Local pols gather at Famous Deli on election day
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
An Election Day tradition continued in Philadelphia. Famous Deli at Fourth Street below South drew in politicians for their lunch as residents go to the polls.
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The majority of the Democratic district attorney candidates and many judicial candidates stopped in for a bite before resuming their campaigning. D.A. Lynne Abraham stopped by and noticed the crowd was down a bit.
Abraham: The turnout is very low and number two for purely political reasons the new people don't really know that Famous Delicatessen is the only place to go on primary election day.
City controller candidate Alan Butkovitz says its difficult to criss-cross the city in one day, so the strategy session over the corn beef and chicken salad is important.
Butkovitz: It's only become the place because everybody else from around the city kinda congregates it, so it becomes kinda a quick exchange of information and a chance to pat a lot of people on the back.
Democratic Controller candidates John Braxton and Brett Mandell were elsewhere in the city, but a Mandell campaign car circled the block twice observing activity at the deli.