January is far away. Barring a miracle, the Eagles' season will be long over by then. Why are you even talking about the Council President?
Because, after the mayor, the President of City Council is the most important elected official in town.
Why is the job so important?
More and more, City Council appears to be challenging Philadelphia’s strong mayor form of government. Nutter twice wanted a sugary drink tax; Council didn’t. Council won. Nutter wanted to eliminate the controversial and costly DROP retirement program; Council didn’t. Council won. Nutter wanted to shutter some libraries; Council didn’t. Council won. The mayor doesn’t always lose out, but you get the picture. Council plays a critical role in shaping everything big and small that happens in Philadelphia – from what city services you receive to whether a sidewalk café opens on your street.
Who wants to be Council's President?
Two District Council members: Darrell Clarke (Fifth) and Marian Tasco (Ninth) have been the most talked- about candidates. But Democratic At-Large Councilman Jim Kenney threw his hat in the ring today.
Why does it matter to me which one becomes President?
The direction of Philadelphia rides on who wins. An energized and productive City Council can prompt major changes by tackling huge problems like the $5 billion hole in the city’s pension fund (which threatens its ability to provide essential services) and by restructuring the heavy tax burden on residents and businesses (the current Council has already started this process). And at a time when the city’s nearly $4 billion operating budget is still fragile, guess who holds the purse and decides how your money is spent? City Council.
Does Mayor Nutter care who becomes President?
Very much. Council has the potential to help Mayor Nutter make the most of the next four years – or stand in his way. Former Mayor Ed Rendell often described then-Council President John Street as his “partner” in running the city. He rewarded their strong working relationship by backing Street to succeed him. Despite the fact that Michael Nutter was Anna Verna’s longtime Council colleague, the two have not worked closely and Verna has not championed the mayor’s agenda in Council.
Who does Nutter want to become President?
It has been an open secret that Mayor Nutter would prefer a President Tasco over a President Clarke, a protégé and former employee of his biggest critic and nemesis, John Street. Now that Jim Kenney wants the top job, Nutter is in a bind. Relatively speaking, Kenney has probably been Nutter’s most reliable vote in Council.
You said earlier that the Council President could step into the Mayor's office.
If a mayor leaves office before his or her term is up, the City Charter says that the Council President becomes the acting mayor until the city holds an election to fill the mayor’s unexpired term. (Unless the mayor leaves during the last year of his or her term, in which case Council chooses the mayor by a majority vote.) The Council President also steps in if the mayor is temporarily disabled.
Why are you bringing this up? Do you expect Nutter to leave - especially if Darrell Clarke is the President?
He hasn’t shared his plans with us. But if President Obama wins a second term, it could happen. Nutter has been spending more and more time on the national stage. Next spring, he will become President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
This isn't about Nutter. Again, why are you bringing this up?
It raises what we think is an interesting point about the 2015 election for the open mayor’s seat. If the Council President is the acting mayor, that person could run as the incumbent in 2015 and then run for two successive four-year terms.
Has a Council President even become Mayor?
Three times in the last century. In 1939, Council President George Connell became the mayor when Mayor Samuel Davis Wilson died. Then, in 1941, Barney Samuel moved to the mayor’s office when Mayor Robert Eneas Lamberton died. Jim Tate took over the mayor’s office in 1962 when Richardson Dilworth resigned to run for Governor and was then elected to two terms of his own. The Council President’s bully pulpit doesn’t hurt either. It helped launch John Street into the mayor’s office in 2000.
Several new Council members were elected yesterday. Could they form an alliance and choose one of their own for President?
They can but they won’t. There’s an unwritten tradition that freshmen Council members should sit back and earn their stripes. But a friendly President can allow the newcomers – who include District Council members Mark Squilla (First), Kenyatta Johnson (Second), Bobby Henon (Sixth), Cindy Bass (Eighth) and At-Large members Dennis O’Brien and either David Oh or Al Taubenberger (Oh has the edge but the race is still too close to call at this moment) – to introduce important bills and get choice Committee assignments. So promises are undoubtedly being made.
What kind of Committee assignments are you talking about?
In addition to the “Committee of the Whole Council,” City Council has 21 standing committees, each of which considers issues related to different areas of government. Some committees have a higher profile than others, such as the Appropriations Committee, which deals with the city’s budget. But even bigger prizes could be at stake for the Council members who help put the next President in office: the two leadership positions, Majority Leader and Minority Whip. Click here to read a Daily News story about the possible spillover effects of the Council President’s race.
What other promises can a Council President make?
The President controls Council’s $15 million budget and gets to decide how much to give each member’s office. Tasco, who is also Council’s Majority Leader, is at the high end at $732,345; Councilman W. Wilson Goode, Jr. is on the low end with a budget of $375,443. The members choose their own staffs, but the Council President has to sign off on extra purchases.
What's the President's budget?
Current President Anna Verna gives herself a $3.2 million budget. She has 44 employees in her office (Goode, by contrast, has three), including a large technical staff (who are supposed to help all Council members but are on her payroll) and six cleaning people. (We have no clue if she shares them.)
You said the President makes more money? How much more?
The President’s salary is $150,904. Members who have leadership roles earn a little more than the other Council members, who are paid $120,233. Sounds like a pretty good gig to me. The next President can make it even better. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of the city residents who responded to a March 2011 public opinion poll from The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Philadelphia Research Initiative said they approved of the job Council was doing (compared to 42% in 2010) and 42% disapprove (compared to 34% in 2010). While City Council members are dedicated public servants who deserve respect (most of us wouldn’t want to be in their shoes), the new President can do a great deal to improve Council’s standing.
How can Council improve its standing?
That’s a tough question that requires a longer answer. But one recommendation Seventy made in the 2011 Ethics Agenda we circulated to the candidates for Council was to support a new era of openness and transparency, such as holding a public hearing on Council’s budget and making the details available. (Council doesn’t do this now.) You can read Seventy’s Ethics Agenda here.
Let's get back to the Council President. How have Tasco and Clarke been campaigning for President?
You can’t separate their Council jobs and their ambitions to become President. Take this fall’s citywide redistricting, for instance, a highly political process that determines the boundaries of Council’s ten districts. Marian Tasco supported boundaries that would benefit Brian O’Neill, the Tenth District Councilman who faced a strong opponent yesterday. (O’Neill won handily.) According to some reports, Darrell Clarke quietly supported a plan (which eventually won out over Tasco’s plan) that would be less favorable to O’Neill, but more helpful to one of the other Council candidates who won yesterday (and will be eligible to vote for Council President).
And Kenney?
It’s hard to say since he officially joined the race today. But he has quietly been offering himself as a compromise candidate for a while.
This seems like a lot of inside baseball. Has anyone actually declared a favorite?
Fourth District Councilman Curtis Jones says he intends to vote for Clarke. And Marian Tasco got a gift yesterday when O’Neill defeated Bill Rubin. Rubin said he wouldn’t vote for anyone who won reelection, and then planned to retire for one day to collect a lump sum DROP payment before returning to office – which means he wouldn’t have voted for Tasco. (If you forgot what DROP is, see our recent IN THE KNOW here.)
What about the other Council members whose names you haven't mentioned.
We told you who the new members are. In addition to Clarke, Tasco and O’Neill, three other incumbent District Council members were reelected yesterday: Jannie Blackwell (Third), Curtis Jones (Fourth) and Maria Quiñones Sánchez (Seventh). All five current Democratic At-Large members are returning to Council: Bill Green, Bill Greenlee, W. Wilson Goode, Jr., Jim Kenney and Blondell Reynolds Brown. (As we said, Dennis O’Brien and either David Oh or Al Taubenberger will be joining them.) Could someone else sneak in as President? Maybe, especially if the battle gets really ugly.
Remind me again: When does the vote for President happenN?
After the 17 Council members get sworn into office in January 2012. If you have a favorite for President, you can tell your District Council member, or any of the seven At-Large Council members. When the new members get offices and contact information, we’ll give it to you at www.seventy.org.
The Committee of Seventy will keep you posted on the race for Council President. In the meantime, if you have any questions, or have thoughts about other topics for our “IN THE KNOW” series, please contact us at futureofthecity@seventy.org.
11/09/2011