Editorial for March 13, 2008 edition:


Shame on Anna Verna

Silly voters. We actually thought the reform-minded Michael Nutter’s election as mayor last year, especially after he won every ward in the city and captured 83 percent of the vote — the highest percentage for mayor since 1902 — would mean good, clean government in every nook and cranny of City Hall.
Sadly, though, the new mayor has not stepped up to the plate to use his powers to persuade his old colleague on City Council, President Anna Cibotti Verna, to rescind her recent appointment of ward leader and former City Commissioner Edgar Howard as director of the city’s office of veteran affairs, who got the job instead of Robert Politz, who has 20 years’ experience in the field.
Mrs. Verna, the South Philly icon who has been in City Council even longer than the Northeast’s infamous Joan Krajewski — in fact, Mrs. Verna’s been there longer than any of the other 16 members — did a tremendous disservice to Philadelphia and especially its war veterans in going for typical dirty politics in picking a political hack over an experienced and respected veteran.
"People can think what they want. We can’t change people’s way of thinking," Verna told the Inquirer.
Veterans in Philadelphia, we urge you to change the way Anna Verna thinks by registering your protest. Call her City Hall office at 215-686-3412. Get your friends and family members to call, too. Bombard her office with outrage, and maybe, just maybe, she will be so ashamed of herself that she’ll rescind Mr. Howard’s appointment and put Mr. Politz in the job instead.
It’s worth a try. It’s called freedom of speech. After all, freedom is one of the things you fought to preserve. ••

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