The Full Specter

III. A Loss, a Win: Tougher, Younger ...

In 1967, after little more than a year on the job as D.A., Specter announced his run for mayor against incumbent James Tate. He narrowly lost the election, but came back two years later to win reelection as D.A., campaigning with former LaSalle basketball star Tom Gola, who was running for City Controller, using one of the most famous slogans in local political history.

Elliott Curson, consultant on the 1969 campaign: When he ran his 1967 mayoral campaign, I was on the sidelines. He had somebody run a terrible campaign for him. It was his to lose, and he lost it. Here was this tough, honest, outspoken district attorney, and he came out with a jingle: "Philadelphia is our land/Arlen is our man/Aren't you glad he's now running for mayor."

Lynne Abraham: When he ran for mayor, one of the issues that did him in was aid to parochial schools. He started talking about a "constitutional umbrella." I said to myself, "Oh, please, Arlen, people don't want to hear about the separation of church and state. They want to know if you're going to help Catholic kids." But that's who he is: someone who is obsessed with arcane intricacies of law.

Elliott Curson: What I did was end all the radio advertising with the phrase: "They're tougher. They're younger. And nobody owns them." I like the short and choppy sentences. I started with, "They're smarter. They're younger. And nobody runs them." Then Steve Harmelin — a lawyer I introduced to Arlen in 1967 — came into my office, and he said, "Nobody is looking for somebody who's smarter. They're looking for somebody who's tougher." Then I changed "Nobody runs them" to "Nobody owns them." "Runs them" was too complicated.

Ed Rendell: I've never been much of a drinker, but one night during that election, we were out until about two in the morning, and I think I was drinking gin. I just remember getting back to my apartment at two in the morning, running up the stairs, yelling at the top of my lungs: "They're young! They're tough! And nobody owns them!" I got my key in the door and made it to the bathroom just in time to get sick.

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