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Everything you need to know about last night's 8th Council District debate
Last night's 8th Council District debate could have been fiery. Overall, though, there was very little mud-slinging - but candidates did make some subtle jabs at each other.
Everything you need to know about last night's 8th Council District debate
Last night's 8th Council District debate could have been fiery — given candidate Robin Tasco's allegation that she was threatened by opponent Cindy Bass' campaign, candidate Verna Tyner's unabashed criticism of Bass for not saying whether or not she'd vote for Councilwoman Marian Tasco for president, and plenty of other juicy issues that've been brewing.
Overall, though, there was very little mud-slinging.
The debate between the seven candidates for the 8th District — which stretches from Nicetown up to Chestnut Hill — centered around DROP, the Martin Luther King Jr. High School scandal, economic development, and current 8th District Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller. All seven candidates — Robin Tasco, Bass, Tyner, Greg Paulmier, Howard Treatman, Andrew Lofton and William Durham — attended the debate.
But there were some subtle jabs at each other. For instance, Treatman said he wouldn't hire anyone with a "history of political corruption." (Bass' campaign has been critized for employing Steven Vaughn, a former Miller aide who pleaded guilty in a pay-to-play scandal.)
Tyner, meanwhile, strongly voiced her opposition to voting for a Council president who's enrolled in DROP (aka Marian Tasco). All the candidates were in agreement over this, except for Bass. Bass has maintained that it's too soon to make her decision about a Council president.
Tyner seemed to use this to her advantage, standing up to make her point and even calling on the crowd to voice their opinion about DROP.
Also, when Bass called for an investigation of the Martin Luther King Jr. High School scandal to "see what the facts are," rather than jumping to conclusions, Durham seized the topic. He said there are many facts already known: The community wanted one thing, he says, and public officials decided "it does not deserve that."
In fact, most of the subtle disses seemed to be directed toward Bass, who has earned the endorsement of Mayor Michael Nutter, District Attorney Seth Williams and other public officials, and is seen as a front-runner.
There were a few other surprises throughout the night: Tyner, a staff member for City Council for 16 years, said she supported term limits. Some people closely watching the race saw this as an affront to the late at-large Councilman David Cohen, who served for decades, and for whom Tyner worked.
Treatman, Lofton and Tasco also favored term limits, while Bass, Paulmier and Durham didn't.
Another interesting turn: Moderator Chris Satullo, WHYY's executive director of news and civic dialogue, asked candidates how they would foster transparency in their office — something that Miller has been criticized as lacking.
Most agreed that an office in the district was needed, as well as regular meetings or newsletters for the community.
Check back later today for videos of the event, which capture candidates responding to Satullo's tough call to prove that they won't be beholden to the political machine or big donors, among other things.
Oh, and did we mention that last night's debate at Germantown's First Presbyterian Church was packed to the gills? Yet another reason y'all should get interested in the election, if you're not already: Everyone else is doing it! Peer pressure!
UPDATE: Two things worth noting that weren't noted before: The debate was organized by NewsWorks. Also, moderator Satullo's questions came from a series of forums that NewsWorks held with local voters throughout the past several weeks.
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