There's an excellent post over YPP that reminds us that just because it's a "new day" with a new mayor who has voiced his commitment to cleaning up city government, it's not time for anyone, least of all the city's main "good government watchdog" group to think that ethics is no longer an issue:
On Sunday, Zack Stalberg appeared on Live at Issue. He said that with the change in office, the Committee of Seventy was likely to shift its attention away from ethics violations (the main issue during the Street Administration) and towards "good government," i.e., efficiency, the quality of city services, etc. The proposed changes to the city charter, then, would fall under how the Committee is now interpreting its mandate.
But even if it's a broadening of focus rather than a wholesale change, I find this troubling -- especially insofar as it seems part of a narrative that with Street out and Nutter in, the city's ethical problems are over and we can move on to other issues. The presumption that a change of the top office holder somehow changes both the prevailing dynamics and universal potential for corruption is woefully short-sighted.
I wholeheartedly agree. Nutter and his appointees may be the squeakiest of the squeaky clean but that doesn't mean that all of the 22,000+ people who work for the city - and who have been there since long before he took office on Monday - are as ethically sound.
You don't have to look much further than City Council and Traffic Court to get that icky feeling about government that was so common over the last eight years. I was especially impressed by the boldness with which Action News's David Henry characterized Curtis Jones and Willie Singletary:
Mayor Nutter likes to say it's a new day and a new way in Philadelphia. But some of the old ways are apparently still hanging in there. We have a new traffic court judge who is a notorious scofflaw, and a new council member who's under investigation.
And hopefully the new administration realizes that. I'm not sure what Nutter can do about either of these, considering that, as one commenter to the Action News story wrote:
Good job Philly! Nutter didnt appoint these people, the voters did.
Can a mayor criticize the alleged ethical violations of those in Council without completely alienating them? If not, can he face a city that has come to depend on him to take a strong stand against even the hint of such impropriety?
Comments (1)
I am disappointed in the reporting of Curtis Jones record. It should of been done during the election. I could be wrong, but I don't recall reading any such allegations on him. Judge Singletary's problems were reported on, but he was elected on ballot position only. Not many read about his record I assume.
Posted by Mark Chalupa | January 10, 2008 5:39 AM