Investing in your favorite politician and how it might soon get harder

April 29, 2009 at 2:47 am

State Representatives Doug Reichley (R-Berks), Glen Grell (R-Cumberland) and Stan Saylor (R-York) have drafted a proposal to strengthen oversight and accountability of contracts awarded for consultation and litigation in state cases and projects.

The bill was drafted in response to the recent fuss about a legal contract awarded to law firm Bailey Perrin Bailey of Houston. Pennsylvania Republicans are accusing Gov. Ed Rendell of awarding a no-bid contract to the law firm after receiving close…

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Energy on the campaign trail

April 27, 2009 at 10:41 pm

During Texas Oil Tycoon T. Boone Pickens’ speech at the Franklin Institute last Thursday, The Inquirer reports, he picked up a marker and began to write on a white board. He wrote the words Oil, Coal, and then the letters “N” and “G,” which stand for natural gas. In his speech, the paper quoted him as saying that natural gas is “abundant, it’s cheaper, it’s cleaner.”

“No question,” he said, “Pennsylvania is going to be…

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Gang violence a potent issue

April 23, 2009 at 8:33 pm

Although the issue of gun control is often off-limits for many politicians, the problems associated with gangs are not. Gang related crime and what politicians have done to prevent it is expected to be a hot topic in political campaigns of 2010. Issues relating to gangs will likely be particularly important in the upcoming election, as a deep recession and increasing poverty make Pennsylvania even more vulnerable to violence and gang activity.

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On Meehan, Corbett and Risperdal

April 23, 2009 at 7:00 am

As Philadelphians, we are always interested in hearing what is in store for Gov. Ed Rendell, our former two-term mayor. Today, like any other day in Philadelphia, the talk is of corruption.

And, as usual, weeding out corrupt politicians starts with Pat Meehan. Meehan sent a letter to likely opponent Tom Corbett , arguing that the Attorney General’s office should take over a high profile lawsuit between Jannsen Pharmaceuticals and the state. He contends that…

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New Philly green-jobs center could stoke 2010 energy debate

April 22, 2009 at 9:15 am

PHILADELPHIA—This week the local Fox affiliate reported on the opening of Kensington’s new John S. and James L. Knight Green Jobs Training Facility. The new green jobs training facility could serve as a catalyst for debate in the 2010 elections, with joblessness threatening many American families and politicians struggling to find ways to attract new businesses to Pennsylvania. The new green jobs training facility is part of a much larger effort in Philadelphia and the…

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A hazy view from the nation’s birthplace

April 19, 2009 at 7:00 pm

Spring was a few days away, and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter was preparing to present his budget to City Council. The city’s financial situation was, and still is, in dire need of restructuring. Officials have recommended courses of action that seem harsh, draconian, entirely ineffable. The city faces hundreds of millions of dollars in budget deficits in the coming years. To cope, Nutter has proposed budget cuts and tax increases that will be painful reminders of the economic state of this city.

Philadelphia is two-faced. One of its faces is the radiant, cheerful visage of a town that attracts New Yorkers seeking shorter, more manageable commutes, cheaper rent, and lower costs of living. They seek a calmer and smaller city filled with lovely parks, a network of quality private schools, a deep and meaningful history, and plenty of fun activities.

On the other half of that clean-cut image lie the grimy streets of Kensington, the heroine markets, the unbelievably high illiteracy rate, joblessness and poverty. Center City’s parks are ghostly doppelgangers of Strawberry Mansion’s dope-filled playgrounds. Illegal gun sales threaten the safety of communities and gang violence establishes itself insidiously in our neighborhoods

We have only one say in all of this. We vote. Then we hand the work over to someone else.

At first, the politicians that we vote for are mysteries. They are vague forms that make promises on television and accuse each other of hypocrisy, greed and corruption. They paint pretty pictures of themselves and urge us to vote for them, saying that they will impose measures that will bring the city out of its problems.

This endless cycle is one that we are each familiar with in our own way. Some of us turn our cheeks and stand on pedestals and preach about the buried corruption that lies unearthed, corruption cases like the $62,000 in tools given to the disgraced former state Senator Vince Fumo, or the FBI wiretapping of former Mayor John Street’s office. Some of us research our political picks, and through careful deliberation come to rational conclusions, forming a foundation of reasons for why we place our votes. Some of us choose to avoid the mess altogether.

But most of us vote, and we research, and we hope that our vote will be the right one, that the person we are voting for will work hard in office for us and for our neighbors and for our neighborhood’s neighbors, because we, as individuals, are single voices in a collective body of people crying out for something other than this. We must be certain and confident that those we send to office, those politicians, are the ones we want fighting our city’s fight.

This is the View From Philly. It is clouded and hazed but holds promise. It looks deep into the 2010 election cycle and analyzes our city’s needs, desires and critical stake in state governance. It asks what politicians intend to do about those urban and metropolitan issues that are so often ignored in national elections. This blog is your blog, written by someone with a stake in this city, someone who has chosen to make this historic and revered birthplace of a nation his permanent home. Safe, clean, clear and steady, this is the View From Philly.

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