Many of Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson’s fellow lawmakers stood by him from indictment to acquittal

Politicians who get into legal trouble usually become radioactive to other elected officials, who fear that voters will associate them with the misdeeds of their colleagues.

But City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson has enjoyed an unusual level of support from other Philadelphia politicians throughout the ordeal that began when he was indicted almost two years ago on federal corruption charges.

After a jury on Wednesday acquitted Johnson and his wife, Dawn Chavous, on bribery and honest services fraud charges, those officials applauded the decision and questioned the prosecution’s fervor in pursuing the case.

“Thank God,” said former Councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sánchez, who resigned in September to run in next year’s mayoral race. “It’s the fair outcome.”

» READ MORE: Kenyatta Johnson and his wife, Dawn Chavous, acquitted at federal bribery trial

Quiñones-Sánchez said that she was never convinced by prosecutors’ main argument — that a charter school operator bribed Johnson by hiring Chavous as a consultant — because Chavous was qualified for the job after working for years on charter school issues.

“The problem with this case from the very beginning was the premise that this particular contract for someone so worth it did not have value,” Quiñones-Sánchez said. “I thought that was a losing argument from day one.”

Several of Johnson’s Council colleagues attended “Pre Trial Victory Prayer Service” events before both of his trials. The first trial ended in a hung jury, and prosecutors immediately vowed to bring the case back to court. The second resulted in his acquittal Wednesday.

Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who attended both prayer vigils, said the prosecution never presented compelling evidence in the case, which was based primarily on circumstantial evidence.

“They didn’t seem to be able to produce actual proof of their assertion that a bribe had taken place,” Gauthier said. “It was baffling to me, honestly, because they didn’t win the first time, and so I was confused why they came back the second time.”

Gauthier questioned why the U.S. Attorney’s Office made such an effort to go after Johnson, who is in his third four-year term on Council.

“It certainly didn’t seem that this was a good use of taxpayer resources,” she said. “Certainly there are many more things that they could and should be looking into. I mean, we almost had an overthrow of the American government.”

But not everyone agreed that Johnson’s acquittal means there’s nothing to be learned from the case.

Patrick Christmas, policy director of the good-government group Committee of Seventy, said that just because Johnson and Chavous were acquitted on criminal charges doesn’t mean they acted appropriately. Johnson, for instance, failed to disclose that Chavous was hired as a consultant for Universal Companies as the affordable-housing nonprofit and charter school operator was seeking Johnson’s help in a zoning matter.

» READ MORE: ‘Glaring giant loophole’: Philly Council members have to report who pays them, but not their spouses

Philadelphia’s financial transparency requirements for elected officials do not require them to disclose their spouse’s income sources, but a separate rule requires Council members to disclose potential conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from taking actions that could benefit them financially. If Johnson had made Chavous’ $67,000 contract public, he may have had to recuse himself from taking actions related to Universal.

“In addition to disclosing this potential conflict, recusal would have been the appropriate step for the Council member to take,” said Christmas, who urged Council to sharpen its conflict-of-interest laws in light of the Johnson case and the conviction of former Councilmember Bobby Henon in an unrelated corruption case centered on Philadelphia’s electricians union.

Christmas noted that the Johnson saga is a consequence of the tradition known as councilmanic prerogative, the unwritten rule on how Council handles zoning and land-use decisions in which all members default to the wishes of the lawmaker who represents the area in question. Critics say the extent to which Philadelphia’s Council adheres to prerogative — effectively giving Council members unqualified authority over land-use decisions in their districts — inevitably leads to corruption or the appearance of it.

“The bigger issue looming over this particular trial is the practice of councilmanic prerogative and the ethical risks, both real and perceived, that come from it,” Christmas said. “As long as that practice exists and can be exercised, we’re going to continue to have risks come about.”

Johnson’s 2nd District includes the western half of South Philadelphia and most of Southwest Philadelphia.

The acquittal raised new questions about what’s next for Johnson and his place in city politics. At least one powerful supporter said his future is bright.

State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams (D., Philadelphia), a longtime mentor of Johnson’s, said now that the ordeal is behind him, Johnson should maneuver for citywide influence, potentially by seeking a top leadership role on Council.

Williams said Johnson “stands singularly in Philadelphia as a local official who is extremely connected to his constituents.”

”Kenyatta is authentically a man of his neighborhood. When you walk down the street, people will tell you that,” Williams said. “Now it’s about elevating that connection in a way that benefits the entire city, not just his district.”

Johnson’s reputation, Williams said, hasn’t been permanently damaged by the federal corruption charges and two criminal trials.

”He’s a kid who comes from the streets,” Williams said. “He’s been respectful to the system. What it makes people do is understand him in a different light.”

Council President Darrell L. Clarke, who attended Johnson’s prayer vigil, said the jury that acquitted him of federal corruption charges “rendered justice.”

“City Council has never been distracted by these trials, and remains focused on the urgent issues confronting our city,” he said.

Councilmember Mark Squilla said he worried that, despite the outcome, the case against Johnson will contribute to a lack of trust in government.

“As a person who is involved in dealing with how Council works and working with development in your district, I personally felt that I think it was an overreach in the indictment process,” Squilla said. “It makes people think that if you’re an elected official, somehow you’re involved in illegal behavior. And that’s not the case. Ninety-nine percent of the people who are elected are doing it for the right reason.”