Candidate Represented by Cardboard

PHILADELPHIA (AP) â€” If one candidate looked stiff during the debate, it wasn't because he was nervous. He was made of cardboard. <br><br>The debate Tuesday on WTVE-TV among candidates for the presidency

Wednesday, November 15th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PHILADELPHIA (AP) â€” If one candidate looked stiff during the debate, it wasn't because he was nervous. He was made of cardboard.

The debate Tuesday on WTVE-TV among candidates for the presidency of the Philadelphia NAACP featured three figures sitting at a table â€” two people and a life-sized image of Thomas D. Logan propped up in a chair.

Logan had called before the debate to say that he couldn't make it because of an undisclosed family emergency, but station officials said they felt he should be represented anyway.

``Mr. Logan committed to participating in this debate, and when he didn't, well, we were prepared for that eventuality,'' said Jim Sweeney, news director and acting general manager.

The three-dimensional candidates were local NAACP president J. Whyatt Mondesire, who is seeking a third two-year term, and community activist Joey Temple.

Logan has the backing of Mayor John F. Street, who is himself running for a seat on the NAACP's executive board. Mondesire and Street are longtime political foes, and Mondesire has said a Logan win would mean City Hall running the city's oldest civil-rights group.

There was no comment from Logan; attempts to reach him by phone after the broadcast were unsuccessful.