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Clout: Did boredom keep the lid on political trickery?

WE ARE so very conflicted. After an odd primary election season that included contested races for mayor in the Democratic and Republican parties and tight races for City Council, we just sort of expected more campaign hijinks yesterday.

At Famous 4th Street Deli yesterday, Councilman Bill Green greets his dad and namesake, a former mayor and congressman. Green the younger was re-elected as an at-large member of Council.
At Famous 4th Street Deli yesterday, Councilman Bill Green greets his dad and namesake, a former mayor and congressman. Green the younger was re-elected as an at-large member of Council.Read moreCLEM MURRAY / Staff photographer

WE ARE so very conflicted.

After an odd primary election season that included contested races for mayor in the Democratic and Republican parties and tight races for City Council, we just sort of expected more campaign hijinks yesterday.

It's a good thing that there were no serious, high-profile incidents, right? It feels wrong to us.

Here's the run-down of what we heard yesterday.

NIMBY & nasty in the 7th

The battle in Council's 7th District, which runs from Hunting Park to Juniata Park and Frankford, turned nasty early when when an anonymous flier was posted at polling places accusing former Councilman Dan Savage of trying to force a methadone clinic into a neighborhood that didn't want it.

"Say no to Danny Savage!" the flier declared.

Savage went to court, denying any ties to the clinic and accusing Donna Aument, leader of the 33rd Ward and a supporter of Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez of posting the fliers.

A judge ordered the fliers taken down at polling places.

Courtesy of a GOP civil war

The raging civil war between the Republican City Committee and an upstart group known as the Loyal Opposition took a deep dive into electoral minutia over a sample ballot.

The ballot was printed as the "Republican Endorsed Team," and "courtesy of" Vito Canuso, party chairman.

John Featherman, the Loyal Opposition candidate for mayor, claimed that was a legal problem because it didn't say "paid for" or "authorized by." An attorney for the state Republican Party, which is backing the Loyal Opposition, also argued that there was more than one "Republican team" in the election this year.

Canuso, who has been stripped of his title as chairman by the state party but who still acts in that role locally, convinced a judge that the ballot passed legal muster.

8th Ward ballot busted

An "Endorsed Democratic Ballot" circulated in the 8th Ward, in Center City west of Broad Street, failed to say who paid for it.

That sample ballot urged voters to support John Kromer for sheriff, though the party backed state Rep. Jewell Williams.

Kromer's campaign had a singular focus: Eliminate the Sheriff's Office in Philadelphia.

A judge approved a request from Williams to stop circulation of the ballot in the ward, which is led by Stephanie Singer, a candidate for Philadelphia City Commission.

The ballot also told voters to support Singer.

And the next mayor is . . .

A few people gathered at the Famous 4th Street Deli for the traditional Election Day luncheon yesterday told us that City Councilman Bill Green looks like a front-runner for mayor in 2015.

One of them was Bill Green.

"I think that's clearly me," Green said when asked who the front-runner for mayor is now.

Green has an unusual coalition agreeing with him - both state Rep. Mike O'Brien and former state legislator T. Milton Street Sr. named Green as the leader in the 2015 pack of Democrats.

Other names kicked around for mayor: District Attorney Seth Williams and state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams.

Have tips or suggestions? Call Chris Brennan at 215-854-5973 or email

brennac@phillynews.com.

Check out the Clout blog at:

www.phillyclout.com.