Clout | OK, so not mayor. How 'bout Sen. Knox?

SO YOU THINK mayoral candidate Tom Knox wasted $12 million because he lost? Ha!

That was just seed money.

The millionaire businessman, who spent his own dough to run for mayor, says he's eyeing a run in 2010 for either governor or the U.S. Senate.

Democrat Knox finished second to nominee Michael Nutter in the May primary, but he left behind some pretty good poll numbers, thanks to nearly nonstop TV ads.

"My favorables in the five-county region are as high as Ed Rendell's and my unfavorables are in single digits," Knox said. "I can't walk out of my office without having somebody on the street stop me and say they wished I'd won or that I ran a good campaign."

Rendell's second term as governor expires in 2010, leaving an open seat.

Knox's wife, Linda, prefers the Senate. This carries weight because after the May election, she hoped he'd never run again.

"My wife is really special," Knox said, "She'd prefer me not to run at all, but whatever I decide to do, she said she'll be 100 percent behind me."

The Senate seat is now held by Republican Arlen Specter, who, at age 77, shows no signs of slowing down.

"This state is more Democratic than Republican now, and where Specter always got a lot of his votes is the five-county region here," Knox said. "With me in the race, he's not going to get that same five-county vote. It's not a cakewalk for him anymore."

One office Knox had been mentioned for, but won't seek, is state treasurer, open next year.

That's good news for Bryn Mawr venture capitalist Rob McCord and Bucks Democratic chairman John Cordisco, who will be battling for the party's treasurer nomination and don't need a third eastern candidate.

Knox said he'll likely settle on his future sometime next year.

Milton stiffs a senior

Mayoral brother Milton Street is in a jam with the feds because they say he failed to pay taxes on $2 million in income from 2000 to 2004.

Hey, Milton didn't even pay Richard Riley the promised $100 for working 14 hours at the polls on Election Day. Street was a City Council at-large candidate.

Riley, 66, lives in the Opportunity Towers senior high-rise in North Philly.

The day before the May primary, Street aide Tony Hudson dropped by and recruited Riley and a pal, Tony Whitfield, to hand out brochures at the polls the next day. He promised them $100 each.

At the end of the 14-hour day, in which Riley didn't even get the usual free sandwich, nobody showed up to pay him.

Said Riley: "I think it's a sham. We did a long, hard day's work. He just used us."

Hudson, meanwhile, said, "I don't think anybody got paid. He ain't by himself on that. There was no money."

We wanted to find out how much money Milton raised for his campaign, but, alas, he never filed a report with the city commissioners. This puts him in violation of campaign-finance laws.

Maybe Milton should hire an accountant.

Quotable

"I was with Buddy for years and John Sabatina's not a hair on Buddy Cianfrani's bald head, God rest his soul. If anybody's more like Buddy, it's Lee Beloff."

- Former state Rep. Matt Cianciulli, on comparisons of ward leader Sabatina to the legendary South Philly pol.

Nutter gets help

Democratic mayoral candidate Michael Nutter gets a local gal with national experience to be his campaign manager.

Trish Enright will help coordinate Nutter's schedule, fund-raising, and message and field operations.

She's a Cherry Hill East and University of Delaware grad, and gal pal of David Dunphy, a political consultant who helped Bill Green win a Democratic at-large nomination for City Council in the May primary.

Enright was Pennsylvania press secretary for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1996 and has worked on campaigns for Al Gore and John Kerry.

Last year, she was campaign manager for Gov. Rendell's re-election effort.

"I was absolutely intrigued by [Nutter's primary] campaign and how it turned conventional wisdom on its head," Enright said. "It really was a campaign of ideas."

Nigro and Brady make peace

Democratic chairman Bob Brady and former state Supreme Court Justice Russell Nigro had a sit-down yesterday in the basement of the Bellevue.

Potential friction: Nigro thought some city pols weren't helpful enough on Election Day 2005, when he lost his retention election.

Plus there was talk that Nigro might want to challenge Brady for his U.S. House seat.

So, over a couple of Arnold Palmers (lemonade and iced tea), with labor leader John Dougherty, Brady and Nigro chit-chatted.

"I hadn't seen Bob for awhile," said Nigro, who now does mediation, arbitration and consulting work. "Everything was positive."

Nigro said he's not inclined to run for anything, although he wouldn't specifically rule out the 2009 race for District Attorney.

Said Brady: "I just wanted to say hello and tell him to let me know if there's ever anything I can do for him."

Writing the Street story

Earni Young, who for years reported on real estate and city government at the Daily News, has been hired by Mayor Street to chronicle his Neighborhood Transformation Initiative.

She's been given access to staff and internal reports to recount the story of Street's effort to rebuild broken neighborhoods.

What Street will do with Young's internal report is unclear, but Young herself, after all that work, might write a book.

Labor Day preview

Here's a peek at this year's Labor Day action: At least 11 labor leaders from around the world will be paying the city a visit before and during the big day.

A Labor Day parade - at least 5,000 strong - on Columbus Boulevard from Washington Avenue to Spring Garden Street.

And members of Local 98 of the Electricians Union wearing the maroon and gold of Virginia Tech.

Sean McQuade, a Virginia Tech senior from Mullica Hill, N.J., was shot in the face during the April 16 massacre, which killed 32 students and teachers.

McQuade's father is a member of Local 98. *

Staff writers Gar Joseph, Mark McDonald and Bob Warner contributed to this report.