Anderson@Large

Philadelphia Mayor’s Fun(d) Money

It’s become a cliché to say Philadelphia is “corrupt and contented,” but the facts speak for themselves. In August alone:

• District Attorney Seth Williams under fire for failing to report $160,050 in gifts
• Campaign expenditures of the DA under FBI investigation
• Girlfriend of the DA charged with slashing tires of two city-owned vehicles
• Offices and home of union leader and kingmaker John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty raided by FBI
• Offices of City Council Majority Leader Bobby Henon raided by FBI
• Campaign financial records of Mayor Jim Kenney subpoenaed by FBI

Also in August, Controller Alan Butkovitz issued an audit detailing questionable spending by the Mayor’s Fund for Philadelphia during Michael Nutter’s administration.

Located in City Hall, the Fund does not accept unsolicited funding requests. All grant proposals must be sponsored by the Mayor or a Deputy Mayor.

The Fund’s board of directors is comprised of six members, three of whom work for Mayor Kenney, including Sylvie Gallier-Howard, Chief of Staff of the Department of Commerce. Among the “independent” members is Councilman Henon, who, by the way, is still on Johnny Doc’s payroll.

Andrew Frishkoff’s organization, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, received grant(s) from the Fund. Treasurer David Streim’s group, Nonprofit Finance Fund, is sponsored, in part, by - wait for it - the Department of Commerce.

Earlier this year, the Philadelphia Inquirer editorialized that it was “time to end slush fund”:

Philadelphia spent $1.7 million last year to keep Forbes “Under 30 Summit” in the city, according to WHYY, or upward of $1,000 for each of the callow go-getters who attended the October gathering of young entrepreneurs. Was it worth it? Former Mayor Michael Nutter, who tirelessly pursued buzzy events to burnish the city’s image, obviously thought so. Mayor Kenney, on the other hand, has expressed mild reservations.

While he’s weighing the city’s substantial investment in the festival, he might also consider its source. A city-controlled nonprofit known blandly as the Mayor’s Fund for Philadelphia, it subsidizes a variety of causes chosen by the mayor, largely with revenue from the Philadelphia Marathon.

The call to dissolve the Fund was echoed by Jay McCalla, a senior official in the Ed Rendell and John Street administrations:

Why does the mayor need to lay his hands on $5 million to $10 million (or any portion of it) at the spur of the moment?

Butkovitz released an audit concluding that almost $400,000 of this fund had been spent, in part, on global travel, alcohol, parties, and $100,000 in undocumented credit card charges. As eyebrow-raising as these expenses are, the controller makes the added point that none of this was approved by the board that nominally oversees the fund.

The City has asserted its right to a 30-day extension to respond to my Right-to-Know request for documents related to unapproved grants. In the meantime, I will stop by Room 708 to inspect the Fund’s Form 990 for 2015. Needless to say, if my request is denied, I will file a complaint with the IRS.

While Democrats in Philly run for cover from the FBI, it is time for Mayor Kenney to shut down this political “slush fund.”

Philly’s Pay-to-Play Culture and World Heritage City

In 2014, former Mayor Michael Nutter crowed that Philadelphia was the “permanent venue” of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Summit, beating out New York City. Forbes editor Randall Lane said Philly was chosen because it’s “a world class city.”

It was later reported that Nutter paid $1.7 million from the Mayor’s Fund for Philadelphia to play host to the summit. The relationship broke up earlier this year when Mayor Jim Kenney balked at paying $2 million to keep the event in Philadelphia. So Lane said, “Bye Philly,” and moved to Boston.

In November 2015, Nutter and Global Philadelphia Association (Global Philadelphia) crowed that Philly is now the first World Heritage City in the U.S. It was widely reported the designation was made by UNESCO. In fact, the designation was made by the Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC), a nonprofit based in Canada. The only eligibility requirement is a city must have an UNESCO World Heritage site. Philadelphia qualifies because Independence Hall is on the UNESCO list.

At the time, I wondered why other U.S. cities with a World Heritage site, including Charlottesville (Monticello and University of Virginia), New York City (Statute of Liberty) and San Antonio (San Antonio Missions) were not OWHC members. Well, as it turns out, OWHC membership is pay-to-play. In addition to $10,000 annual membership dues, members must pay a pro-rated share of OWHC’s expenses.

Philadelphia is the first World Heritage City in the U.S. because no other city is interested in what is effectively a pay-to-play designation.

Global Philadelphia’s conflation of UNESCO and OWHC teed me off. But what keeps me peed off is Global Philadelphia/World Heritage PHL’s silence as developers wreak havoc to the city’s historic fabric and cultural heritage. As guests clink glasses at this week’s “World Heritage Celebration,” Toll Brothers  is poised to wreck Jewelers’ Row, America’s oldest diamond district that dates back to 1850.

If a bunch of one-percenters wants to celebrate a “brand,” hey, that’s their business. It becomes the people’s business when public funds are involved. By the way, Nutter is now a member of Global Philadelphia’s World Heritage Committee.

And get this: Nutter’s handpicked chairperson tapped the Mayor’s Fund and made a $10,000 grant to Global Philadelphia. The grant award reportedly was made over the objection of the Fund’s board of directors.

The board rejected Global Philadelphia’s $25,000 grant proposal “to market the city to the World Heritage City selection committee.” According to the minutes, the board deemed the “designation of Philadelphia as a World Heritage City is not a high priority.”

As preservationists fight to save historic buildings (and here), Global Philadelphia/World Heritage PHL’s silence speaks volumes that historic preservation is not a high priority.

I finally got a response, albeit incomplete, to my Right-to-Know request. I now know that three City employees went to Arequipa, Peru for the meeting of the OWHC selection committee.

Of the three employees, only one submitted a Reimbursable Expense Voucher. Sylvie Gallier-Howard is on Global Philadelphia’s board of directors.

Where are the other expense vouchers? Were the employees’ airline and lodging expenses paid for with the unauthorized $10,000 grant to Global Philadelphia? The City of Philadelphia is doling out the information piecemeal but this citizen watchdog is not deterred. Instead, I’m submitting another Right-to-Know request.

Stay with me.

Without Accountability, School Choice Will Morph into Choice for Choice’s Sake

You know that moment when you have an epiphany. I experienced such a moment while listening to EdChoice President and CEO Robert C. Enlow at the Amplify School Choice Conference earlier this month. Amplify School Choice is a project of the Franklin Center.

Enlow spoke about school choice trends across America and the phenomenon of institutional isomorphism. He explained that over time institutions begin to look like each other. Enlow said that charter schools are beginning to look like traditional public schools, noting that public support for charter schools is decreasing. He warned that advocates are losing the argument for school choice.

I’m a longtime supporter of school choice. That said, Enlow attached a process to my inchoate concern about Philadelphia’s charter schools. To be sure, there are high quality charter schools in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, including Boys Latin, KIPP and Mastery. High performing schools show love not by merely instilling discipline; they instill in their students a thirst for learning.

Bad charter schools mirror traditional public schools with respect to student performance, financial mismanagement and conflicts of interest. In Philadelphia, the decision to revoke a charter school’s license is subject to political pressure. As a result, chronically low-performing and mismanaged charter schools are allowed to operate for years.

In 2015, Philadelphia magazine published this advice for parents:

It sounds obvious, but don’t forget to Google any schools you’re looking at, to make sure they weren’t once unexpectedly shut down or run by a CEO who pleaded guilty to theft.

Comedian John Oliver honed in on that recommendation in a recent edition of his HBO show "Last Week Tonight."

In an open letter to Oliver, Boys' Latin Charter School Co-Founder Janine Yass wrote:

I have been involved in education reform for over 15 years in the poor city of Philadelphia where over 40,000 children are on charter school waiting lists to escape the horrendous public school system.

Yass added:

Yes, bad ones should close, but what about the bad public schools that continue to operate half full with no teaching going on?!

The response to bad charter schools is accountability, accountability, accountability. The importance of accountability was underscored by Colorado state Rep. Angela Williams during a panel discussion at the Amplify School Choice Conference. Williams said there should be clear and comprehensive accountability standards, and automatic closure of lowest-performing schools.

In response to my question about the NAACP’s call for a moratorium on new charter schools, Rep. Williams said:

What are the laws in your state that create a platform for accountability? We don’t need to be sending our kids to failing schools, whether charter or traditional public schools. I’m not going to stand by and send our kids to failing schools. Charter schools can be successful with the right funding and right governance.

On August 24, Gov. Tom Wolf announced the creation of a new office within the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Division of Charter Schools. Wolf said in a statement:

Charter schools play an important role in our education system, but that role must be accompanied by sufficient oversight. Establishing this new division within the Department of Education will allow us to maximize our resources to not only ensure charters are being properly supported, but that they are being held accountable to taxpayers.

Bob Fayfich, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools, said in a statement:

If this initiative is consistent with other actions by the Governor relative to undermining the viability of charter schools, regardless of how effective they are in educating children, then this new Charter Office is something to be concerned about. If, however, this new division is truly dedicated to listening to charter schools and improving public education for all students in Pennsylvania, then we will be supportive.

The fact that no charter school has been consulted in the creation of this office is not a good start, but we will see how the office is funded and staffed and watch closely what it actually does.

Charter school advocates rightly question Wolf’s motive, but there is no question that school choice must be about more than autonomy. Advocates must embrace accountability in equal measure. To that end, they should ensure that a “platform for accountability” is codified in House Bill 530 which the legislature is expected to take up in the fall.

The promise of school choice was that parents would be able to choose from a menu of quality charter schools. And that competition would improve traditional public schools. In Philadelphia, school choice is morphing into two sets of low-performing schools with different governance. With rigorous accountability, charter schools will amplify qualitatively better choices.

Data Privacy Day 2016

Thursday is Data Privacy Day, “an international effort held annually on January 28 to create awareness about the importance of privacy and protecting personal information.”

I’m an open data advocate who’s equally concerned about privacy. So on Saturday, I nearly spilled my coffee when I read that Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt disclosed that two critics of his office missed voting in some elections. Schmidt shared the data in retaliation to their calls to abolish the elections commission which is “led” by a chairman who doesn’t vote and seldom shows up at the office.

As a longtime voting rights activist, I want people to vote. I also want them to stay engaged beyond Election Day because that’s how you bring about change. That said, I believe one’s voting habit is no one’s business unless that person is receiving a taxpayer-funded six-figure salary to oversee elections.

Indeed, at last year’s Code for Philly Apps for Democracy Hackathon, I expressed my dismay that a team had developed an app, Social Voting, which would allow users to check to see whether their neighbors voted. Vote-shaming is of a piece with slut-shaming and fat-shaming.

Disclosing voting data sows distrust of government. If private citizens believe their voting record will be open to public scrutiny, they will be reluctant to register to vote.

#ThisPlaceMatters: First African Baptist Church

I was awarded a Diversity Scholarship to attend PastForward. The National Preservation Conference is the premier educational and networking event for those interested in saving places of historical significance. In the lead-up to the conference, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has relaunched its “This Place Matters” campaign.

Philadelphia has thousands of places that matter, including First African Baptist Church, founded in 1809. The building at Christian and 16th Streets has been the congregation's home since 1906.

In the application for listing on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, Oscar Beisert, an architectural historian, wrote:

The building at the southwest corner of Christian and 16th Streets was constructed in 1906, and is significant as one of the oldest purpose‐built African American houses of worship in Philadelphia, as well as the only extant building representing the oldest African Baptist congregation—First African Baptist, which was the fifth African American congregation to be founded in Philadelphia. The building at 1600‐06 Christian Street is the longest home of the congregation, who has worshiped in this space for over 100 years. Furthermore, the building represents an important community center in the local community from 1906 through the early twenty‐first century .

For members of First African Baptist Church who want to save this historic structure, the place that mattered last week was Courtroom 446 in City Hall, where a hearing was held on whether the property is an “imminent danger” to public safety.

The civil action was brought by the Department of Licenses and Inspections. L&I wants a court order to allow a structural engineer to inspect a parapet on 16th Street and make recommendations. It was noted that the church is occupied and continues to hold Sunday Service in the main sanctuary.

Although First African Baptist Church is the defendant, they didn't put up much of a defense. Sharif Street, the church's lawyer, repeatedly said they are “not seeking demolition.” Instead, they're seeking demolition by neglect. Street made it clear the church does not want to pay for any repairs. The reason: The pastor, Rev. Terrence Griffith, wants to sell the church to a developer who plans to demolish it.

Rev. Griffith dismisses preservationists as "crusaders coming out of the woodwork." I wonder whether he would include the presiding judge among the “crusaders.” Municipal Court Judge Craig M. Washington said:

It's a very important building to America, not just to Philadelphia, not just to the Baptists.

Judge Washington granted the order. The engineer's report is due Oct. 1, when the parties will be back in court.

In the meantime, the courtroom drama moves to the Court of Common Pleas. On June 26, 2015, Prudence Harvey and other First African Baptist Church members filed a lis pendens against Diversified Realty Ventures LLC and Rev. Griffith. In plain English, a lis pendens puts a prospective buyer on notice of a competing claim to real estate. Rev. Griffith claims he's been offered $3.2 million for the church. Time will tell whether that “binding” agreement is worth the paper it's written on.

I asked Ms. Harvey what's at stake:

For those folks who had put out blood, sweat and tears that was in itself significant and historic. It's also considered historic nationwide. The building matters. That's our legacy. If it is not your legacy, it doesn't matter.

The nomination of First African Baptist Church will be considered by the Philadelphia Historical Commission Committee on Historic Designation on Sept. 16. I plan to offer public comment in support of the nomination. Yes, I'm on a crusade. It's a crusade to honor our ancestors' blood, sweat and tears. It's also about honoring the legacy of the two congregants who voluntarily sold themselves into slavery to enable the third pastor, Rev. James Burrows, to lead First African Baptist Church.

If you want to join the crusade to save this historic place, get involved with Avenging the Ancestors Coalition Committee on Historic Preservation, which I chair. For more information, call (215) 552-8751 or follow me on Twitter.

Philadelphia's Not So Special Election

A new report by the U.S. Census Bureau found that voter turnout in the 2014 congressional elections was at an all-time low. The turnout rate of 41.9 percent was the lowest since the bureau started collecting voter participation data in 1978.

How low can voter turnout go? Well, in the birthplace of our democracy, a special election took place last week and hardly any voters showed up. The winners received a combined total of 6,185 votes.

The election was held to fill three legislative seats, two of which became vacant following the incumbents pleading guilty to multiple counts of conflict of interest.

Ronald Waters represented the 191st legislative district. Backed by Democratic ward leaders, his replacement, Joanna McClinton, received 1,419 votes.

While a win is a win, the anemic turnout reflects a political system that has lost the trust of the people. Where else but in a notoriously “corrupt and contented” city would the winner “celebrate” her victory by posing with the disgraced politician who she was elected to replace.

So much for a new beginning.

Chaka Fattah Indicted

Aug. 6 marks the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.

Last week, Congressman Chaka Fattah was charged with racketeering, conspiracy, bribery, bank fraud, money laundering and falsification of records. As I read the 29-count indictment, I thought the ancestors must be rolling over in their graves. The struggle for voting rights was about empowering African Americans to vote for candidates who would represent their interests.

Fifty years after Bloody Sunday, we have an entitled political class that is more interested in advancing their personal interests, and that of their family and friends.

In a Fox29 man-on-the-street interview, a constituent said it best:

He’s [Fattah] supposed to be bringing us up, not taking from us.

And that’s precisely what Fattah allegedly did. Co-conspirator Herbert Vederman allegedly sponsored Fattah’s live-in au pair.

A nonprofit run by a Fattah crony received a $1 million grant from NASA to support a STEM program for members of underrepresented groups. The crony, now co-conspirator, allegedly used some of the funds to repay a political loan.

This scheme should take the steam out of those who are quick to holler that black elected officials are harassed. If your hand is not in the cookie jar, you don’t have to worry about unfair scrutiny.

Career politicians are “saddened” by Fattah’s indictment. Sadly, it’s just Philly’s latest political scandal. The Philadelphia Inquirer called on Fattah to resign:

The allegation that he is the legislative equivalent of a capo didn't seem to impress Fattah, who has been under investigation long enough to repeatedly seek and win reelection regardless. While glibly allowing that the indictment is more significant than "Deflategate" - an airy scandal involving footballs - Fattah answered a disturbingly detailed 29-count indictment by reiterating a general denial and vowing to "try not to have it be a distraction."

In fact, the charges are so serious as to render Fattah's service a distraction. Even if he hasn't serially abused his office, as the charges suggest, he will be a busy defendant. As neither is compatible with his continued service, he should step down.

[…]

Such grave allegations, along with the pleas that preceded them, are a blot on what seemed to be a distinguished political career, and the latest in a long line for Philadelphia Democrats. Fattah is entitled to be presumed innocent unless proven otherwise. But he is not entitled to his office.

If Fattah doesn’t resign, his trial may a “distraction” for Democrats when they convene in this notoriously “corrupt and content” city for the 2016 Democratic National Convention.