(To see the candidates' responses to our Ethics Agenda, click here)
Over the last year [2006], bills have been introduced in
Philadelphia City Council that would effectively dismantle the city’s
campaign finance system for the mayoral candidates. Many are concerned
that passage of these bills would resuscitate pay-to-play in
Philadelphia.
1. I
will oppose any bill that seeks to remove or weaken the existing
campaign
contribution limits for mayoral candidates -- or for City Council
candidates in the event such a bill is introduced.
2. I will support a comprehensive review of the campaign finance
system after the
November election by calling upon the next mayor to convene an
independent panel to
examine all current laws on campaign contributions and spending
and to consider
national best practices in regulating campaign finance, including
the possibility of
public financing, and to make reform recommendations to the
mayor, City Council and
the Board of Ethics.
Public officials sometimes hire or appoint members of their
immediate family to work directly for them or recommend members of their
immediate family for other paid or appointed positions in city
government.
3. I will support the
enactment of legislation that forbids nepotism in City Council
and in
other City departments, agencies and commissions.
4. I will not personally hire or appoint a member of my immediate
family (spouse,
domestic partner, parent, sibling or child), or recommend the
hiring or appointment of
a member of my immediate family by any other person, department,
board,
commission, agency or authority of City government.
The city’s ten council districts are sometimes described as
individual fiefdoms, in part because of district council members’ de
facto veto power over development and other projects in their home
districts.
5. I will
support the adoption of a set of ground rules to balance the
absolute control of
Council members over development and other projects in their home
districts with the
best interests of the City as a whole.
City Council members are permitted to hold second jobs, without
regard to whether their private employers either do business with the
city or hope to obtain city business.
6.
I will support the enactment of legislation that prohibits
members of City Council and
other elected officials from holding positions with, or owning
any interest in, a company
or firm that does, or might seek to do, business with the city.
The prohibition should not
apply to teaching at educational institutions.
There is no ethics law that deals with a public official
negotiating for future employment with a private company that does
business with the City, according to the Board of Ethics.
7. I will support legislation that places reasonable and
well-articulated regulations on
public officials who seek future outside employment while still
on the City’s
payroll.
The timing of a special election to fill a vacancy on City
Council is left to the discretion of the President of City Council. This
leaves open the possibility of one or more vacancies remaining unfilled
for long periods of time, thereby undermining the effectiveness of the
legislative process and leaving constituents unrepresented.
8. I will support amending the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to
provide clear and
and non-discretionary rules for scheduling a special election to
fill a vacancy on City
Council.
Many people complain that Council meetings are inhospitable to
citizens, characterized by members talking on cell phones, walking in
and out of the room and, on occasion, marked by displays of unruly
behavior and open hostility among members.
9. I
will nurture a culture that treats all individuals coming before
Council with
dignity and respect and that demands civility among all members
of Council and
their staffs.
The City Charter requirement that all City Council meetings be
open and accessible to the public at all times has often been
sidestepped, with important changes effectively happening behind closed
doors or meetings scheduled at times when most members of the public are
unable to attend.
10. I will
promote greater public access to, and participation in, meetings
and hearings
convened by City Council and its committees -- including holding
more sessions
during evening hours and in locations throughout the City and
also providing timely
and complete transcripts on City Council’s web site.
11. I will support reforms that make the business of City
Council, including rules, more
understandable to the average citizen.
Frequently, political friends and financial supporters are
appointed to, or hired or confirmed for, positions in offices,
departments, boards, commissions, agencies and authorities in city
government -- creating doubts about their qualifications and their
independence.
12. I will frequently publish the names of all donors to my
campaign account, political
committees and non-governmental organizations I control, above
and beyond what
is required by state law.
13. I will only hire, promote, appoint and confirm individuals
who meet the highest
standards for ethics, integrity and character, as well as
published, objective
qualifications to perform the jobs to which they are assigned,
without regard to past
or future political support.
14. I will assume personal responsibility for interviewing and
hiring all individuals who
work directly or indirectly for me, and will further require that
all such individuals
report either to me or to others on my staff as designated by me.
The new independent Board of Ethics received a strong mandate
from the citizens of Philadelphia to regulate the ethical conduct of
city government.
15. I will require all employees who work for me, and all
appointees for whom I am
responsible, paid and unpaid, to abide by all Board of Ethics
advisory opinions, rules
and enforcement decisions and will cooperate fully with the Board
in carrying out its
investigative responsibilities and implementing its rules and
decisions.
16. I will work with my colleagues on City Council to ensure
ample funding to support
the operations of the Board of Ethics.
An executive order places strict limitations on the solicitation
or acceptance of gifts, gratuities and favors by officials in the
executive and administrative branches of government.
17. I will seek the enactment of permanent legislation that bans
the acceptance of gifts,
gratuities and favors above a nominal amount by members of City
Council and their
staffs.
Some cities have dropped some of the perks that go along with
public office, such as giving public officials complimentary tickets to
events in City-owned or City-managed facilities, particularly when
budget cuts threaten other city services.
18. I will seek reasonable limitations on the number of
complimentary tickets given to
public officials for use at any City-owned or City-managed
facility, which includes a
prohibition on using those tickets for any past, current or
future political
fundraising purposes.
The City Charter forbids City Council members from engaging in
political activity that takes place during scheduled hours of City
employment. The lines between doing Council work and campaign work are
often blurred.
19. I will abide
by all laws regulating political activities – both permissible
and
prohibited – that might benefit me or any other candidate for
political office, and
will demand the same of members of my personal staff and any
other staff who report
to me.
Lobbyists or lawyers acting as lobbyists are often perceived as
having improper or undue influence on decisions made by the Office of
the Mayor, City Council and other City departments, agencies and
commissions.
20. I will seek the
enactment of an ordinance requiring all lobbyists, and
individuals acting
as lobbyists, engaged in business with the City, City-related
departments, agencies and
commissions and quasi-City agencies and authorities, to register
as lobbyists, identify
their clients and make public their expenses.
A
recent study found that Philadelphia has two City Council
districts whose political lines are among the most unevenly drawn in the
nation. Redistricting will occur during the next mayor’s term in
office.
21. I will call upon the next mayor to convene a non-partisan and
independent citizen’s
commission to allow for an open and public process that will
result in a fair
redistricting plan, thereby reducing the conflicts of interest
inherent when political
district lines are drawn exclusively by the mayor and City
Council. The commission
will report to the mayor and to City Council.
Pennsylvania
has a poor reputation when it comes to disclosure of public
documents.
22. I will seek the adoption of, and support compliance with, new
rules making all City
and City Council documents public, consistent with the best
practices in the nation,
unless there is a compelling reason to restrict access to those
documents.