EDITORIAL for May 19, 2005


Just get it done

Now that Corey Kemp has gone splat with his fall from grace, plunging from Philly powerbroker to food server for a catering business, maybe City Council can finally get serious about meaningful ethics reform.

The aftermath of the ex-city treasurer’s conviction in the federal pay-to-play corruption trial has been interesting. Despite all those phone chats the FBI recorded between Kemp and the dearly departed Ron White, Mayor Street’s good buddy who certainly would have been deserving of the title deputy mayor, a downtrodden Kemp emerged from court moaning that the full story, whatever that is, never came out.

Street, meanwhile, must be on the Star Wars planet of Coruscant, insisting that the corruption scandal in no way has tarnished his administration and that people one day will remember him as a fine mayor.

That’s a bit of a stretch. But he can start buffing the image by overhauling the system of doling out city business for favors.

Thankfully, City Councilman Michael A. Nutter has been trying to do just that. Which begs a question: Why is Nutter the only one who seems to get this?

Last fall his thoughtful reform packages withered on life support because of indifference and nitpicking among Council colleagues, all while a corruption scandal was being played out in the national spotlight.

It’s getting way too complicated now, with Street and at least three Council members pitching individual proposals on how ethical conduct should be achieved.

This merely symbolizes Council’s three-ring circus approach to government, where partisan politics, one-upmanship and ego tend to sabotage the accomplishment of good government in a constructive manner.

Ethical conduct is a paramount issue. It goes to the heart of government with a conscience. More than anything, this pay-to-play saga has underscored the danger of no-bid contracts for services and products. It feeds cronyism. It deprives legitimate firms of equal opportunity and a fair bidding process. It often sticks taxpayers with mediocre work and inflated prices.

Those contracts are a good place to start . . . if Council can get on the same page. ••

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