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Editorial: On the Indictments
by Mattathias Schwartz
August 2004
When it comes to presidential politics, the people of Philadelphia have shown little tolerance for arrogant leaders who allow their friends to enrich themselves at the public's expense and then try to shrug off these moments of naked administrative incompetence. We should hold our own mayor to no less a standard.
On June 29, federal prosecutors accused Ronald White and Corey Kemp of defrauding the city out of tens of thousands of dollars. Kemp had been appointed to the city treasurer's post by Mayor John Street before resigning in the midst of the federal investigation and was responsible for deciding what banks and financial service firms would receive six-figure bond deals. He stands accused of handing this job off to Ronald White, one of Street's top fundraisers, who allegedly spread the business around among his family, friends and clients, many of whom had funded Street's re-election and continued to show their gratitude with gifts and trips for Kemp. Our city's finest copy desks have yet to come up with a term cynical enough to explain exactly what it is that Ron White does for the city, aside from the twisting of arms, submitting of invoices and cashing of checks. Usually they settle on ‘Friend of Street.'
That same day, Street addressed the media at a press conference. One might think that the mayor would try to disassociate himself from an ally and a former employee who had now been charged with robbing the people who voted him into office. One might think he would condemn their behavior, or offer an explanation for their conduct, or defend their innocence, or say what he knew or didn't know, or maybe even say that he was sorry. After all, Street serves at our pleasure and every penny of money that flows through his office once belonged to us.
But the only thing John Street was sorry about was that the probe had happened at all.
“I feel badly that there is a probe,” he said, giving his usual shrug. “I wish that it had never happened. But it did, and we're all going to live with it.”
No, we're not going to live with it. Not until the mayor explains what happened to our money. Some have said that the amounts in question, contracts ranging from the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, are not a lot of money. We beg to differ. To any Philadelphian already loaded down with the wage tax, the gross receipts tax and the business privilege tax, a few dollars can make a huge difference. Street, who proposed drastic cuts to city recreation centers, pools, libraries, and arts funding, who vetoed many of City Council's proposals to ease Philadelphia's unusually high tax burden, no longer has any credibility when he tries to explain why we ought to pay more and get less from our city government than residents of other cities. Not only has he failed to keep costs under control on his watch, he's allowed his backers to rob us blind. And he has expressed no interest in changing the system, acknowledging that those who contribute to his campaign are more likely to win city business. Considering this lack of vision, avoidance of responsibility, and unwillingness to take any corrective action whatsoever, we find it likely that mayor of Philadelphia will be the last office that John Street ever holds.
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