Ethics reform has the power to transform SP.

It will prompt building of long dormant lots by politically connected redevelopers. It will shine sunshine on the awarding of unbidded redevelopment agreements and city contracts. It will mean real not sham renewal.

If only it would pass in full! But there is to be an ethics board.

Who should be on it? Who should not?

Will L&I finally get on the ball now that they can no longer wait to work at the behest of compromised city council members like Mariano, who according to his own former assistant interfered with L&I for a small fee paid to the BMF, or the "bribe Mariano fund"?

Apparently this was quite a productive fund.

Council members voting AGAINST the contracts openness and accountability bill were

Jannie Blackwell 3rd District, Chair, Ethics Cttee (West Philly)
Darrell Clarke 5th District, Ethics Cttee member
Wilson Goode Jr. At Large, Ethics Cttee member (represents everyone)
Rick Mariano 7th District, Ethics Cttee member
Donna Miller 8th District, Ethics Cttee member
Juan Ramos At Large (represents everyone)
Blondell Reynolds Brown At Large Ethic Cttee member (represents everyone)
Marian Tasco 9th District, Ethics Cttee member

The good news is that Mariano is going bye bye next year.

And also good is that many of the opposition are at large, so if they get a fax from www.hallwatch.org registering your discontent, they will likely turn around.

That's potentially Goode, Ramos, and Brown who could turn their support around in 2006 to pass complete ethics reform measures that will make mandatory reporting of shenanigans like Milton Street's airport minority contract payments.

Why are so many ethics committee members voting against an ethics reform measure with teeth? Against full ethics reform when we have so far to go?

They need to hear from you.

If you were Street and his allied local power axis, and you got used to corrupt quid pro quo pay to play, it's much easier to pack the ethics committee with obstacle nay votes than to learn the new way of doing business.

The honest way. The way other major cities put in place long ago.

Do you know people in the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Districts? Let them know that they need to get on www.hallwatch.org and go to the fax bank to online fax their reps to support all of ethics reform, including the bill they just voted down.

All of us can faxbank the at-large members Ramos, Brown, and Goode.

ethics in politics in South Philly? Are you nuts. thats a oximoron

That's a riot! Good one.

But seriously, more than ever before SP has become the tale of two cities. One is booming with new restaurants and improved equity, the other can't get the neighbors to feel safe enough to testify in court on retribution homicides that will have no end unless people step up.

Campaign finance and ethics reform that prevents the appearance of conflict of interest is long overdue.

Look at Penn's Landing. We are just at the point where a critical mass of voters know that it has an apostrophe.

One ethics issue that Philly is way behind on that gets short shrift is fair and prompt property tax collection. If we don't collect taxes from everyone equally then pressure to raise taxes to unsustainable levels occurs.

So we have the dual situation of property tax increase pressure on those who do pay AND really dreary bad public schools.

If we don't want to have to drive our kids out of our own neighborhoods to school everyday and reverse at 3pm, then we have to get serious about creating an expectation that people must pay property taxes in full and on time.

Just as an example, the block where the next SOSNA meeting is happens to be a block where there is a total of about $80,000.00 owed to the city and schools, the 2400 block of Carpenter.

There are a couple of accounts over a decade old, and a couple that are nearly so.

So now the city wants to enact property tax forgiveness programs, when the schools have a $20 million dollar shortfall and can't hire critical personnel.

NACS and OHCD are spreading the word that property tax forgiveness of fines and penalties is underway. But doesn't that just reward a climate of selective nonpayment?

Cities are expensive. Having homeowners who treat property tax payment as optional are part of Philly's corrupt past that keep schools rotten.

Ethics reform should include language that mandates that no employee of the city may have a delinquent property tax account.

And no recipient of contracts or city controlled property may have a delinquent property tax account.

We would suddenly have better than that $20 million needed by the school system!