Republican Mayoral Candidate

John Featherman 

By JAMES FOSTER

Publisher 

With changes and challenges happening daily, it’s still not completely clear who will be participating in the general election to fill the mayor’s slot in November. But the usually lackluster Republican primary has two interesting, if very different, candidates.

We interviewed Karen Brown, Democrat-just-turned Republican, in our last issue, and now we have done the same with John Featherman, an elected committeeman from Chinatown.  Featherman, 46, a Philadelphia native, was educated at Friends Select School, and holds an MBA (1988) from Columbia University, where he was class president.

Featherman’s work experience includes real estate sales with Prudential, Fox & Roach, a corporate privacy consultant, and publisher and editor of a privacy newsletter.

He said his view of the political structure in Philadelphia is that it is on triage, and only major changes in how it funds its financial obligations, pays its employees, and funds their pensions will keep it from a major meltdown.  His libertarian leanings are reflected in plans to cut and restructure taxes, cut spending and bring union negotiations to the forefront.

Realizing that Republican registered voters in this city are now only about 12.5 percent of the total he has no illusions of victory, but definitely feels he can made a difference if he can bring sidestepped issues to the race and force what he views as a lame duck mayor to become more confrontational and take up the challenges that are facing a city in free fall.

He said he sees no point in ideological debates on broad-based social issues that differentiate Republicans and Democrats, but wants to focus on moderated views regarding incremental taxes, and appointing rather than electing judges, where under the present system judicial candidates wind up “paying the party” $35,000 to run.  He also said that we are the only county in the state that does not elect our school board.

Featherman deplores our school system, sees vouchers as in House Bill SB-1 a step in the right direction, and describes School Superintendent Arlene Ackerman an overpaid failure.  He is opposed to DROP for elected officials, the re-election of anyone who takes the program, and considers our current mayor without the courage of his convictions as demonstrated in his viewthe Mayor’s vacillation on issues such as the Christmas Village.

Featherman’s just-released campaign video on YouTube that compares the City of Philadelphia to the Government of Libya has gone viral and national.