Veteran Phila. Councilwoman Tasco will not seek reelection

After 27 years on Philadelphia City Council, Marian B. Tasco is calling it quits.

The veteran politician will not seek reelection to her Ninth District seat, and instead said she would endorse a former aide, State Rep. Cherelle L. Parker (D., Phila.), to succeed her.

Tasco, 77, said Tuesday that she had been thinking about retirement for a while, given her age and recent health issues. She said she was ready to take some time off and help a new generation of city leaders.

"I've been working since I was 12 years old," she said.

Tasco announced her retirement during a meeting Monday night of the 50th Ward Democratic organization, which she heads.

She will remain leader in the 50th Ward, one of the city's most effective at turning out the vote.

"I'll be doing some campaigning. Next to being on Council, that's what I enjoy most," Tasco said, adding that her focus would be on Parker.

Parker, 38, said Tuesday that she was thinking about running, and was talking with her supporters and advisers. Parker, whose 200th District includes Mount Airy and Chestnut Hill, was first elected to the House in a special election in 2005.

She has until March 10 to file a nominating petition.

In 2011, Parker was arrested in Germantown and charged with driving under the influence after an officer saw her going the wrong way on a one-way street. She was found guilty of DUI in 2012, but the conviction has been appealed.

Parker said she did not know how the conviction would affect her if she runs. She said she hoped the focus of a campaign would be on the candidates' accomplishments.

As a state representative, she said, she has worked on neighborhood commercial corridors, and enabling state authorization for city property tax abatement programs and the cigarette tax.

"Marian Tasco is a tough act to follow," Parker said. "The Ninth Councilmanic District has a very strong focus on neighborhood stabilization."

Tasco said some of her proudest accomplishments on Council are helping residents against predatory lenders, getting rid of abandoned cars throughout the city, and passing legislation against the use of lead paint.

Her name has been mentioned in some controversial issues, most recently with the decision to not hold a hearing on the proposed sale of the Philadelphia Gas Works. She is chairwoman of the Philadelphia Gas Commission.

She was criticized for her participation in the city's controversial Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP). Tasco retired for a day on Dec. 30, 2011, so she could collect a $478,057 pension check and be able return to work the following Monday, when she was sworn in for her seventh term.

Asked Tuesday about those issues, Tasco said she had no regrets.

On PGW, she blamed the Nutter administration, saying it had not engaged Council sufficently.

And on DROP, she said: "I stood my ground . . . and my voters voted me back."