About Us
The Committee of Seventy is a non-partisan organization conducting a permanent campaign to improve the Philadelphia region by demanding ethical conduct of public officials, promoting government efficiency, educating citizens and safeguarding elections.
The group was formed in 1904 by Philadelphia’s civic and business leaders to fight corruption and to reform a political system that was victimizing immigrants and the poor. The name, “Committee of Seventy,” has biblical origins. The reference was used in New York City in the 19th Century by an organization that fought Boss Tweed and the corrupt stranglehold of Tammany Hall. Several years later, legendary business leader Samuel Fels borrowed the name again when he led the creation of a Committee of Seventy in Philadelphia. In the last few decades, the Committee of Seventy has focused primarily on monitoring Election Day activities.
Zachary Stalberg, who ran the Philadelphia Daily News for 20 years, is the President and CEO of the Committee of Seventy. During his tenure, the newspaper won two Pulitzer Prizes and went from bankruptcy to double-digit profitability and he earned a reputation as a powerful advocate for a better Philadelphia. He is a lifelong Philadelphian.
A small Executive Committee oversees the management and policy decisions of the Committee of Seventy. Several very prominent business and community leaders will soon join the Executive Committee in order to show their commitment to clean government and to improve funding and results. There also is a set of about 60 Board members who have hands-on involvement in determining policy, in development and in other matters. Our work is primarily funded by local foundations and by the contributions of board members and their employers. Corporate support will represent a growing part of our financial base moving forward.
The group has been dominated in recent years by members of the legal community. We honor this tradition, but are working to diversify the Board, the Executive Committee, the staff and our ever-changing body of interns in every possible way – from race, gender and ethnic background to age and occupation.