Taking the oath: City Controller Alan Butkovitz is sworn in last week at the Academy of Music. PHOTO COURTESY OF MITCH LEFF / CITY OF PHILADELPHIA
City Controller Alan Butkovitz and District Attorney Seth Williams last week took the oath of office for new four-year terms during a ceremony at the Academy of Music.
Eddie Butkovitz, the controller’s son, introduced his father at the Jan. 6 event. The elder Butkovitz thanked his son for a “moving tribute.”Mayor Michael Nutter said that he and Butkovitz are not “adversaries,” but “advocates” for the city.
Butkovitz, 61, took the oath of office from Common Pleas Court Judge Mark I. Bernstein.
A Democrat from Castor Gardens, he is beginning his third four-year term. Previously, he served as a state representative from 1990 to 2005.
Soon, Butkovitz will have a big decision to make. He’s indicated an interest in the 2015 mayoral race, but would have to resign to make the run.
In his remarks, he credited his office with coming up with hundreds of millions of dollars in potential savings and revenue-producing initiatives.
“We have accomplished so much over the past eight years in reshaping the controller’s office and in the significance of the reports and recommendations we produce,” he said.
District Attorney Seth Williams, a Democrat, took the oath of office for a second term. He was introduced by state Sen. Anthony Williams, no relation to him. It was the first time Seth Williams was on stage at the Academy of Music since June 17, 1985, the day he graduated from Central High School.
The district attorney noted that the city’s homicide total last year was the lowest since 1967.
“But we cannot rest on our laurels,” he said, adding that his office will continue to focus on reducing gun violence.
Williams also plans to combat truancy and the high school dropout rate, arguing that both of them contribute to crime.
“No child holds a book in one hand and a gun in the other,” he said.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Ron Castille, a Rhawnhurst resident and former Philadelphia district attorney, administered the oath of office to 28 judges of the Common Pleas and Municipal courts.
The newly elected Common Pleas Court judges are Giovanni Campbell, Anne Marie Coyle, Joe Fernandes, Timika Lane, Dan McCaffery, Scott O’Keefe and Sierra Thomas.
The Common Pleas Court judges installed for another 10-year term are Jacqueline Allen, Genece Brinkley, Remy Djerassi, Lori Dumas, Holly Ford, Joel Johnson, Frederica Massiah-Jackson, Rayford Means, Jeffrey Minehart, Joseph O’Keefe, Nina Wright Padilla, Paula Patrick, Doris Pechkurow and Allan Tereshko.
The newly elected Municipal Court judges are Martin Coleman, Henry Lewandowski and Fran Shields.
The Municipal Court judges installed for another term are Teresa Carr Deni, Jacquelyn Frazier-Lyde, Joseph O’Neill and Wendy Pew.
The event featured appearances by the Philadelphia Boys Choir and the Philadelphia Police and Fire departments’ combined color guard. ••
