by MICHAEL J. MISHAK

It's just after 7:00 a.m. as the line begins to form at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Mt. Airy. Members of the Northwest electorate are wading through the early morning fog, only to be greeted with an overloaded ballot that will result in long lines and confusion throughout the next 13 hours.

Most voters avoid the media throng awaiting Republican mayoral challenger Sam Katz's arrival. And despite talk of intimidation and union bullying the day before, voters encounter little resistance from poll workers like Scott Montague.

"I think Katz is going to get clobbered," Montague says. The 41-year-old ironworker's candid prediction will ring startlingly true when the precinct reports roll in just after 8:00 p.m. Having spent the previous night working the phone polls, Montague takes all speculation out of the equation. "Katz doesn't stand a chance."

He quietly hands out sample ballots for the party he says represents "working families." "For the blue collar family, the Democrats are the way to go," he says. "I don't know what I'd do if this city turned Republican."

An overwhelming majority of the city's electorate shared Montague's sentiment on November 4, delivering a 16-point landslide victory for Mayor Street, a far cry from 1999's margin of just 9,400 votes.

Street virtually captured the entire black vote, and at the same time improved his performance in almost every one of the city's 66 wards, including the white-majority neighborhoods like Chestnut Hill that Katz needed to dominate to win.

Despite neighborhood campaign offices and a barrage of signage, Katz only managed to win the Northwest's Ninth Ward by about 500 votes. Street took seven of the ward's 17 divisions and narrowly missed picking up another two divisions by just a handful of votes.

Katz received 65 percent of the vote in 1999. Street encountered a lukewarm reception with just 34 percent during the last contest.

Street's record of accomplishment, an active campaign and a visit from former Vice President Al Gore contributed to Street capturing 46 percent of the Ninth Ward vote on Tuesday, said Lou Freimiller, legislative aide to State Sen. Allyson Schwartz. "Those things signaled to people that they really ought to think about sticking with the successful incumbent from their own party," Freimiller said. "I think [the vote] demonstrates that this is a community that doesn't vote along racial lines. People really do look at the candidates."

Election Day timeline

When Katz and family emerge from the SamMobile - a gaudy red, white and blue minivan complete with the candidate's visage - the Republican is looking like he's already gone a few rounds at 7:55 a.m. Immediately surrounded by reporters and television cameras, Katz delivers a laundry list of Election Day troubles.

"This election got off to a violent start," he says, detailing how one of his supporters was attacked by a "Street thug" for asking one of the mayor's supporters to stop placing Street signs over Katz signs.

Wrong voting binders were delivered to two polling places, one located in the Northeast's 63rd ward, a Katz stronghold, he says.

Katz also says his campaign has already received reports of broken voting machines in Roxborough - another bastion of Katz supporters.

He labels the instances as part of a "systematically planned effort to defraud voters of their rights."

"And to borrow a phrase from Mayor Street, it's a little too coincidental to be a coincidence," Katz says.

Although the polls have only been open for an hour, the mayoral challenger is already threatening court action to ensure a fair election.

Katz says he expects record voter turnout, but even with the sizeable Get-Out-The-Vote army he lacked in 1999, the candidate will fall short as white swing voters across the city cast their vote for Street.

Long lines result from an abnormally long ballot, consisting of retention judges few recognize and charter changes and constitutional amendments few understand.

Encountering a line of voters that wraps the walls of the Lutheran Seminary's gymnasium, one man turns away.

"It's like waiting in line for a restaurant," he says. He promises to vote later, still undecided on his choice for mayor. "I'm going to vote for all of them," he says with questionable sobriety as the smell of alcohol escapes his mouth. "May the best man win."

At Grace Epiphany Church in East Mt. Airy, James Villarreal proclaims that after a 27-minute wait, he has voted for a Republican for the first time in his life. The 60-year-old elementary schoolteacher and dedicated Democrat hands out copies of his open letter endorsing Sam Katz. Faulting Street for neglecting public education, Villarreal says he's seen some of his former students turn into drug dealers. "If there were better education, we wouldn't need Safe Streets," he says.

While he successfully navigated the long ballot, Villarreal claims that older members of the electorate weren't so fortunate. "It's like the SAT for older people," he says.

At 8:30 a.m., Green Party City Council candidate Tom Hutt concedes that he doesn't have the resources to beat incumbent Donna Reed Miller. With only about 70 volunteers and a $2500 budget, Hutt's campaign is getting overwhelmed by the Democratic machine. "I'm enjoying the weather and talking to people," Hutt says. He lauds his election workers for volunteering while others are moving and shaking for $100 bills. "[Volunteers] really care about the cause."

And even though Miller will coast into re-election by more votes than any other district councilperson, Hutt takes a small step for the Green Party in Philadelphia, outpolling Republican candidate Deborah Williams in West Mt. Airy and garnering 15 percent of the vote in Chestnut Hill.

Democratic Committeewoman Pat Reifsnyder, 74, describes turnout as "immense and "overwhelming" at 9:00 a.m. as she greets voters with a letter detailing her selections for this year's ballot. "People could handle voting for mayor and city council," she says, "but the election of judges is a travesty." At 9:15 a.m. parking is a rare commodity at the Grace Epiphany Church and many are turning away from a 40-minute wait. "There ought to be a simpler way of voting," Reifsnyder says.

Both Reifsnyder and her fellow committeewoman Lisa Holgash laugh when asked about the absence of a Republican counterpart. Neither can remember ever seeing one.

Two Katz campaign volunteers arrive to offer an alternative, but keep their distance from Reifsnyder and Holgash. "Street has no vision," says Brigitte Thalheimer. "We need to vote for who's going to offer a future for the city," she says.

As 10:00 a.m. approaches, Republican committeeman Frank Galiotto and his Democratic counterpart Kevin Raphael mill around the Water Tower Recreation Center. While the two arrived to a line at 7:00 a.m., turnout has thinned considerably as the morning rush winds down. Galiotto is impressed with turnout, saying 95 of his division's 684 voters have already been to the polls.

McNally's Tavern quickly fills to capacity during the lunch hour rush. Galiotto enters to pick up food for some poll workers, already looking like he's put in a full day's work. A message shoots through the open door as patrons enjoy their afternoon brew: "Katz will put an end to the corruption." Unfazed, customers catch a fleeting glimpse of the messenger, a bullhorn-equipped SUV roving Germantown Avenue.

At 4:30 p.m., post-work voters rush the polls at Chestnut Hill's Church of St. Martin in the Fields. More than 40 percent of those registered in each the 10th and 11th divisions have already voted.

Hutt campaign worker Kilian Fritsch, 54, quietly sells his candidate to passerby voters. Working since 6:45 a.m., he still exudes enthusiasm. "Hutt's a good man. He's good for the Hill." While Fritsch knows Hutt will lose, he hopes to make a dent in the system. "It'll make an impact in a small way."

Ninth Ward leader Allyson Schwartz shows up to check in with committeepeople and delivers translations of the ballot questions in the hopes of reducing voter confusion.

Democratic Committeemen Walt Sullivan and John O'Connell are huddled around a small radio at 5:30 p.m. in front of Fire Engine Co. 37. They await the newest voter turnout results as rain begins to fall.

While Sullivan predicts Katz will carry the division, he hopes to limit the Republican's winning margin. He says Katz is running scared, citing three "increasingly pleading" phone messages from the Republican's supporters he received at his home.

An election judge warns Hillers inside the firehouse that they are subject to a three-minute time limit. Sullivan laments that voters are spending an excruciatingly long time to read every retention judge and ballot question.

O'Connell, who started the day in shorts and ended up in a jacket and long pants, touts the Democratic registration advantage. Although Republicans traditionally turnout better, he says, Democrats triumph with sheer numbers. Both Sullivan and O'Connell predict a unified committee for Street - unlike that of 1999 - will better the candidate's numbers.

At 6:00 p.m., talk of election violence dominates 1210AM, first with the mention of an assault on a Katz campaign worker in West Philadelphia, then with the rumor of a firefighter and Katz supporter who was hit with a 2 x 4 board.

"Nobody was murdered," Sullivan muses, but concedes the violence is "inappropriate."

While white-wards are still registering higher turnout, reports 1210 guest political consultant Ken Smukler, the wildcard in the race for City Hall remains how well Katz is performing with white voters like those in Chestnut Hill. Both Sullivan and O'Connell affirm that Street possesses more crossover racial-appeal than he did in 1999.

Half a dozen potential voters turn away when faced with a line that snakes through the firehouse. "It's not going to get any better," Sullivan says.

The networks start broadcasting incoming results from the city's precincts a little after 8:30 p.m. The numbers reflect Street holding a considerable lead over Katz. As Democratic committeepeople and poll workers filter into the Venetian Club around 9:30 p.m. they report Street's numbers within their respective divisions. Although exhausted, the results elicit applause and praise from the ground troops - he's performing considerably better than he did in 1999. The race is called in the media before 10:00 p.m. But the networks only formalize what the Ninth Ward Democrats already knew; John F. Street will serve another four years as Philadelphia's mayor - the only job, Katz says hours later, he ever wanted.