by Jay A. McCalla

From time to time, we all hear of someone's good fortune and express brief admiration. Maybe a co-worker wins the lottery. Perhaps we notice a fellow parishioner with a lovely family. In these cases, some tend to say “geez, luckiest guy in the world.” We know that fortune is fickle, but when it does indeed smile, one can be made “lucky.”

The phrase “luckiest guy in the world” is rarely applied to someone we believe earned their way forward, perhaps against steep odds. Nobody ever referred to Nixon that way, for instance. Jack Kennedy, on the other hand, was born to wealth, power and good looks. I'm certain that more than a few classmates muttered “luckiest guy in the world” as he breezed past on Harvard's campus. Its both a “salute” and “dig.”

This matter of “luckiest guy” has been kicking around in my head for weeks. You see, there was a primary election held to select a successor to the retiring (indictment free) State Sen. Shirley Kitchen, of the 3rd Senatorial District. The candidates were Adjunct Professor Omar Woodard, Businessperson Emmanuel Bussey and Attorney Sharif Street.

Before Kitchen made her endorsement, Woodward was favored because of his strong policy background and ability to raise money. Not much was expected from Bussey, and Street had lost elections in 2002 and 2007. He had a lot to prove.

The many parochial political gangs around town tend to care very much about the preferences of their retiring officials. This is particularly the case if the retiring official will remain a Ward Leader and have the ability to bedevil them, as was the case here. So, when Kitchen pointed to Sharif Street, the son of her former boss, the waters parted and the sun began to shine on the “luckiest guy in the world.”

For the better part of a decade and a half, young Street has yearned to follow in the footsteps of his famous father, Mayor John Street, and his infamous uncle T. Milton Street, who served in both houses of the state legislature. He had the nerve, the cash and the “name.” He ran for State Representative and lost. He ran for City Council at Large and lost badly.

But, when one is hungry, one can readily smell a meal being cooked. So, in a city where two-time losers “don't get no respect.” Street couldn't resist the aroma of “office” when learning of the impending Senate vacancy. Despite the prospects for yet another humiliation, he declared himself a candidate.

To me, the only thing stranger than being in the public eye is wanting to be in the public eye. I think three campaigns that span two decades qualifies as “wanting,” wanting very much indeed. Though having passed the bar many years ago, he never developed a law practice of any note. He never made the legal community his home.

An acquaintance of mine occasionally advises political candidates and always asks prospective clients, “if you weren't running for office, what would you be doing professionally?” It's a very smart, potentially embarrassing question because so many people seek office simply to hold office and grasp tightly the petty perks.

I’m personally acquainted with Sharif Street and have been for a number of years. From what I know, he’s a respectable family man with much to be proud of. I wish him nothing but productive days in Harrisburg (though, I'm not likely to see him anytime soon).

But I can't hide my disappointment that our political process isn't yielding bright young men and women with fresh energy and ideas. For all his many talents, Mr. Street isn't fresh. In 2002 he was fresh. Young idealism needs a place at our jaded table. Luck and favor tend to play outsized roles and intimidate those with little of one and none of the other.

We all pass baseball fields and basketball courts where young guys are practicing their skills and living the reverie of professional sports. How terrific will it be when we see large numbers of teenagers with a similar thirst for public service. Learning about laws and governance. Equipping themselves to lead us to a brighter tomorrow.

Let it never again be truly said of a Philly pol, “he's the luckiest guy on earth.”