Raj Bhakta vs the Usual Philliness!

Hey Mayor, Do Something!

Philadelphia Daily News excoriates Mayor Street.

A few months ago, I called the office of Mayor Street to find out why he hadn't attended the funeral of a high-profile murder victim.

It's a commentary unto itself that I don't remember which high-profile slaying it was. But I do remember what an associate of the mayor told me - off the record, of course:

He said the mayor was working on the crime issue behind the scenes every day. He said if the mayor attended the funeral of one murder victim, then he'd have to attend the funeral of every murder victim, or risk suggesting that one life was more valuable than another.

Sure, John Street is doing a number of things about crime. But I'll tell you what he isn't doing.

He isn't communicating any sense of urgency about the crisis that's overshadowing everything else in the city.

He isn't showing the kind of righteous indignation that provoked the mayor of Washington, D.C., for instance, into calling a special summer session of the city council to pass emergency crime legislation.

He isn't beseeching neighborhoods, bullying businesses or nagging nonprofits day in and day out to pitch in to find solutions.

He isn't pouring every available penny into hiring more cops.

He apparently isn't searching for an energetic, aggressive police commissioner to replace Sylvester Johnson, the well-meaning but weary veteran who he spends his time second-guessing.

In other words, John Street is still having "a great day" - his trademark phrase - when the city is under siege.

Maybe he wouldn't be so tickled if he spent more of his days at the funerals of the city's murder victims.

Maybe then he'd respond to the crisis with the sense of urgency and dramatic intervention that it demands.