IF Mariano did resign, would a special election be called? I imagine that would be left up to Verna, just as with the Cohen vacany, but does anyone know for sure?

The May '06 primary could be a lot more interesting if there is a special election...

. . . Don't Jump! is the one plea I'm glad he listened to.

Because I saw Budd Dwyer's demise live.

With the recent trials and indictments of philadelphia politicians, hopefully it starts letting them know they aren't above the law and other people are watching.

Philadlephia has always been known for corruption within city hall, at least the bright side is something is starting to be done about it.

What "recent trials and indictments of philadelphia politicians"?

There was the city treasurer (an appointed official), a city council aide (an appointed official), a muslim cleric (a private citizen), and some bankers and other private business people..

And the son of a ward leader who was convicted of taking bribes to fix traffic tickets (and the politicians who bribed him), and the plumbing inspectors who were convicted of taking bribes.

Yeah, they're not elected officials, but it still counts as corruption in City Hall, and it helps create the impression that there's more we don't know about. Yet.

HA.

Some thoughts on our fun little exchange above.

The ethics reform that needs to be passed is in many ways symbolic. But, symbols are damn important. The reality is the ethics type legislation, if you want to call it that, that I think can truly change the way Philly operates is public funding of elections. Ray is right in that ethical government in of itself does not advance progressive values. However, without it, progressive reform is far harder to achieve. The biggest, broadest swipe we can take, is public funding of elections, which would go a long way to deconcentrating the power from the monied and the elite, and put it back to the public, and those that can best organize them.

Because many people (including me) mix up everything under the monikor of reform, it is pretty clear that ethics reform, pay to play, and cfr are all lumped into one group, when they shouldn't be. But, they are. And a defeat for this bill will clearly be spun as a defeat for "reform," and the political will to do anything else will be gone. A victory will be pitched by its supporters as the start of something good, and can be pointed to as an example of a real constituency of citizens that want this kind of change.

In terms of the word crisis, this is all semantics. But in all fairness to Friedman, I know I use strong language like that, as well. There are certainly things the City is doing really well- our trash gets picked up on time, the anti-homelessness program is a national model, etc. These are clearly things we do right. However, there are certainly things we do that are so bad, that yes, I think "crisis" is warranted. There is a crisis, for example, in PGW, which has been a patronage pit since the days of Rizzo, and has accumulated a staggering debt, and is raising rates at a staggering clip. And, when there is a culture, stretching way further back than John Street, that has our city officials being wiretapped, a City Councilman indicted, and the treasurer in jail, call it what you want, but it is wrong, and we need good government reforms, those least sexy but still crucial laws, that can help ensure that our organizing efforts for other progressive reforms are not stymied by people who answer to the powerful, not the people.