
5
0.11%
4,609
16
806
30.02%
520
19.37%
217
8.08%
683
25.44%
432
16.09%
17
0.63%
10
0.37%
2,685
17
1,958
32.88%
810
13.60%
364
6.11%
1,372
23.04%
1,404
23.58%
31
0.52%
16
0.27%
5,955
18
858
30.85%
946
34.02%
752
27.04%
148
5.32%
66
2.37%
7
0.25%
4
0.14%
2,781
19
266
11.91%
1,445
64.68%
283
12.67%
158
7.07%
58
2.60%
13
0.58%
11
0.49%
2,234
20
479
32.67%
269
18.35%
114
7.78%
397
27.08%
200
13.64%
5
0.34%
2
0.14%
1,466
21
5,241
59.01%
2,078
23.40%
975
10.98%
387
4.36%
189
2.13%
7
0.08%
5
0.06%
8,882
22
4,208
55.69%
675
8.93%
281
3.72%
1,450
19.19%
916
12.12%
18
0.24%
8
0.11%
7,556
23
926
28.49%
972
29.91%
738
22.71%
425
13.08%
176
5.42%
11
0.34%
2
0.06%
3,250
24
964
39.49%
461
18.89%
206
8.44%
658
26.96%
134
5.49%
14
0.57%
4
0.16%
2,441
25
461
18.61%
1,010
40.78%
828
33.43%
125
5.05%
39
1.57%
8
0.32%
6
0.24%
2,477
26
778
18.53%
1,551
36.94%
1,783
42.46%
49
1.17%
30
0.71%
6
0.14%
2
0.05%
4,199
27
1,103
57.75%
248
12.98%
75
3.93%
362
18.95%
112
5.86%
5
0.26%
5
0.26%
1,910
28
1,005
34.56%
478
16.44%
319
10.97%
856
29.44%
233
8.01%
14
0.48%
3
0.10%
2,908
29
824
33.50%
403
16.38%
452
18.37%
569
23.13%
192
7.80%
15
0.61%
5
0.20%
2,460
30
2,100
60.82%
431
12.48%
200
5.79%
505
14.62%
204
5.91%
9
0.26%
4
0.12%
3,453
31
473
22.06%
713
33.26%
885
41.28%
49
2.29%
15
0.70%
7
0.33%
2
0.09%
2,144
32
1,347
32.77%
707
17.20%
487
11.85%
1,173
28.54%
347
8.44%
32
0.78%
17
0.41%
4,110
33
450
19.35%
1,167
50.19%
400
17.20%
211
9.08%
71
3.05%
16
0.69%
10
0.43%
2,325
34
3,436
37.38%
1,171
12.74%
1,617
17.59%
2,507
27.28%
438
4.77%
16
0.17%
6
0.07%
9,191
35
1,181
28.69%
1,321
32.09%
618
15.01%
559
13.58%
425
10.33%
10
0.24%
2
0.05%
4,116
36
1,759
29.92%
1,197
20.36%
853
14.51%
1,526
25.96%
505
8.59%
26
0.44%
13
0.22%
5,879
37
684
26.07%
778
29.65%
283
10.79%
573
21.84%
279
10.63%
21
0.80%
6
0.23%
2,624
38
2,361
52.94%
714
16.01%
306
6.86%
788
17.67%
268
6.01%
20
0.45%
3
0.07%
4,460
39
1,607
16.95%
3,393
35.79%
4,116
43.41%
257
2.71%
82
0.86%
18
0.19%
8
0.08%
9,481
40
2,346
32.38%
1,568
21.64%
1,228
16.95%
1,630
22.50%
438
6.05%
26
0.36%
9
0.12%
7,245
41
673
18.45%
1,674
45.90%
1,132
31.04%
110
3.02%
54
1.48%
3
0.08%
1
0.03%
3,647
42
907
26.71%
1,206
35.51%
527
15.52%
474
13.96%
256
7.54%
15
0.44%
11
0.32%
3,396
43
779
25.01%
1,065
34.19%
338
10.85%
531
17.05%
372
11.94%
19
0.61%
11
0.35%
3,115
44
1,126
35.64%
547
17.32%
219
6.93%
1,069
33.84%
185
5.86%
11
0.35%
2
0.06%
3,159
45
503
17.44%
1,367
47.40%
892
30.93%
70
2.43%
40
1.39%
8
0.28%
4
0.14%
2,884
46
2,514
51.13%
782
15.90%
206
4.19%
1,073
21.82%
319
6.49%
13
0.26%
10
0.20%
4,917
47
376
30.59%
182
14.81%
204
16.60%
321
26.12%
128
10.41%
11
0.90%
7
0.57%
1,229
48
811
26.12%
775
24.96%
643
20.71%
646
20.81%
209
6.73%
13
0.42%
8
0.26%
3,105
49
1,671
32.55%
838
16.33%
562
10.95%
1,236
24.08%
793
15.45%
17
0.33%
16
0.31%
5,133
50
3,222
36.86%
866
9.91%
338
3.87%
1,947
22.27%
2,329
26.64%
26
0.30%
14
0.16%
8,742
51
1,718
34.27%
875
17.45%
461
9.20%
1,542
30.76%
384
7.66%
20
0.40%
13
0.26%
5,013
52
3,253
45.82%
968
13.63%
483
6.80%
1,978
27.86%
387
5.45%
23
0.32%
8
0.11%
7,100
53
970
29.98%
1,237
38.24%
639
19.75%
253
7.82%
127
3.93%
8
0.25%
1
0.03%
3,235
54
756
30.74%
1,000
40.67%
455
18.50%
149
6.06%
88
3.58%
9
0.37%
2
0.08%
2,459
55
935
20.87%
1,908
42.59%
1,489
33.24%
88
1.96%
47
1.05%
10
0.22%
3
0.07%
4,480
56
1,752
26.34%
3,423
51.47%
1,230
18.49%
136
2.04%
90
1.35%
14
0.21%
6
0.09%
6,651
57
1,164
25.50%
2,072
45.40%
1,147
25.13%
128
2.80%
39
0.85%
8
0.18%
6
0.13%
4,564
58
2,204
31.48%
2,974
42.47%
1,585
22.64%
129
1.84%
89
1.27%
15
0.21%
6
0.09%
7,002
59
2,181
41.29%
635
12.02%
274
5.19%
1,315
24.90%
838
15.87%
31
0.59%
8
0.15%
5,282
60
1,666
38.75%
736
17.12%
401
9.33%
1,178
27.40%
291
6.77%
22
0.51%
5
0.12%
4,299
61
1,694
34.29%
850
17.21%
355
7.19%
978
19.80%
1,042
21.09%
11
0.22%
10
0.20%
4,940
62
907
23.74%
1,402
36.69%
1,028
26.90%
310
8.11%
153
4.00%
13
0.34%
8
0.21%
3,821
63
1,487
36.82%
1,613
39.94%
787
19.49%
77
1.91%
66
1.63%
7
0.17%
2
0.05%
4,039
64
628
24.94%
1,068
42.41%
739
29.35%
44
1.75%
33
1.31%
4
0.16%
2
0.08%
2,518
65
1,166
25.73%
2,074
45.77%
1,045
23.06%
164
3.62%
72
1.59%
6
0.13%
4
0.09%
4,531
66
1,596
23.71%
2,737
40.66%
2,193
32.58%
115
1.71%
74
1.10%
11
0.16%
5
0.07%
6,731
Republican primary
Al Taubenberger became the Republican nominee after running unopposed.[ 3]
Results
General election
On November 6, Michael Nutter easily won the mayoral election, receiving 83.4% of the vote to Taubenberger's 17.3%. The margin of victory is the largest since 1931.[ 9] Nutter's margin of victory was so large the Associated Press declared a winner after just one percent of the vote was counted. Turnout in the election was light with only 28.7 percent of registered voters casting a ballot. The 2007 election had the lowest turnout in a Philadelphia mayoral election without an incumbent since the Home Rule Charter of 1951.[ 2]
In the general election, the candidates for Mayor were:
In the general election, Michael Nutter became the odds-on favorite to win the election. Nutter raised US$2.9 million for his campaign while Taubenberger raised no more than US$20,000. The candidates held numerous joint appearances and had few disagreements. Towards the end of the race Taubenberger was advertising himself as the "super underdog " .[ 12]
One of the most significant disagreements on issues the two candidates had was on Nutter's "stop and frisk " proposal. The proposal would allow police officers to stop and frisk people suspected of carrying illegal firearms . Taubenberger criticized the proposal, which was also criticized by Nutter's opponents in the primary and Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson , saying the proposal could be abused and violate civil rights . Taubenberger proposed hiring more police officers to reduce the city's high murder rate.
Other disagreements dealt with the city's requirement that public employees live within the city, which Taubenberger proposed removing. Nutter said he would keep the rule, but would remove the restriction that allows only people who have lived in the city for at least one year to apply for city positions. Nutter and Taubenberger also disagreed on the city's decision to charge rent for the Cradle of Liberty Council as result of the Boy Scouts of America 's policy on homosexuality which the city says violates its laws on discrimination . Nutter supported the decision saying his administration would not subsidize discrimination. Taubenberger said the decision was wrong because the Boy Scouts do too much good and keep kids off the streets.[ 13]
Polling
Opinion Polls
Candidate
Oct 17–21
Michael Nutter
74%
Al Taubenberger
8%
Undecided
18%
Source
Keystone poll
Link
[ 14]
Results
Results by ward
Ward
Michael Nutter
Democratic
Al Taubenberger
Republican
John Staggs
Socialist Workers
Total
votes
#
%
#
%
#
%
1
2,558
80.80%
598
18.89%
10
0.32%
3,166
2
4,355
86.05%
648
12.80%
58
1.15%
5,061
3
4,101
96.25%
155
3.64%
5
0.12%
4,261
4
3,845
96.00%
151
3.77%
9
0.22%
4,005
5
5,629
88.16%
717
11.23%
39
0.61%
6,385
6
2,194
96.23%
81
3.55%
5
0.22%
2,280
7
1,396
88.58%
175
11.10%
5
0.32%
1,576
8
6,173
88.68%
747
10.73%
41
0.59%
6,961
9
4,540
89.92%
483
9.57%
26
0.51%
5,049
10
5,757
96.84%
173
2.91%
15
0.25%
5,945
11
2,552
95.44%
117
4.38%
5
0.19%
2,674
12
3,850
94.46%
197
4.83%
29
0.71%
4,076
13
3,572
94.35%
202
5.34%
12
0.32%
3,786
14
1,305
95.33%
61
4.46%
3
0.22%
1,369
15
4,017
90.05%
418
9.37%
26
0.58%
4,461
16
2,095
95.53%
92
4.20%
6
0.27%
2,193
17
4,813
96.01%
190
3.79%
10
0.20%
5,013
18
1,928
79.51%
474
19.55%
23
0.95%
2,425
19
1,538
93.84%
99
6.04%
2
0.12%
1,639
20
1,155
94.98%
57
4.69%
4
0.33%
1,216
21
8,055
80.67%
1,894
18.97%
36
0.36%
9,985
22
6,452
95.73%
249
3.69%
39
0.58%
6,740
23
2,391
80.75%
565
19.08%
5
0.17%
2,961
24
1,957
94.54%
101
4.88%
12
0.58%
2,070
25
1,641
66.25%
824
33.27%
12
0.48%
2,477
26
2,667
68.30%
1,231
31.52%
7
0.18%
3,905
27
1,636
90.84%
143
7.94%
22
1.22%
1,801
28
2,312
96.78%
72
3.01%
5
0.21%
2,389
29
2,047
95.39%
93
4.33%
6
0.28%
2,146
30
2,840
92.90%
191
6.25%
26
0.85%
3,057
31
1,583
67.08%
758
32.12%
19
0.81%
2,360
32
3,132
96.40%
108
3.32%
9
0.28%
3,249
33
1,479
74.58%
497
25.06%
7
0.35%
1,983
34
7,113
93.53%
473
6.22%
19
0.25%
7,605
35
3,115
72.37%
1,179
27.39%
10
0.23%
4,304
36
4,593
92.90%
326
6.59%
25
0.51%
4,944
37
2,025
95.70%
85
4.02%
6
0.28%
2,116
38
3,699
92.73%
277
6.94%
13
0.33%
3,989
39
5,937
78.10%
1,642
21.60%
23
0.30%
7,602
40
5,560
91.33%
519
8.52%
9
0.15%
6,088
41
2,335
63.11%
1,344
36.32%
21
0.57%
3,700
42
2,475
87.64%
343
12.15%
6
0.21%
2,824
43
2,235
93.36%
154
6.43%
5
0.21%
2,394
44
2,426
95.93%
99
3.91%
4
0.16%
2,529
45
2,037
58.65%
1,424
41.00%
12
0.35%
3,473
46
4,067
95.00%
162
3.78%
52
1.21%
4,281
47
922
95.54%
39
4.04%
4
0.41%
965
48
2,393
85.49%
397
14.18%
9
0.32%
2,799
49
3,999
94.36%
228
5.38%
11
0.26%
4,238
50
7,309
96.65%
232
3.07%
21
0.28%
7,562
51
3,920
95.91%
149
3.65%
18
0.44%
4,087
52
5,888
94.63%
322
5.18%
12
0.19%
6,222
53
2,341
67.23%
1,130
32.45%
11
0.32%
3,482
54
1,718
77.14%
497
22.32%
12
0.54%
2,227
55
3,138
57.69%
2,289
42.08%
12
0.22%
5,439
56
4,349
60.00%
2,884
39.79%
15
0.21%
7,248
57
3,356
58.96%
2,310
40.58%
26
0.46%
5,692
58
5,569
59.42%
3,781
40.34%
22
0.23%
9,372
59
4,204
94.77%
204
4.60%
28
0.63%
4,436
60
3,477
95.84%
139
3.83%
12
0.33%
3,628
61
4,001
90.50%
404
9.14%
16
0.36%
4,421
62
2,621
73.81%
922
25.96%
8
0.23%
3,551
63
3,562
55.06%
2,894
44.74%
13
0.20%
6,469
64
2,074
54.26%
1,737
45.45%
11
0.29%
3,822
65
3,277
66.85%
1,612
32.88%
13
0.27%
4,902
66
5,790
57.69%
4,226
42.10%
21
0.21%
10,037
References
^ Denvir, Daniel (May 22, 2015). "Voter Turnout in U.S. Mayoral Elections Is Pathetic, But It Wasn't Always This Way" . City Lab . Retrieved April 28, 2019 .
^ a b Brennan, Chris (November 7, 2007). "Voter turnout was, well, light" . Philadelphia Daily News .
^ a b c d e Walters, Patrick (May 15, 2007). "Ex-Philly Pol Wins Dem. Mayoral Primary" . Associated Press .
^ "Voice of Young Philadelphia: Decide, Discuss, Vote Survey: Top 5 Issues of 2007" (PDF) . Young America PAC, Young Involved Philadelphia, Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce's Young Professional Network. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2007. Retrieved July 11, 2007 .
^ "Keystone Philadelphia Mayoral Poll" (PDF) . Franklin & Marshall College Poll . Franklin & Marshall. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2008. Retrieved July 11, 2007 .
^ a b c d e "Report Card: 2007 Philadelphia Mayor Election = A+" . SurveyUSA . Retrieved July 11, 2007 .
^ "April 2007 Philadelphia Mayoral Keystone Poll" (PDF) . Franklin & Marshall College Poll . Franklin & Marshall. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2008. Retrieved July 11, 2007 .
^ a b "2007 Primary Election" . Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2024 .
^ Associated Press (November 7, 2007). "Philly mayor-elect has largest margin of victory since 1931" . whptv.com . Archived from the original on December 6, 2007. Retrieved May 31, 2015 .
^ Gelbart, Marcia (June 11, 2007). " 'I've got nothing to lose' ". The Philadelphia Inquirer . p. B01.
^ Warner, Bob (August 2, 2007). "Germantown's John Staggs files for mayoral race on Socialist ticket". Philadelphia Daily News . p. 10.
^ Gelbart, Marcia; Patrick Kerkstra (November 7, 2007). "Nutter: 'A New Day' " . The Philadelphia Inquirer .
^ Fitzgerald, Thomas (November 5, 2007). "Taubenberger takes on Nutter in a final debate". The Philadelphia Inquirer . p. B01.
^ "October 2007 Philadelphia Mayoral Keystone Poll" (PDF) . Franklin & Marshall College Poll . Franklin & Marshall. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2008. Retrieved July 11, 2007 .
^ "2007 General Election" . Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners. Archived from the original on May 31, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2024 .
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