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Elections
The campaign for Cindy Bass, the 8th Council District candidate, has employed a second person close to a former political corruption scandal.
In this week's column Election Ear, City Paper found that Bass' campaign employed a man named Sabir Hameen, who's lived with Theresa Pinkett, a former aide to Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller who pleaded guilty to bribery in 2008.
(Court records confirmed that the two lived together, and Bass' campaign confirmed that they had employed Hameen.)
This follows last week's news, broken by G-town Radio, that Bass' campaign had employed Steven Vaughn, also a former aide to Miller, who pleaded guilty in 2005 in a pay-to-play scandal. Bass opponent Robin Tasco, in the same show, claimed that Vaughn tried to bribe her to drop out.
Bass' spokesman, Joseph Corrigan, calls this news a "distraction," and says that candidates' platforms and campaign issues ought to get more attention.
Read more about this news in ElectionEar.
This article is part of our new, expanded coverage of this year's exciting election season. Grab this link for more "ElectionEar" pieces and look for the new column in our print edition.
In last week's ElectionEar column, our esteemed news editor Isaiah Thompson implored this year's primary candidates to quit talking about the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) "as if not being enrolled in it is some kind of qualification for elected office!"
So far, candidates haven't heeded his advice. In fact, even in the race for the Eighth District Council seat — where no DROP-enrolled candidate is running — DROP is becoming a hot issue.
The campaign for Verna Tyner, who's running for the Eighth District Council seat, just sent out a press release promising that she wouldn't vote for a DROP-enrolled Council president next year — in other words, Councilwoman Marian Tasco, who's vying for the seat and is enrolled.
Tyner's release notes that her one of her opponents, Cindy Bass, hasn't made up her mind about DROP, according to Fox29.
In an earlier press release, Tyner said she called Mayor Michael Nutter "to discuss his involvement in this race and to clear up any rumors about a deal involving Ms. Bass’ promise to support Councilwoman Tasco, a DROP participant, for City Council President next year." As of last week, she says Nutter hadn't returned her call.
UPDATE: Joseph Corrigan, Bass' spokesman, says that the Fox29 report that Tyner's release refers to misquoted her. He says she is undecided about supporting Tasco for Council president, not about DROP. Corrigan says that Bass is against DROP for elected officials, and that the city "must replace DROP" with another retirement program for rank-and-file workers. You can read more about Bass' position on DROP here.
This article is part of our new, expanded coverage of this year's exciting election season. Grab this link for more "ElectionEar" pieces and look for the new column in our print edition.
Yesterday, City Paper reported that Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller says that Greg Paulmier, a candidate for the Eighth District Council seat, was recently kicked out of City Hall by police because of "his behavior." He had allegedly been asking for her endorsement.
When CP asked Paulmier about this, he denied that he had been kicked out, but offered little detail. "I don't know anything about that," he said at the time.
Today, NewsWorks reported that Paulmier denied it again, this time providing more detail:
Paulmier said it was Miller who was the unruly one, getting so loud in her displeasure with a comment Paulmier made about her that police took notice.
According to Paulmier, Civil Service Police came over and said, “‘is everything alright Greg?’” after Miller began yelling accusations at Paulmier for allegedly lying about her.“
She claimed that I had ‘lied on her,’” Paulmier said.
According to Paulmier, Miller was referring to an allegation he made last month that the reason the Chelten Plaza development in Germantown is going forward dispite widespread public opposition is because politicians like Miller are making money on it.
When reached by the phone today, Paulmier told CP he didn't have enough time to provide those details before. "I was on my way somewhere," he says.
He added that he has asked for Miller's endorsement each of the four times he's run for the Eighth District, in order to "unify the electorate."
"I'm a Quaker," says Paulmier. "We don't move forward unless there's a consensus."
This article is part of our new, expanded coverage of this year's exciting election season. Grab this link for more "ElectionEar" pieces and look for the new column in our print edition.
The race for the Eighth District Council seat is getting more and more interesting.
Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller says that a couple weeks ago, the police had to escort candidate Greg Paulmier out of City Hall. Sources tell City Paper that Paulmier was asking Miller for her endorsement too adamantly.
"Because of his behavior the police made the decision to escort him out," says Miller. "I did not make the request."
Paulmier denies that this happened.
Paulmier, as it turns out, is the only candidate who says that he's sought out Miller's endorsement. Of the seven candidates running, three told City Paper outright that they weren't seeking Miller's endorsement; three others said they'd accept it but hadn't asked her for it.
This article is part of our new, expanded coverage of this year's exciting election season. Grab this link for more "ElectionEar" pieces and look for the new column in our print edition.
It must be true what they say about politicians having no permanent friends and no permanent enemies.
Last year, City Paper covered the ousting of Tracey Gordon from the city's Democratic party. Gordon was elected by the voting public to the 40th Ward in Southwest Philly during May's primary but then immediately kicked out by the ward leader. By the Democratic City Committee's own admission, they didn't let her in, in part, because she wanted to bring new blood to the party.
She was escorted by police out of the ward's first post-election meeting.
Now, the 40th Ward is inviting Gordon, a candidate for the Second District Council seat, to speak at a meeting about her running.
"I thought it was the right thing to do," says Ann Brown, the 40th Ward's leader. "She is a candidate, and she did go out and get a lot of signatures."
This article is part of our new, expanded coverage of this year's exciting election season. Grab this link for more "ElectionEar" pieces and look for the new column in our print edition.
Sources have confirmed with City Paper that Mayor Michael Nutter is going to back Cindy Bass in the race for Eighth District Councilperson.
A press release sent out this morning hinted at the possibility, noting that Nutter would join Bass for a "major campaign announcement" at Wired Beans Cafe this Saturday.
This follows this morning's news that Robin Tasco, one of Bass' opponents, says that she recieved threats from one of Bass' campaign workers. On G-Town's Morning Feed today, Tasco said this call was placed by Steve Vaughn, who was found guilty of corruption in 2005. He was also once on the board of Germantown Settlement, a now-defunct community development corporation that received millions in public dollars for years, yet persistently defaulted on loans and left properties abandoned.
According to NewsWorks, Bass confirmed that Vaughn is working for her, but said she wasn't aware of Tasco and Vaughn speaking.
This article is part of our new, expanded coverage of this year's exciting election season. Grab this link for more "ElectionEar" pieces and look for the new column in our print edition.
Today, attorney Joseph Doherty filed an appeal in the two DROP lawsuits against Councilwoman Marian Tasco and City Commissioner Marge Tartaglione in the Commonwealth Court, on behalf of his clients.
Doherty argues that because Tartaglione and Tasco are enrolled in the Deferred Option Retirement Plan (DROP), they're ineligible to run for office.
A so-called legal loophole has allowed public officials to remain working while enrolled by collecting a lump sum of cash from DROP, "retiring" for a day and then running again.
Last week, Common Pleas Court Judge James Lynn ruled in favor of the candidates.
Doherty says that in the Rizzo case, the court issued an order today declaring that there wouldn't be an oral argument for the appeal. He expects the same decision will be made for the DROP cases against Tartaglione and Tasco. But now that all three are filed, Doherty added, "The court may change its mind."
Doherty's clients in these cases include, among others, Stan Shapiro, the former chief staff attorney for City Council, and Antoine and Leta Thomas, relatives of one of Tasco's opponents in the upcoming primary, Lamont Thomas.
Matt Wolfe has already filed an appeal in his DROP lawsuit against Councilman Frank Rizzo, which makes the same argument.
This article is part of our new, expanded coverage of this year's exciting election season. Grab this link for more "ElectionEar" pieces and look for the new column in our print edition.
Previously:
Committee of Seventy files amicus brief in DROP cases
DROP candidates can stay on the ballot
DROP lawsuit will be filed to kick Tartaglione off the ballot
Ward leader files challenge to kick Rizzo off ballot
The Committee of 70 has filed an amicus brief in support of the three lawsuits trying to kick Councilman Frank Rizzo, Councilwoman Marian Tasco and City Commissioner Marge Tartaglione off the ballot because they are enrolled in the Deferred Option Retirement Plan (DROP).
Last week, Common Pleas Court Judge James Lynn ruled in favor of the candidates. Matt Wolfe, who filed the lawsuit regarding Rizzo, appealed to the Commonwealth Court.
Ellen Kaplan, vice president of Committee of 70, said that she expects that the lawsuits against Tasco and Tartaglione will be appealed tomorrow.
Check out the PDF of the amicus brief here.
Previously:
DROP candidates can stay on the ballot
DROP lawsuit will be filed to kick Tartaglione off the ballot
Ward leader files challenge to kick Rizzo off ballot
This article is part of our new, expanded coverage of this year's exciting election season. Grab this link for more "ElectionEar" pieces and look for the new column in our print edition.
Common Pleas Court Judge James Lynn ruled today (at almost 7 p.m.) that Councilman Frank Rizzo, Councilwoman Marian Tasco and City Commissioner Marge Tartaglione can stay on the primary ballot. In three ballot petition challenges before Lynn, a group of Philadelphians argued that because the aforementioned candidates are enrolled in the Deferred Option Retirement Plan (DROP), they're ineligible to run for office.
The challengers included everyone from Stan Shapiro, the former chief staff attorney for City Council, to Matt Wolfe, a Republican ward leader.
City solicitors have argued in the past that public officials can remain working while enrolled in the program by collecting a giant sum of cash from DROP, “retiring” for a day and then running again.
Republican ward leader Wolfe, who filed the petition challeneg against Rizzo, says, "Judge Lynn listened carefully to the arguments made on Friday and certainly seemed to understand our argument. He disagrees with our core assertion that 'irrevocable' means 'irrevocable' and that 'rehire' and 'reelect' are two separate and distinct terms with separate meanings."
Wolfe said he is considering an appeal to the Commonwealth Court.
Read the judge's decision in its entirety here.
This article is part of our new, expanded coverage of this year's exciting election season. Grab this link for more "ElectionEar" pieces and look for the new column in our print edition.
This article is part of our new, expanded coverage of this year's exciting election season. Grab this link for more "ElectionEar" pieces and look for the new column in our print edition.
For a few weeks now, controversy has been simmering over a bill sponsored on behalf of Council President Anna Verna that would impose a one-year moratorium on construction of buildings higher than two stories in Point Breeze.
The purpose of the moratorium, the legislation says, is to "give Council the opportunity to explore ways to preserve the uniformity of the streetscape and the current scale and density of the area."
The proposal comes amid ongoing tension in the neighborhood over gentrification. A moratorium on buildings higher than two stories would, presumably, halt many or most new development projects. It also comes amid a hotly contested battle for Verna's seat on Council as she prepares to retire — a battle in which racial neighborhood dynamics will likely play a significant role (the ticket features 2 black and 3 white candidates right now).
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