Ethics grows as concern for voters

Philadelphia may still be corrupt, but is it still contented?

Journalist Lincoln Steffens' famous 1903 assessment of Philadelphia as a city at peace with its perfidy has largely held up. But as the latest City Hall corruption probe winds down after about two dozen federal indictments, polls indicate voters are finally growing less tolerant of an entrenched pay-to-play culture.

And the five major mayoral candidates know it.

Michael Nutter's campaign highlights a City Council career loaded with ethics-related legislation. Millionaire businessman Tom Knox boasts he's too rich to be bought. U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah's 10-page policy paper on honest government is packed with proposals, and State Rep. Dwight Evans is pushing campaign-reform bills in Harrisburg.

Even U.S. Rep. Bob Brady - the consummate party insider - is touted in his ads as "the change Philadelphia needs."

"Philadelphians by and large agree that government isn't doing a good job, that the people in charge can't be trusted to do what's right," said Temple University pollster Michael G. Hagen, who found in February that 71 percent of the 802 residents he polled said they thought the city was run by a few big interests looking out for themselves. "That's a big target that has got to be tempting to candidates."

A tempting target, maybe, but not an easy one to hit.

Wonkish stump speeches on ethics don't fire up many voters, and when asked how ethics stacks up to crime or schools, few say it's their top priority.

"It's obviously not the first thing on people's minds," said Brett Mandel, head of Philadelphia Forward, a government-reform and tax-cutting advocacy group.

But if the ethics issue is defined more broadly - as a matter of a candidate's integrity and honesty - it can be considered a critical piece of the campaign, several candidates and advocates said.

"Ethics goes to the heart of what voters are feeling in terms of anger, resentment, the need for change, frustration with 'the system,' the powers-that-be, the concept of the smoke-filled backroom," said Nutter, who calls this election a "referendum on the current environment."

Nutter's rivals make the obvious point that Mayor Street isn't on the ballot, but ethics advocates nonetheless predict the mayor's record will be on voters' minds May 15, the date of the Democratic primary.

"How will people make their decision after eight years of John Street and four years of scandal? They'll do it based on how much they trust and like their candidate, whether they believe he's honest," said Zack Stalberg, president of the nonpartisan Committee of Seventy. "That's true in every election. It's especially true in this one."

Others said the citizenry needed to get serious. Norma Van Dyke, founder of a group called Philadelphia United to Restore Ethics, said some people gave lip-service to reform. What they really want, Van Dyke said, are officeholders who can swing them a deal on their real estate tax assessment or arrange some other "favor."

"As voters, we need to be clearer in our own minds that these favors are not ethical, that they don't work for the city in the long run," she said.

The long-term costs of corruption - unneeded jobs for cronies, no-bid contracts for the well-connected, businesses hesitating to set up here because of the city's ethically challenged reputation - most worry clean-government champions.

"What lawyer do I have to hire, what politicians do I have to get cozy with, how many contributions do I have to make, what is this going to cost me - and will I have to talk to a grand jury?" Nutter said, rattling off the fears of prospective Philadelphia business owners.

Then there's the cost of cynicism.

Distrust of City Hall thwarts Philadelphia's ability to "get things done, to solve problems," said Steven T. Wray, executive director of the nonpartisan Economy League of Greater Philadelphia.

Since the FBI bug was discovered in Street's office on the eve of the 2003 election, City Hall has adopted sweeping ethics legislation. Though City Council and Street accepted some of the changes grudgingly, Philadelphia now has rigorous campaign-finance limits, a new and transparent process for awarding city contracts, mandatory ethics training for city employees, and an ostensibly independent Board of Ethics.

Plenty more could be done: a ban on nepotism in hiring; financial disclosure by all city employees, not just top officials; public financing of elections, and so on. And the courts have yet to rule on a challenge to the city's 2003 campaign-donation caps, which grew out of the bug scandal.

But for the first time in a long time, a mayor will enter office with a respectable framework of ethics rules already in force.

The question is, what will he do with it?

The candidates' stances on ethics differ little: They're for it. Brady, Evans and Knox have endorsed the Committee of Seventy's "ethics agenda"; Nutter and Fattah offered more detailed plans. But in interviews, some distinctions emerged.

In Nutter's view, corruption is one of the city's gravest problems. He sees it as a drain on the city's reputation and its resources. A clean government, he said, will help Philadelphia grow and make coping with crime and failing schools easier.

Knox, who talks of taking the for-sale sign off City Hall, sees ethics less as a matter of policy than of leadership. The key, he said, is to hire an honest staff.

Rivals' campaigns say the ethics of Knox's successful insurance and banking career should be subjected to closer scrutiny. Knox said voters could be doubly assured that his administration would be clean because of his self-funded campaign.

"I am buying City Hall," Knox said. "I'm buying it back for the people of Philadelphia."

Fattah said there were long-standing "legitimate concerns about ethics in government" but stressed that most public servants were honest, and that he felt it was unfair for the actions of a few to taint the image of the others. His aides have prepared a comprehensive policy paper on open government - "an openness that would be extraordinary," he said.

That remark came as his campaign released Fattah's congressional W-2 salary and tax summaries to reporters last week but declined to release his tax returns because his wife, NBC10 anchorwoman Renee Chenault-Fattah, wants her salary kept private.

That made Fattah the exception: Answering requests from The Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News, the four other major Democratic mayoral candidates released their tax returns.

"I've been in public life for 25 years, and I've had a perfect ethical record," Fattah said. He predicted voters would "judge my work in the entirety."

Evans called ethics important and highlighted his support for the Committee of Seventy's agenda, as well as his sponsorship of a state House bill to grant Philadelphia undisputed authority to write its own campaign-finance laws. He also said some other priorities came first.

"People will look at public safety, schools, jobs - ethics is one of the many issues," Evans said. If elected, he said, he would "ensure all employees in every department understand what the rules are."

As for Brady: His campaign did not make him available last week to comment for this article despite several requests from The Inquirer.

An aide said Brady, who as city Democratic chairman since 1986 has routinely sought patronage jobs in City Hall and elsewhere for party loyalists, would continue his record of ethical service if he won.

"Throughout his political career he's been steadfast in remaining completely open and honest," Brady spokeswoman Kate Philips said. "He'll do the same as mayor."

U.S. Rep. Bob Brady

Ethics plan: Fully endorsed the Committee of Seventy's ethics agenda, a 28-point plan with three key goals: improved hiring and contracting practices, greater transparency, and curbs on pay-to-play and conflicts of interest.

Public financing of campaigns: Brady spokeswoman Kate Philips didn't know his position, but said he was for "leveling the playing field."

Campaign contribution caps: Supports them in some cases, but opposes them when a self-funded candidate like Tom Knox is in the race, Philips said.

Quote: Brady did not comment for this article.

State Rep. Dwight Evans

Ethics plan: Endorsed the Committee of Seventy's agenda.

Public financing of campaigns: Supports.

Campaign contribution caps: Supports. Evans is pushing legislation in Harrisburg that would grant Philadelphia authority to set its own campaign-finance laws.

Quote: "Openness and transparency is a very important part of government, and I've conducted myself in an open and transparent way."

U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah

Ethics plan: Endorses the Committee of Seventy's goals, and elaborates on them in a policy paper. It emphasizes transparency, and pledges among other things that Fattah will hold regular open meetings with citizens.

Public financing of campaigns: Will study it. Fattah endorses the idea but is reluctant to divert city money from other priorities to pay for political campaigns.

Campaign contribution caps: Endorses caps at the state level and vows to enforce city-legislated caps - if they survive a court challenge brought by Fattah and others. He favors lifting the caps on contributions when a wealthy candidate such as Knox funds his own campaign.

Quote: "It's not enough just to be honest. I think it's corrupt for us to have a city where 25 percent of the people are below the poverty line."

Tom Knox

Ethics plan: "Wholeheartedly" endorses the Committee of Seventy's agenda. Knox was initially skeptical about some of the provisions but signed on after a discussion with committee board members.

Public financing of campaigns: Opposes because Philadelphians "don't want to pay somebody to get elected."

Campaign contribution caps: Supports. Knox argues that the caps should stay in force even when self-funded candidates such as he spend millions of their own dollars.

Quote: "I don't think people ought to be concerned if you're spending your own money. I don't think I can bribe me. The problem is other people giving you money. Then you have to be accountable to them."

Michael Nutter

Ethics plan: Proposes an agenda that goes beyond the Committee of Seventy's in a number of ways, such as a requirement that all city employees file financial disclosure statements. The statements of senior employees would be subject to random audits.

Public financing of campaigns: Plans to review public financing but is leery of committing to it when there is no solid estimate of how much such a system would cost.

Campaign contribution caps: Supports. Nutter argues the caps - which he proposed - should remain in force even when self-funded candidates are in the race.

Quote: "If people like the status quo, there are four other candidates who can give them that. If people want change, they should vote for me."

- Patrick Kerkstra

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