City Council
City Council Overrides DROP Veto
Earlier this summer, Mayor Michael Nutter vetoed the controversial DROP bill, vowing to only approve legislation that would do away with the deferment option entirely. […]
Two Redistricting Proposals Introduced
City Council is currently tasked with the long and arduous process of redrawing district boundaries in Philadelphia. Today, the Council heard proposals for two different […]
Drawing New Council Lines Is An Exercise in Disrespect
No matter how you slice it, redistricting — drawing new political boundaries — is about dividing, not uniting. It is an exercise in disrespect. City […]
Making Sense of Philly’s Council Districts
Usually around this time of year, City Council—or much of it anyway—is hard at work on its typical summer business: issuing resolutions for things like […]
City Council to Hold More Redistricting Hearings
City Council has announced that it will hold two additional public hearings in the on-going effort to redistrict the city. A meeting for August 16th […]
Bill Green’s No Good, Very Bad Week
There is a degree of anonymity in being one of 17, even when the one in question is a future mayoral contender like Councilman Bill […]
City Council’s Scare Tactics
I got a robocall from a nun on Tuesday. I have gotten them before because my son attends Norwood-Fontbonne Academy in Chestnut Hill, run by […]
Rest of the State to Philadelphia: Drop Dead
In 1979, Chicago Mayor Michael Bilandic didn’t effectively plow the streets after a snowstorm — and as a direct result, he lost his primary election […]
Why On Earth Are We Still Talking About the DROP Program?
I thought after the demonstrative public rebuke Philadelphia City Council took in the media, on the streets and at the polls, Council would drop DROP […]
Frank DiCicco’s Heartless Response to Homelessness
A little over a week ago, First District Councilman Frank DiCicco introduced Bill 110386 in an attempt to amend the 1999 Sidewalk Behavior law to, […]
A Reanimated City Council?
Philadelphia City Council is a little bit like the ocean. Ancient. Unchanging. And deep. OK, so the metaphor isn’t perfect. The point is that council, […]
End of the Fumo Era for City Council
Frank DiCicco’s announcement this week that he won’t seek reelection to his long-held City Council seat marks the end of a generation of Philadelphia politicians—the […]
DROP: Three Drips Left
No sooner had I challenged the DROP squad to run for re-election so we could throw them out of office, than the squad’s leader decided […]
Let’s March on Philadelphia City Council!
It is the slowest bank robbery in history, and we are all eyewitnesses. It is an inside job; the same people who are supposed to […]
Will Philadelphia City Council Please Get Back to Work?
As the rabid raid continues on Philadelphia’s pension fund, City Council members — the only people with the ability to guard the fund — are […]