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Mark Cohen is fairly high on the food chain of state legislators. He serves as the Democratic Majority Caucus chairman, the third-highest-ranking position in the leadership. He also is a member of the Rules, Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and State Government committees, and the Speaker’s Commission on Legislative Reform.
In 2006, Cohen fended off a last-minute write-in campaign by Patrick Dugan, his first primary-election opponent in 22 years. Dugan was later thrown off the primary ballot for failing to complete a statement of financial interests.
Cohen, who is married and has a teenage daughter, joins the very short list of politicians, such as City Councilman-at-Large Jim Kenney, who are brave enough to post on PhillyBlog under their own names. Other public servants could easily be on the site under fake names, but Cohen doesn’t reveal his suspicions.
PhillyBlog isn’t Cohen’s first romance with blogging. He made a name for himself on the DailyKos.com — a liberal political forum whose prominent contributors include U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry — by posting actively under his own name. Cohen also has his own blog, repmarkbcohen.blogspot.com, where he posts about the state legislature.
When Cohen discovered PhillyBlog in 2003, he gave it a passing glance because only about 700 people were using the site. But when he checked back during the spring of 2006 and saw thousands daily pitching in their two cents about everything from their favorite deli to their early picks for the next mayor, he had a change in thought.
Using the tagline "improving government for the average citizen," Cohen tries to address issues and questions arising in his district and beyond.
In recent weeks, he’s started a series of threads titled "Tell Me About…" to solicit insights about each of the neighborhoods in his legislative district.
Cohen said the threads do not indicate that he’s out of touch with his constituency, but rather that he simply wants to know what people think about the communities where they live.
"There were certainly a lot of good memories, some complaints," he said of the threads’ results. "It gives people a chance to say what’s on their minds."
Jennifer Kronstain, founder of PhillyBlog, sees a growing trend among public officials using the site as a tool for gauging residents’ thoughts and concerns.
"It’s definitely a trend, it is definitely a platform that they use to tell people of things coming up," she said. "It allows them to stay more in touch because it’s sort of a mass audience. They can start to get a barometer before they make a decision."
The reason blogging works as an outreach method is simple. Nameless and faceless, bloggers feel less exposed while airing their grievances over the Net. And while bloggers are not guaranteed to get an instant reaction by posting a question that puts their legislator on the spot, they can ensure that they receive a more detailed and thoughtful response to their charge.
Plus, typing a short post on the computer provides a faster way for residents to log a complaint than calling or visiting the district office (Cohen has two, in Rhawnhurst and in Olney).
"These are things that people are not going to take the time to come into the district offices to ask," Cohen said.
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Cohen does most of his blogging on his own after work hours. He does, however, categorize it as work — perhaps a slap in the face for those who took issue with the lawmaker, who voted for the Senate and House pay raise in 2005 (the middle-of-the-night pay raises have since been repealed), charging nearly $30,000 to his taxpayer-funded expense account for the purchase of books and magazines.
While he continues to take some flak in both the news media and on the blog for his past spending, Cohen maintains that everything he does is in the name of being an educated and informed legislator.
When a blogger asked him what he’s done for his constituency, Cohen posted a Ten Commandments of sorts that lists his self-perceived assets.
They include: "I spend enough time studying the issues so that I can defend the decisions I make and others have confidence in them," and, "I help everyone regardless of party affiliation, neighborhood of residence, or membership in any demographic category."
Cohen lists education and fair labor wages as two of his prominent platform issues. On the education subject, he’s supported charter schools, increases in public education funding and a business tax credit to fund scholarships for private school students.
Regarding wage increases, Cohen sponsored bills in 1987 and 1988 that led to raising the Pennsylvania minimum wage above the federal wage for the first time. In the 2005-06 session, he initiated legislation that raised the state’s minimum wage to $7.15 per hour, which became effective July 1. Cohen hopes to continue to raise the minimum wage to keep up with the cost of living.
Other work in labor relations includes efforts to adjust the state unemployment compensation program and reduce a backlog in the state workman’s comp system. Cohen has also helped establish or support electronic access to driver records for organ-donation verification, protection of the civilian rights of National Guardsmen and Reserve Forces, and opening of district constituent-service offices for state House members.
Despite the occasional Cohen "hater," most of the people who post on PhillyBlog deliver positive comments on the lawmaker’s consistent contribution to the site under his own name and his refusal to cower before challengers. Even when called a "boob" and a "liar," Cohen remains respectful, never cussing or losing his cool.
"Some people like to call names," he writes in response to one such post. "I like to build communities and work towards a better future."
Says Northeast blogger Cyainthehood: "Any state rep or elected official who would come on a public blog and use his real name and give his input on issues is OK with me. I am not so much concerned with his ‘book bill’ as others seem to be."
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"If people want changes, they should talk about what changes they want," Cohen wrote on June 11 in "Tell Me About Mark Cohen," a thread created by another blogger in response to the lawmaker’s similarly named string of posts about neighborhoods.
"I believe that changes are possible if people are willing to work together to achieve them," Cohen wrote. "That takes a greater degree of trust of fellow human beings than many of the posters here are willing to demonstrate."
Cohen knows that problems like crime, decreasing property values and blight abound in his district, as they do in many. In fact, if he’s learned anything from posting on PhillyBlog, it’s that people all over the city are fed up with a number of issues.
"I’ve learned more about the sense of anger that’s out there," Cohen said during an interview last week.
But he abhors a panicked approach and broad questions about the issues. He prefers to solve one issue at a time and solicit worthwhile information.
"People will say, ‘Crime’s a real problem, do something about it,’" Cohen said. "That’s not very useful. What’s useful is, ‘On a given block, there’s a person who looks like this and he’s doing the following things that are illegal.’"
That’s one of the reasons Cohen prefers going to meetings when specifically invited instead of attending every one, as some elected officials do. (He has, however, attended three PhillyBlog gatherings around the city.) Often, Cohen thinks, residents bring their built-up frustration to meetings and rant and rave instead of reflecting on a possible solution.
Every once in a while, he and fellow legislator Dwight Evans, who serves the 203rd district, convene a town meeting with multiple city departments so that residents can talk about the issues. Thus far, the talks have been helpful.
"There’s no way we can know what every person in every city agency is doing at any given time," Cohen said.
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For Cohen, PhillyBlog has been useful for responding quickly and directly to specific problems and inquiries, as well as schooling residents as to what responsibilities fall to city or state government. He also has explained what agencies or officials to call to get things done in a given district.
But his service on the blog also alienates others in his constituency, namely people who don’t use the computer or wish to talk with politicians at community meetings.
Cohen understands and welcomes those people to invite him to meetings. Still, he thinks as time goes by, more and more people will see the light in using the Internet to communicate.
"The boundaries of communication are falling," Cohen said. "There are good and bad things in that."
While some scold him for the comparison, Cohen believes the blog’s function can be similar to that of the news media. In fact, he anticipates PhillyBlog’s population growing to a size that surpasses the readership of the Inquirer.
That doesn’t mean, however, that he sees print media riding the fast track to oblivion. It’s just that the Web allows for a more direct form of communication.
"It’s more difficult to get an unfettered message on PhillyBlog, because people can rebuff," Cohen explained. "You can give a fuller answer than (a newspaper can)."
Cohen plans to keep using PhillyBlog as a tool to keep in touch with his district. His message remains one of service and open dialogue.
"I’m here to help the citizens of Philadelphia solve important problems," he said. "I welcome the input as to what the important problems are. I want the opportunity to help them with the problems they bring to me."
He also thinks that fellow politicians should join him.
"I think it gives a better insight," Cohen said of using the blog. "We all have problems in the district. If we want to do major things, we have to get the support of other legislators. This is a way of sending an early warning sign." ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com