City Commissioners’ Split Leads To Turmoil

BY TONY WEST/ A bold venture in reform at Philadelphia City Commission is unraveling in a snarl of charges of mismanagement by its Chair Stephanie Singer.

Reports from well-placed insiders suggest Singer, who chairs the Commission, has lost the confidence of her fellow Democrat Commissioner Anthony Clark and Republican Commissioner Al Schmidt. Also, several ward leaders from both parties are disgruntled as well, after the new Commission’s maiden run in the April primary.

Singer and Schmidt swept into office last November, turning out veteran Commissioners Marge Tartaglione and Joe Duda. Although they belong to opposing parties, both Singer and Schmidt had much in common. Both were young, well-educated and passionate about bringing modernization, transparency and citizen participation to the agency which runs Philadelphia’s elections. Initially, the pair worked together to change some personnel procedures and promised a new look for the agency’s information systems and online. Clark went along.

Neither Schmidt nor Clark responded to requests to discuss the Commissioners’ affairs  – except that Schmidt said neither of them would attend a meeting that was called by Singer yesterday  – but simmering tensions within the Commission have recently begun to spill out into the open. An observer called the relationship between the Chairwoman and her fellow Commissioners “openly hostile.”

Two concerns drive the dispute: a set of policy changes which some say are impractical and create roadblocks for the smooth administration of staff and elections, and some questionable hires by Singer for her personal staff – the chief power of the Chair in this agency.

Singer pushed new requirements for temporary employees – the lifeblood of an agency that mounts massive elections on two days a year, then retreats into maintenance mode for months. Ward leaders have traditionally referred these workers. Singer first insisted these workers be hired independent from the political process; a reasonable move in some public business, but a problem for grassroots politicos.

Then Singer insisted these employees furnish résumés and encouraged them to apply online through the City’s jobs website. This didn’t sit well with ward leaders in working-class wards; their pool of temps often has trouble with these qualifications, for positions requiring absolutely no computer work.

Then things went from bad to worse. For the Apr. 24 primary, Singer demanded an end to the practice of “double-dipping”: hiring one election official to do two jobs on the election board. In many divisions, it’s not possible to fill the three elective and two appointive positions called for: election judge, machine inspector, majority inspector, minority inspector and clerk. In many divisions, for instance, it’s impossible to find Republicans to run for minority inspector. Ward leaders have traditionally done their best to help out and fill these election board positions by dispatching reliable workers to fill empty positions in problem divisions. This must end, decreed Singer.

Dismayed, the ward leaders squawked and forced a retreat at the last minute. But ill will was sown.

Singer disputed that these moves caused issues. “We heard many dire warnings about problems on election day, but there were no problems out of the ordinary,” she stated. “I have not heard any complaints since the election.” As for hiring, Singer said, “We have not insisted that things be filed online. We have not taken anything away; we are adding a new capability. But we do insist that people submit résumés. We are helping people prepare them. At the least, we are simply asking they write a letter describing their education and abilities.”

It may be intra-office turmoil that does in Chairwoman Singer, though. Each Commissioner picks their own staff; the Chair, a few more. Singer’s personal team picks have not won unanimous acclaim and some of them arrived with question marks hanging over their heads.

First on board was her campaign treasurer Ellen Chapman, who flubbed several basic filings while Singer was running for office, resulting in hefty fines for her campaign – a larger-than-usual embarrassment for a candidate who has vowed to reform elections and whose job is to run elections. Undeterred, Singer gave Chapman a job as a deputy commissioner.

Tracey Gordon, a feisty activist from Southwest Philadelphia, was brought in as “community outreach educator.” Her actual power in the Commissioners’ Office is said to have bloomed beyond her title. Gordon is a busy online communicator. But she has a checkered job history. She was fired by the Mayor’s Office of Community Services and also dumped as a committeewoman in Ward 40B – an act for which she sued Democrat City Committee Chair Bob Brady.

Another Singer pick, Norris Gonzalez, had worked under the previous chair Tartaglione but was let go. Marge was tolerant, but she did not retain employees who didn’t maintain job discipline. Gonzalez is back at work now, for Singer.

Matters came to a head earlier this month, when Singer’s original Chief of Staff Noam Kugelman, a technically skilled worker, was replaced in that position by Dennis Lee. A well-reputed political consultant from West Philadelphia, Lee may bring luster to City Commission’s new interest in voter outreach and education. But the new team hasn’t meshed yet. Considering their Commissioners are at odds with each other, it is hard to see how Commission line staff can work well together.

It is not clear how long the Commission can proceed in its current configuration, given the disarray at its top.

   Send article as PDF