Mayor Parker’s office has a new policy: All public statements go through us

Sunshine is the best disinfectant, the old credo goes. So Clout was intrigued to learn that Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration has implemented a new policy that one might compare to applying SPF100 on public information before it hits the beach.

In a heavily caps-locked email last week, Managing Director Adam Thiel told department leaders that all public statements — from news releases to the mundane social media posts — need to be sent up to the top of the City Hall food chain for approval.

“To be absolutely clear, NO MEDIA INTERVIEWS, SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS, OR STATEMENTS OF ANY, KIND-UNTIL/UNLESS APPROVED IN ADVANCE BY MAYOR’S COMMUNICATIONS,” Thiel wrote on Jan. 18.

Previous mayors have handled communications in different ways. But for years, most agencies have had in-house communications staffers who can post about broken water mains or street re-pavings without bothering the mayor’s top advisers.

Parker apparently has a different vision.

”We’re leaning in,” said spokesperson Joe Grace. “We’re leaning in on every front. We want to speak with one voice.”

He said the approval process ensures “accurate, cohesive, unified” messaging and would not slow down city operations.

Clout wondered where all this came from. Did a rogue city official trigger a gag rule by running their mouth on a news broadcast? Did someone share an inflammatory social media post on main?

Grace said no. But he said an incident on Wednesday illustrated the need for the new policy.

Someone in Parker’s inner circle had heard a rumor that the 17-year-old inmate who escaped police custody at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia had been apprehended. Grace, who had spent the afternoon approving public posts from the Police Department, per the new policy, said that was false.

”The point is that it didn’t go public, but it went up high enough,” he said. “This was somebody above me, not the mayor, saying ‘I have some information that the prisoner has been apprehended.’ I said ‘no, that’s not accurate.’”

(The mayor’s communications office did not approve this Clout column.)

A primary battle for a West Philly state House seat is shaping up to be Brown vs. Green vs. Purple. Again.

At least two primary challengers intend to take on State Rep. Amen Brown, a two-term Democrat and unsuccessful mayoral candidate who represents the city’s 10th legislative district. Both challengers — progressive Cass Green and community activist Sajda “Purple” Blackwell — are running for the second time.

But much has changed since the 2022 primary, when Brown nearly got kicked off the ballot for failing to disclose debts, then narrowly edged out Green to win reelection by fewer than 200 votes.

Last year, Brown ran a failed bid for mayor — he also had to fight to stay on that ballot — and won less than 2% of the vote citywide.

Brown’s candidacy initially drew buzz. He ran with a tough-on-crime platform and, in a literal smoke-filled room, a group of wealthy benefactors signaled they’d support him.

But despite rumors of a $5 million super PAC, none ever materialized. And many questioned if Brown was ready for prime time.

He was the talk of Philly’s political scene after his campaign launch because he sat down for an interview with Fox 29′s Jeff Cole and didn’t know the size of the city budget. The following month, an Inquirer review found that Brown’s business and real estate dealings had been mired in repeated accusations of impropriety.

Now, the battle in his 10th District — which includes Mantua, Powelton, and parts of University City and Logan Square — is likely to be one of the most closely watched Pennsylvania House races in the city this spring.

Green, a community activist, is likely to draw support from progressive organizations that have targeted Brown because of his positions in favor of charter school expansion and mandatory minimum sentences.

Meanwhile, Blackwell hails from the storied West Philly political family and her husband, Thomas W. Blackwell VI, is the grandson of the late U.S. Rep. Lucien Blackwell. She’s likely to receive support from current and former elected officials, and Clout noticed that Sheriff Rochelle Bilal was at her campaign launch.

Kudos to Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick for honesty on the campaign trail, though we’re not sure how well it will play with average Pennsylvanians.

McCormick, a former hedge fund CEO, speaking to Ivy League business students last week, gave a glimpse into an average day spent running for higher office.

“I’m spending half my time with donors,” McCormick told a crowd at Dartmouth College.

“Essentially, it’s going to be the most expensive race in the country…high profile. I’m nationalizing the race. If you vote for me you’re voting for winning the Senate blah blah blah, so I’m everywhere prospecting mostly with really wealthy people, where you will all be in 20 years – or many of you.”

(Ouch.)

McCormick went on to say he’s spending the other half of his time “in Pennsylvania where the median income is $55,000 to $60,000.”

The audio was published online by the progressive media organization Heartland Signal and the Pennsylvania Democratic Party wasted no time blasting it out in an email slamming him.

We’ve watched this movie before. The 2022 Senate race was the most expensive in state history and with control of the chamber again in the balance, it’s hard to imagine this one not breaking that record.

McCormick is extremely wealthy — an Inquirer analysis of his finances in 2022 put the lower end of his net worth at around $116 million. He put $1 million into his campaign so far this cycle and raised another $5.4 million since announcing in September.

Democratic incumbent, Sen. Bob Casey, said he raised $3.6 million in the last quarter, his third straight in which he raised more than $3 million.

Full reports are due out at the end of next week, though, so we’ll get a glimpse of who McCormick’s been spending half his time with.

Clout provides often irreverent news and analysis about people, power, and politics.

Inquirer staff writers Aliya Schneider and Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this article.