Philadelphia made the national news reports once again; and once again, not for anything good. John F. Street, our beloved lame duck of a mayor, bless his heart, spent last Friday sitting in the rain since 3 AM, in line for a new iPhone with the rest of the techno geeks.
Big deal, right? Wrong. While in the larger scheme of things, Street’s gadget vigil doesn’t affect the city’s crime rate or tax base one iota, the public image of a chief executive in a city besieged with troubles sitting around waiting for a new phone got under many Philadelphians’ skin. To the mayor’s surprise, ordinary citizens got up in his face and gave him an earful, in full view of local and national news cameras.
One woman read Street the riot act for not being at his post during business hours. Identifying herself as a former city employee, she said that when she worked for the city, she couldn’t even leave her desk to run out to the dollar store, and yet he can sit here all night and all day on the taxpayers dime. Street seemed genuinely shocked that the woman would confront him face-to-face, and mumbled a lame-sounding defense about working while sitting in line, having sent his first official city-related e-mail at 4 AM.
The problem is that the mayor is right, but completely misses the point. Of course, he can do work from anywhere - using his handheld device to make calls, send and answer e-mails and faxes, and keep up with his appointment schedule. It’s perfectly logical that he could be productive and engaged in city business while sitting in the rain three blocks from City Hall. But we’re talking about public perceptions here, not practical reality.
In a city where the murder rate is rising faster than the summer temperatures, and where residents and tourists alike fear venturing anywhere outside of Center City, the chief executive cannot appear to be aloof or detached, a public image that has plagued Mayor Street throughout his administration. Especially now, though, in his waning days in office, polishing the mayor’s public image is vital.
As they’re packing up their offices and making way for a new administration, outgoing politicians spend most of their time thinking about their legacy. In the case of a big city mayor, he or she wants to believe that they’ve had a positive enough impact on their city, and on their constituents, to warrant a lifetime of goodwill and a monument after their death. No politician ever wants to leave office to overwhelming cries of “Good riddance!” from his citizens, but that’s exactly the prospect facing John F. Street.
Known for heeding no counsel but his own, we’ll probably never know whether Mayor Street discussed his marathon line sitting with aides, or whether they advised against it for all the reasons stated above. In the end, it doesn't matter. At this point, he's not governing the city, and probably doesn't care to. In the service, we called it FIGMO status, meaning Fuck It, Got My Orders. When a guy is that close to leaving, don't expect too much from him.
The upside for Street is that with his brand new iPhone, he can watch the You Tube footage of himself looking like a smacked ass while being berated by passersby, and with picture perfect color and clarity.
