EVERYDAY PEOPLE: Bobby Henon, the Quiet at the Eye of the Storm

by Denise Clay

COUNCILMAN Bobby Henon

The week after Labor Day is notable for a lot of different reasons.

Kids go back to school … unless it’s a blinding heat wave; the buildings in your school district are so old that they could have been used for speakeasies during Prohibition, and you don’t want your students to spontaneously combust.

The presidential races begin in earnest … unless you take into consideration the fact this presidential race feels like it’s been going on forever.

And last, but not least, Philadelphia City Council comes back into session. Philadelphia’s lead legislative body began its new year last Thursday, passing ordinances, introducing bills, hearing committee reports….

And trying really hard not to talk about the fact that the body’s majority leader is smack dab in the middle of a federal investigation.

When the Feds raided the offices of Local 98 powerbroker John Dougherty back in August, they didn’t stop there. They also stopped by Council Majority Leader Bobby Henon’s office to grab a few things.

And by a few things, I mean records.

Because of this, Henon, who is also still on Local 98’s payroll despite being an elected official, has been spending a lot of time avoiding questions from reporters. In fact, church mice have been more vocal.

Realizing he could no longer avoid the press gathered in City Council Chambers, Henon issued a statement that said about as much as you would expect a guy under federal scrutiny to say.

“Under the guidance of legal counsel, I will not speculate on the motivations behind this inquiry,” Henon said. “But I can tell you that to date, I have not been contacted by law enforcement, nor to my knowledge has anyone from my staff. I have encouraged my team to cooperate fully in this process.

“I want to reassure the people of Philadelphia that my office has, and will continue to serve them with pride and dignity,” Henon continued.

He took no questions, which wasn’t much of a surprise.

But he’s going to have to address these issues at some point because they’re not going away. In fact, I’d bet Henon’s council desk is going to be surrounded on all sides by reporters seeking answers about this investigation, which has also dragged Mayor Jim Kenney into it.

It’ll be interesting to see how he handles it.

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