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The Committee of Seventy’s
ETHICS AGENDA
PHILADELPHIA CITY COUNCIL
The Committee of Seventy is asking you and the other candidates for Philadelphia City Council to commit to the attached Ethics Agenda – which is directed towards changing the political culture in Philadelphia. Both Michael Nutter and Al Taubenberger have already endorsed proposals in a similar Ethics Agenda.
The overwhelming voter support for two recent ethics reform ballot questions has sent an unmistakable message that Philadelphians want to change the political culture. More work remains to be done.
As you embark upon your fall campaign, we ask that you state your position on 22 specific reform measures. We also hope that you will propose additional ideas for making government more accountable and City Council more effective. Your responses will be published on the websites of The Next Mayor project (http://www.thenextmayor.com/) and the Committee of Seventy (www.seventy.org).
Please state your agreement, or explain your disagreement, with the following reforms:
Over the last year, 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.
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