The Committee of Seventy
Eight Penn Center
1628 JFK Boulevard
Suite 1002
Philadelphia, PA 19103
p. 215-557-3600
f. 215-557-3608
info@seventy.org

Overview of Ethics Reform

It may sound like this is just an effort to make life more difficult for sticky-fingered politicians, but this term actually covers multiple initiatives intended to remedy a wide range of governmental failings.

In a philosophical sense, ethics reform is about right and wrong and about ensuring that those in government meet their responsibilities to the public. In a practical sense, ethics reform is about raising citizen expectations regarding the quality of municipal services, ensuring equal opportunity when it comes to public employment and contracting opportunities, and eliminating discriminatory treatment, which favors the "connected" over everyone else.

Ultimately, ethics reform is about dollar and cents - tax dollars wasted or stolen, potential residents turned off by stories of municipal corruption, and corporate investment directed to jurisdictions lacking our now infamous "pay-to-play culture."

Why is Ethics Reform Needed ?

Although it's hard to nail down an accurate individual or total cost, government waste occurs at every level of government, in every state, county and municipality in America, regardless of which political party is running the show. Sometimes it's a case of outright corruption, but much more frequently it's simply the political winners and their allies taking advantage of the "spoils of victory."

Ethical misconduct takes place in every type of institution from borough councils to the federal government, from the richest countries to the poorest, and in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Unfortunately, Philadelphia has a more notorious image than most cities for our corrupt and unfair political system, which inhibits the city's growth on many levels. For the Philadelphia region to return to national and international economic prominence, we need to trim the political fat and use this significant savings to both reduce city taxes and improve services. We also need to lose, once and for all, our reputation for being "corrupt and contented" as described by Lincoln Steffen in 1903. The reality is that with our industries and amenities we are very well positioned for the 21st Century, but we are held back by the national perception we at least tolerate and arguably celebrate 19th Century machine politics

Street Unveils Nominees for Ethics Board Philadelphia Daily News (PA) Copyright 2006 The Philadelphia Daily News October 19, 2006 'Street unveils nominees for ethics board' By Mark McDonald, The Philadelphia Daily News Three lawyers, a preacher and a policy wonk. That's Mayor Street's proposed membership of the city Board of Ethics, which voters overwhelming demanded in last spring's election. The mayor's list was made public yesterday shortly before a group of ethics activists was to hold a news conference to complain about Street's tardiness in making the appointments, which according to the law adopted by voters should have been offered in early September. The new board will be an independent body with a $1 million-a-year budget for its first two years of operation. Members, who will have staggered terms, will select a chairman and hire the staff. But first, the nominees must be approved by City Council, which is to receive the nominations today. The nominees are: • Richard Glazer, a founder of the law firm of Cozen O'Connor and a board member of the Committee of Seventy, the political watchdog, nominated to a five-year term. • Richard Negrin, a vice president and general counsel at Aramark and a former prosecutor in the district attorney's office, who is slated for a four-year term. • Rev. Alyn E. Waller, senior pastor at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, for a three-year term. • Pauline Abernathy, a policy director at the Pew Charitable Trusts who formerly worked on domestic and economic issues in the Clinton administration, for a two-year term. • Stella Tsai, an attorney who formerly worked in the city Law Department and as counsel to the city's Civil Service Commission, for a one-year term. In a written statement, Street, who had revamped the current board in August 2004, noted, "These nominations to the Board of Ethics underscore our continuing commitment to ethics in government." Former City Councilman Michael Nutter, who attended the news conference and who spearheaded ethics-reform legislation, including the ballot initiative for an independent board, said, "It's amazing to me that it took us preparing for a press conference to get the mayor to do what the citizens expected." But Joe Grace, Street's spokesman, dismissed the seeming cause-and-effect relationship, saying the news conference had nothing to do with Street's release of nominees. "This administration likes to get it right and not act in haste," Grace said. "We interviewed or considered more than a dozen people from all walks of life. We wanted energy, experience and diversity, and we got all three." Grace said the mayor has not suggested whom he'd like to see chair the new board. "It's an independent board under the Home Rule Charter with the authority to conduct investigations, hold hearings and do everything necessary to enforce the city's ethics laws," Grace said. Under the new law, board members are prohibited from holding appointed or elective office within the state. They can't be public employees or officers within a political party and they can't make campaign contributions 10/19/06 By: Mark McDonald  Source: Philadelphia Daily News  Sections. / Reform--October 2006