Features: Who Really Runs This Town?

45. bruce crawley
vice chairman, Comcast-Spectacor. Rank in 2000: 29
A longtime public relations executive — he’s president of Crawley Haskins Sloan — Crawley, 59, is a master of the attention grab as the c ity’s strongest, most unabashed voice of old-school black activism. Lately, Crawley has increasingly — and ever more loudly — sparred with old confidant John Street over African-American access to city contracts, one of the most important economic concerns to the middle-class black Philadelphians. He was the driving force behind upending the  city’s ineffective Minority Business Enterprise Council, which failed to keep track of or increase minority contracts — and then was highly critical when Street hired gay activist Michael Williams, who has little business experience, to be the group’s head. Crawley’s not always successful or, frankly, wise:  This year, he was a character witness for Imam Shamsud-din Ali, convicted of racketeering in the City Hall corruption scandal.
Strength: He could spend all his time with high-profile clients, but instead devotes much of his energy to the chamber, for which he is not paid, and other causes.
Weakness: Crawley’s old-school civil rights histrionics — protests, name-calling, boycotts — sometimes make him seem more hysterical then effective. For example: his storming of City Hall in July to demand more access for black vendors at Live 8. 

46. DWIGHT EVANS
State Legislator. Rank in 2000: not on the list
Evans, tk age, is that rare politician who’s smart, well-connected, and willing to take political risks. To wit: He was the driving force behind the state takeover of city schools, over the protests of his party and much of his political base. And he was right, as he often is. In office for 24 years, Evans is Democratic chair of the House Appropriations Committee, a post that puts him right in the center of funding battles. And he’s one of the few candidates for mayor in 2007 whose political résumé actually dwarfs his ego — and may actually have the skills to run the city. [tkb– Evans work on school reform important, unexpected wielding of power, unusual of blacks, talk to jim Gallagher on commission].
Strength: Calm under pressure, he’s a quiet force who gets things done by never raising his voice, but never backing down.
Weakness: Not terrifically media-savvy, Evans tends to ramble, leaving unclear just what it is he’s accomplished — or, as mayor, would.

47. NEIL OXMAN
president, the Campaign Group, Inc. Rank in 2000: 85
Oxman has gotten more current members of Congress elected than any other political consultant, and possesses what could be considered a golden touch in Philadelphia politics. He steered the ships that put former mayors Bill Green, Wilson Goode and Ed Rendell in office, and in 1999, he almost pushed Sam Katz to victory — a remarkable accomplishment for a Republican in big Blue Philly. After pointedly sitting out the 2003 race — he spent a month as a golf caddy in Scotland — Oxman, TKage, hasn’t yet announced whom he might back in 2007. Whoever it is, you can bet his choice will be a top contender.
Strength: A mayor-maker, Oxman has an eye for political winners.
Weakness: Burns bridges with his abrasive manner.

48. DENNIS ALTER
CEO and chairman, Advanta Corporation. Rank in 2000: 82
After some tough years in the beginning of the decade, Advanta focused on what it does best: issuing MasterCard credit cards to small businesses nationwide. And it’s paid off: In the second quarter of this year, Alter’s firm showed a 67 percent increase in profits over the same time last year. Meanwhile, 63-year-old Alter and his wife, Gisela, have continued to support pet cultural organizations in Philadelphia, including the Opera Company, for which Advanta is the season sponsor for the 10th year in a row. This year, Alter also gave his alma mater, Temple University, $15 million to build Alter Hall for the Fox School of Business — the school’s second-largest single donation. And then, of course, there’s tennis: In addition to the annual Advanta Championships, Alter this year is also the largest donor to the Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis Center planned for Fairmount Park.
Strength: Alter, a former high-school teacher, is that rare, much-needed breed — a business success who is also civic-minded.
Weakness: Alter is known as a tyrant in the workplace, as former [tks — see me] adman Brian Tierney — famously hired and fired within a year — can attest.

49. MERYL LEVITZ
CEO, Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation. Rank in 2000: 44
Smart, charming and politically savvy, Levitz, 58, is the person most responsible for turning Philly tourism into a booming $4 billion industry — one of the few that have actually grown in the past decade. In fact, since her pal Ed Rendell appointed Levitz to form GPTMC seven years ago, overnight leisure travel to the city has gone up 49 percent. Last year’s groundbreaking campaign to attract gay tourists — the first of its kind in the country — proved nationally what Levitz has long argued locally: that her brand of bold innovation is exactly what the city needs. 
Strength: Lance Armstrong-like stamina as a cheerleader in the face of typical Philly skepticism.
Weakness:Levitz’s decade-long turf war with Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Tour Bureau President Tom Muldoon, her former boss, has led to funding battles and confusion over which agency is running the hospitality show.

50. TONY RIDDER
president and CEO, Knight Ridder Newspapers. Rank in 2000: not on the list
As the micromanaging head of both the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Daily News, 65-year-old Ridder, who lives in TK, may have more media clout in this city than his papers’ editors. His severe cost-cutting has turned the once-robust, award-winning Inky into — well, do you read it? In September, PNI announced more cuts — 75 editorial staffers at the Inquirer, and another 25 at the Daily News. The slope has gotten awfully slippery.
Strength: A photographic memory for numbers.
Weakness: Believes the bottom line is more important than editorial quality.