POLS ON THE STREET: Mayor-Council Relationship Could Be Boon In Kenney Administration

by Joe Shaheeli
Of the many Mayors this city has had, it can be said Mayor Jim Kenney is the one closest to fitting the adage “the round peg for the round hole”.

Of all those who preceded him, the closest to fit that description in the past 60 years would have been John Street. He had been in Council, rose to rank of Council President and then successfully ran for Mayor.

If Kenney can maintain the close personal relationship he has with Council Members, he can enjoy support for his programs, similar to that which benefited Mayor Ed Rendell because of the strong support that Mayor received from Council President John Street. The current Council President, Darrell Clarke, understands that pattern, as he was working as Street’s chief of staff at that time.

Mayor Kenney, after 23 years on City Council and years of butting heads with many, knows about almost every problem that needs to be fixed and as well as ones that can’t. He doesn’t need a learning curve, and understands what needs to be done.

On inauguration day this past Monday he demonstrated yet another facet: the ability to communicate to the audiences in the Academy of Music and on television. Not the schmoozer that was Mayor Ed Rendell, but light when light was needed and heavy when heavy was needed. He maintained the crowd’s interest and enthusiasm and left them wanting more.

A Kenney quip: “I asked some of my predecessors for advice on the address I’m about to deliver. And above all else, they asked that I keep it brief. Admittedly, that’s never really been a big problem for me. Back in February, I believe I speed-read what was supposed to be a 15-minute announcement speech in about 60 seconds.” He kept it short.

At 57, he knows more Philadelphians by face and name than anyone else. Kenney has done well in his administration choices and we wait to see what his searches for others bring up.

Leading City Council again with a strong hand is President Clarke. He said Council would do its best to address the city’s high poverty rate, work to build neighborhood schools, and push to train students for training to meet demands sought by today’s businesses. He said Council would look to make recidivism rates as low as possible.

As expected, Councilman Bobby Henon replaced Councilman Curtis Jones as majority leader, a testimony to the influence of labor leader John Dougherty.

DNC Expects To Fill Major Hotel Rooms

The Democratic National Convention Committee has qualified 26 hotels as sites for its approximately 6,000 delegates and alternates participating in Convention week activities at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia Jul. 25-28. Fifty-seven state delegations will fill hotel rooms in the city and at Valley Forge.

“The delegates do the work of the Convention and are our most important guests,” said Rev. Leah D. Daughtry, CEO of the DNCC. “We worked very hard to ensure that the majority of state delegations secured one of their top three hotel choices. Philadelphia is an excellent city for a Convention and it has a great array of top-notch hotel properties which will serve the delegates well next July.”

State delegations use their hotels as a base of operations during the convention week. Each delegation begins its day by hosting breakfast at their respective hotels to preview the day’s Convention activities. In addition, delegates use their hotels to host receptions and conduct official business, including meetings and press conferences.

The DNCC and the hotels will ensure that delegates have convenient access to the Wells Fargo Center during the Convention hours through the DNCC’s transportation system.

GOP Hopes To Negate DNC Press Dominance

The Republican State Committee, knowing the fanfare produced by the Democratic National Convention here will have a tendency to sway some voters who weren’t sure of their Democratic presidential candidate, have developed a game plan to do their own attracting.

Party chairman Rob Gleason has alerted county chairs to the fact there are thousands of unregistered Republicans who need to be reregistered. They will be asked to train and empower neighborhood grassroots leaders, while the state party will invest in the latest technology to help volunteers are talking to the right voters about the right issues.

What Is Dark Money And Where Does It Go?

Al Hunt, working for Bloomberg View, wrote about money that won’t be disclosed this presidential campaign, calling it “dark money.” He predicted it would easily top the $300 million murkily tracked in 2012, with foreign money a lot of it. He credits it “to a ruse that permits political-advocacy groups to claim that they are principally social welfare agencies and thus tax exempt and not subject to disclosure. These organizations court interest groups and rich donors, some of whom want the influence that political money brings but not the public association. It’s a win for the interest groups and the candidates; the public is kept in the dark.”

Almost 100% will go to television. Print media may share the 1%.

Challengers Starting Up Campaigns For House

As mentioned here earlier, challengers will be popping up in the April primary for more incumbents of the Philadelphia caucus in the State House. Periodically we’ll total them up, but for now give each a mention as they make their challenges official.

This past Saturday Morgan Cephas announced her decision to run for the 192nd Dist. seat left vacant by the resignation of Rep. Rosita Youngblood.

The District encompasses the Overbrook, Wynnefield, Haddington, Carroll Park, Overbrook Park and Overbrook Farms neighborhoods of West Philadelphia.

Born and raised in the Wynnefield section of the city, Morgan Cephas has been a former staffer in Philadelphia City Council and External Affairs Director of Philadelphia Youth Network.

While Some Want In, Others Want Out!

The State House is in a constant flux, some retire, some challengers win, but news is made when leaders, in normally safe seats, announce their intention to retire.

Republican majority chairman of the very important Appropriations Committee State Rep. Bill Adolph is not seeking reelection to his 165th Dist. seat which lies in Delaware County. He wants to spend more time in the county, so look for him to be a driving force there. He was elected to the General Assembly in 1988 and served the last three terms as Appropriations Chair.

Also reported quitting is Julie Harhart (R-Northampton), who is the Majority Chairman of the House Professional Licensure Committee. Harhart was first elected in 1994. Legislators’ terms expire on Nov. 30, 2016.

State Budget Talks Should End Shortly

Discussions on reconciling code bills with Gov. Tom Wolf’s line-item vetoes and seeking a full-year-budget was key message delivered by leaders to members this Tuesday.

Wolf will not tolerate walking-around money this time around. The House will come to that conclusion and rank and file will fall in behind the leadership of State Rep. John Taylor (R-Northeast) and other GOP leaders to make a budget pass by next week … we hope.

Governor’s Stopgap Eases School Burdens

The Pennsylvania Treasury says it will expedite $3.3 billion in payments to schools, counties, human services providers.

“The budget impasse has caused a lot of financial hardship throughout the state, and Treasury is committed to getting these much-needed state payments out the door as quickly as possible,” said Pennsylvania Treasurer Timothy Reese. Those much-needed payments – about 16,400 delayed due to the nearly six-month budget impasse – total approximately $3.3 billion, and they should be delivered to school districts, counties and human service organizations by yesterday.

Reese added it normally takes 10 business days for the appropriate review of payments before they can be sent out. However, his department has been working to pre-audited payments during the impasse. The payments include education payments (basic education, Head Start, public libraries, and special education); public-welfare payments (child care, homeless assistance and some health services); veterans’ payments; and critical lease and utility payments.

In the meantime, State GOP flacks are blasting Gov. Wolf for increasing the pays of his senior staff, higher than Gov. Corbett had paid his staff. Newspaper editorials around the state have also chimed in, calling pay raises a major blunder.

Penna. Supreme Court Sworn In Piecemeal

The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts set the dates on which the state Supreme Court three incoming justices will be sworn into office: Justice Kevin M. Dougherty Tuesday at the Constitution Center by Chief Justice Thomas G. Saylor; Justice-Elect David N. Wecht this morning at 10:30 a.m. at Duquesne University Union Ballroom in Pittsburgh (by Chief Justice Thomas G. Saylor); and Justice-Elect Christine L. Donohue tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh (by Madame Justice Debra Todd).

The US Senate Primary Grinds On With Sestak

Adm. Joseph Sestak has released a 13 part plan for restoring the American dream for working families, doing so this week in Johnstown, Pittsburgh, Erie, Harrisburg, Scranton, Bethlehem, and Bryn Mawr.

It was compiled during his walk of 600 miles across the state during 2015, walking “in their shoes”.

Lindy Li Switches From 7th To 6th

A primary fight looms for sure among Democrats in Chester County in 6th Congressional district. Lindy Li has moved her sights from the 7th to that Dist. What makes this a factor of significance is she has a hefty war chest.

In the 7th, we hope this time around is lucky for Mary Ellen Balchunis as she challenges Bill Golderer, who has blessings of higherups in this Democratic primary.

Rendell Endorses Torsella for Treasurer

Continuing the momentum he has been building in the race for Pennsylvania Treasurer, Democrat Joe Torsella announced his fundraising totals for 2015 and a key endorsement from former Governor Ed Rendell.

Torsella, the founding President and CEO of the National Constitution Center and former US Ambassador to the United Nations for Management & Reform, announced as of Dec. 31, 2015 he had raised a total of $1,602,209 and ended 2015 with $1.5 million cash on hand.

At the same time, former Governor Rendell announced his endorsement of Torsella for the Democratic nomination, calling his former Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning “one of the brightest and most able public servants I’ve ever known.”

Congrats To Anthony Clark

Congratulations are in order for the City Commissioners for continuing their efforts to ensure voters in Philadelphia are spared many of the problems that normally affect voters in other cities due to technical difficulties. This past year saw minimal difficulties, with the only conflicts appearing at several polls where individuals thought they were right and the others were wrong.
The continuation this year of Anthony Clark as Chairman is the continuation of that effort.

Lt. Gov. Stack Calls Special For 9th Senate

Lt. Gov. Mike Stack has set the special election to fill the vacancy in the 9th State Senate Dist. for Apr. 26, 2016. The date will coincide with primary elections in Pennsylvania.

Former 9th Dist. State Senator Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware) resigned effective Jan. 3.

The writ of election will be delivered to Secretary of State Pedro Cortes and to the Boards of Elections in Chester and Delaware Counties, parts of which are included in the district.

As presiding officer of the Senate, the Lieutenant Governor has 10 days to schedule a special election when a seat becomes vacant; the date cannot be sooner than 60 days following the issuance of the writ.

Jared Solomon Arming For Rematch In 202nd

Jared Solomon’s campaign for State Representative in the 202nd has received over $75,000 in contributions during the year 2015. Of that, it still has over $53,000 cash on hand going into 2016.

“I am proud of what my team and I have accomplished and I am looking forward to an even-stronger showing in 2016,” Jared said. “I think the fact that over 75% of our donations are $250 or less in size is indicative of the widespread excitement around our campaign. I know that we are not going to leave anything on the table come Apr. 26.”

Jared has been formally endorsed by the Philadelphia Firefighters’ & Paramedics’ Union, Local 22, as well as by the Plumbers Union, Local 690. He had no labor support during his 2014 campaign. Jared noted he has received donations from eight different local unions.”

Fetterman Calls On Gov. Wolf To Give Pardon

Braddock Mayor John Fetterman wants Gov. Tom Wolf to pardon McKeesport City Councilman-Elect Corey Sanders, who cannot be sworn in because of a decades-old drug conviction.

“The voters of McKeesport have democratically chosen Corey Sanders to serve as their representative, and we should not let a drug conviction from a quarter-century ago block the will of the people. I call on Gov. Wolf to issue a pardon for Mr. Sanders to give the people of McKeesport the democratic representative they voted for,” said Fetterman.

“Sadly, this incident represents so much about what is wrong with our broken system. A drug conviction should not banish one for life from fully participating in our democracy. But in this country, non-violent offenders are denied opportunities for the rest of their lives – whether it’s being shut out of jobs or deprived of their fundamental rights. We can’t be surprised that so many end up back on drugs and back in prison.

“The war on drugs is more than just a failure. It’s a national disgrace. And we won’t be able to fix it until we stop looking at addiction as a crime and start treating it like a disease.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham Keynotes GOP Lincoln Day Gala

US Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) will serve as the keynote speaker for the Republican Party of Pennsylvania’s 2016 Lincoln Day Reception Friday, Jan. 15 at Hotel Hershey.

PA GOP Chairman Rob Gleason stated, “Sen. Lindsey Graham has established himself as a leading voice on American foreign policy and national security. Over his 13 years of service in the United States Senate, Lindsey Graham has been a strong and consistent champion of policies that will keep our country safe. As a fellow Air Force veteran, I applaud Sen. Graham’s 33 years of military service to our country.
“As entities around the world threaten America’s safety, Sen. Graham’s wealth of knowledge on national-security issues will make our Lincoln Day Reception one of the most-important events of the new year.”