In Philly, a mother-daughter tie in intra-agency probe

An elephant not of the Republican kind is making the rounds lately in some quiet city government offices, set loose by City Controller Alan Butkovitz's offensive against the Sheriff's Office.

When Butkovitz last month blasted outgoing Sheriff John Green for failing to turn over information regarding $53 million worth of accounts - suggesting the accounts were ripe for fraud and abuse - he was also, by association, criticizing Chief Deputy Sheriff Barbara Deeley. No reason he can't do that, other than Deeley several decades ago gave birth to one of Butkovitz's top aides, Lisa Marie Deeley.

Lisa Deeley was Butkovitz's legislative aide in the state House and campaign treasurer for his campaign and ward committees, and she currently works as head of the controller's community affairs office - a position funded by the school district, which allows her to continue her political work. Critics have generally assumed that Butkovitz would go easy on the Sheriff's Office because of that connection, though Butkovitz once retorted that he had fought with Barbara Deeley for years, so there was no conflict.

Butkovitz's call for a full forensic audit of the Sheriff's Office - potentially going through every account, bill, and check produced by the Sheriff's Office over the last few years - has put off the day that Barbara Deeley becomes the city's first female sheriff. She was supposed to fill that position on an interim basis between Green's expected retirement Oct. 31 and the inauguration of a newly elected sheriff in January 2012 (Deeley has said she's not running). Green surprised the city by announcing that he would stay on indefinitely to make sure his office cooperated with the audit.

Sources say things are verrrrrrry quiet at the Controller's Office these days.

Given the strong personalities of the Deeley women, it's hard to imagine that things are ever quiet at the Deeley household in Rhawnhurst, which includes mother and daughter. Lisa would not comment for "Heard in the Hall," but her mother, who previously accused the ambitious Mr. Butkovitz of trying to score political points at the sheriff's expense, says they don't talk about it.

"My daughter does not discuss her job with me. She does not want to get involved," Barbara Deeley said Friday. "We never argue or fight over politics."

Oh, to be the elephant in that room. - Jeff Shields

Get out the moving boxes.

Philadelphia's Democratic Party is selling its four-story headquarters building at 1421 Walnut St., the party's storied home for close to 60 years.

If walls could talk.

The building was purchased in the early 1950s by Bill Green Jr., former U.S. representative and Democratic Party chairman and grandfather of current City Councilman Bill Green. The door to one of two basement vaults Green installed is still there.

But recently, much of the space has gone unused, occupied by dust and old, unmarked film reels, as well as locked file cabinets that have not been opened in years. Campaign stickers on some furniture include "Keep Philadelphia Goode" and "Dukakis for President."

The party, which plans to relocate by Jan. 1, is reportedly getting nearly $2 million for the building, all of which will be poured into an investment of some kind, with the interest accumulated used to pay rent for a new party headquarters.

That new headquarters - with a waterfront view - will be at 7 N. Columbus Blvd., near La Veranda Ristorante.

The new digs aren't large enough to accommodate meetings of the Democratic Committee's 69 ward leaders - those meetings will likely occur at various union halls - but it is a less congested area with more parking available.

The new owner of 1421 Walnut St. will be Pearl Properties, which owns several other buildings on the high-traffic Center City block.

President James Pearlstein said he is planning to gut and rehabilitate the entire building and make the first floor retail.

As for the Democratic Party, chairman Bob Brady doesn't intend to stay at the new location for long. His real goal, probably three to five years away, is to find a way to buy and renovate one of the Fairmount Park houses as a permanent party home.

And giving up 1421 Walnut? Brady spokesman Ken Smukler said, "I think he sees it as a new chapter." - Marcia Gelbart

Former Mayor John Street thinks President Obama might have had better luck in Tuesday's elections if he hadn't put so much of the burden of passing health-care legislation on congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

"They were seen as the architects," Street said, just after an Election Day lunch at Famous 4th Street Delicatessen.

When Street was mayor, he noted, he didn't ask City Council to "go get me a neighborhood transformation plan." Instead, as mayor, he sold the public on the idea, which aimed to remake Philadelphia's blighted neighborhoods.

But then, Obama had just a few years as a senator. Street served on Council for roughly two decades and knew his way around. It takes the average Council member three years just to understand the budget, Street said, so he doesn't really fault Obama.

"He hadn't been there for 25 years," Street said. "He wasn't Joe Biden." - Miriam Hill