Last week, Dan posted an interview we did with Brett Mandel (you can see it here) who is running for City Controller. The Butkovitz campaign (Alan Butkovitz is the incumbent Controller) saw the piece and expressed an interest in doing their own YPP interview. We sent over some questions to the campaign (composed with the help of some regular writers) over the course of a few days. You'll find the results below absent a 4th question which the Controller has not yet answered. He is of course welcome to post it in the comments. Just as with Brett, we tried to come up with the toughest questions we could that would get to the heart of progressives' thoughts on this race.

YPP: There are a growing group of voters who identify as progressives or reformers (or both) and are skeptical of anyone involved with the party machine. As an incumbent, a former ally of Sen. Fumo and a current friend of John Dougherty, you have been cast in the role of "machine" candidate. How do you respond to this and why do you think progressives should vote for you?

Butkovitz: While I understand the reservations that some progressive activists may have over my association with the so-called Democratic "machine," I reject the notion that a person cannot be a progressive solely because he or she is a part of the Philadelphia Democratic Party.

I strongly reject the Fumo connection. I stood up to Vince Fumo when he tried to stop an investigation I was conducting of the School District where I uncovered a $200 million deficit when Paul Vallas was telling the public his books were balanced. Fumo not only threatened my "political" life, he tried to have legislation drafted taking away my authority to audit the School District of Philadelphia.

I have stood up to both John Street and John Dougherty in the past and will continue to stand up to anyone or any political entity that tries to interfere with any audit or investigation I am conducting.

Not to stray off the topic of Fumo, it should be noted that Brett Mandel, one of my opponents is now the Fumo Organization candidate, having been endorsed by Frank DiCicco who was named in the Fumo indictment, as well as having been brought up during Fumo's corruption trial.

While I am a ward leader, so is Mayor Michael Nutter and so too are so many other dedicated individuals who share a common progressive philosophy, and identify with the ideals of the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party is about inclusion and moving all of society forward - leaving none behind. We are a party that believes in equality and equal rights and standing up for those who can't stand up for themselves.

After eight long disastrous years under George W. Bush, President Barack Obama is now leading our rebirth and the fight for a progressive reform agenda throughout our country, yet didn't President Obama come out of the Chicago political machine?

While we may have our differences, I believe the overwhelming majority of Democratic committee people in Philadelphia are good, dedicated neighborhood activists who care deeply about their communities and their neighbors and our city as a whole - just as so many progressive activists do.

It takes all kinds of people and opinions to make a community strong. I believe Philadelphia's best asset is our diversity - our diversity of peoples and opinions. I have always viewed myself as one who believes in progress and believes in a progressive agenda.

As City Controller, I led what was called a "groundbreaking" investigation of MBEC (Minority Business Enterprise Council) and exposed numerous barriers confronting minorities, women and disabled owned businesses in fully participating in city work and contracts. I also outlined clear steps to remove those obstacles and provide for the full participation of minorities, women and disabled-owned businesses in city work.

I also took criticism for successfully divesting the city's pension fund from companies doing business with the Sudanese government because of their genocide against the people of Darfur. I am a citizen of Philadelphia, but I am also a citizen of the world and I will not stand by and do nothing while this "holocaust" continues. As a Jew we promised the world that never again would we allow another holocaust. I stand committed to that ideal and reject those who would criticize me on this critically important issue.

On the financial side, I have tripled the number of comprehensive performance audits conducted by the Controller's Office each year - over 120 audits to date. My audits have identified over $700 million in revenue and savings for city taxpayers.

In endorsing me for re-election, Mayor Michael Nutter cited our work together on a number of issues, as well as my audits and recommendations to save taxpayers millions. Progressives have stood with Mayor Nutter despite the fact that he came from the ward structure, and remains a Ward leader, because they support the progressive policies he has fought for throughout his career.

ACORN recently endorsed me because of my progressive philosophy and history. I would ask that progressives keep an open mind - and open the lines of communication between us. I would ask that progressives join Mayor Nutter and ACORN and support me in the Democratic primary on May 19th.

YPP: It’s been almost 18 months since your office promised a full accounting of the Philadelphia Parking Authority. Why has there been such a long wait and do you expect your findings will lead to significant change at that agency?

Butkovitz: While Governor Ed Rendell asked us to audit the Philadelphia Parking Authority in November of 2007 and promised to provide the necessary funding to conduct the audit, his office refused both to approve the scope of the audit and refused to provide the funding he had originally promised. After waiting for almost six months with no answer or funding from the Governor's Office, we decided to move ahead on our own in June of 2008.

As with any audit, it does take time. Our audit of the city's Emergency Medical Service took over a year, as did our audit of the Department of Licenses and Inspection - as well as our audit of the Water Revenue Department's Project Ocean. With that said, the audit of the PPA is nearing its conclusion and we should be releasing it shortly.

YPP: The biggest progressive criticism against Brett Mandel's campaign is his history of tax cut support (an issue which has been a long-time topic of debate on our blog). You have adopted the language of some Philadelphia progressives on the trail and accused Mandel of supporting "right-wing, trickle down economics." During your term in office, Council has passed tax cutting bills supported by Mayor Nutter. How did you respond to those?

Butkovitz: Please excuse the length of my response, but before I answer your question directly, let me first reference an Op Ed by Phil Goldsmith that was published in the Philadelphia Daily News on January 2, 2008. Entitled "Time to cut tax-cutting," the first paragraph read "We are in the midst of a tax cutting craze, City Controller Alan Butkovitz said at a press conference as 2007 was coming to a close."

Two paragraphs later Goldsmith wrote, "Butkovitz's warning was music to my ears. It has been a refrain I have been singing for several years. There has not been enough balance between the clamor for tax reduction and residents' desire for quality services, both of which are essential for a city that aspires to world class status."

Here are some other pertinent excerpts from Goldsmith's op ed:

"Butkovitz has taken shots at some sacred cows as city controller, and his style rankles a lot of people. He was the first elected official to take on former School District Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas at a time when the establishment still thought Vallas walked on water. Butkovitz had the audacity to tell us that Vallas was really walking on ice that was melting faster than a popsicle in August. Sure enough, the school district's rosy budget picture turned into a huge deficit due to overspending and a lack of accountability and fiscal oversight.

Regardless of his bedside manner, Butkovitz's attack on another sacred cow-the tax cutting craze- deserves to be taken seriously. And, hopefully, the Nutter administration, which is committed to improving customer services, is willing to join the issues of tax policy and service levels rather than treat tax reduction in a vacuum.

In the meantime, let's heed the warning of the City Controller: Let's end this tax cutting craze and turn our attention to service levels. Let's get our people to the hospital on time."

Goldsmith's op ed was in response to my call to end business tax cuts, and my nationally recognized performance audit that found our EMS units were arriving late 40% of the time because there were not enough ambulances to handle the number of emergency calls.

The Daily News headline for the article covering the release of my EMS audit read: "Butkovitz: Halt tax cuts, fix EMS"

Since first getting elected, I have been a vocal advocate for stopping this misguided "craze" - led by Brett Mandel and his pro-business cohorts - of providing tax cuts to business. Businesses already get deals and tax cuts galore at the expense of average citizens who get short-changed in much-needed city services.

I believe we all have to pay our fair share - and that includes businesses that use the same city services as we all do.

ACORN recently endorsed me because of my progressive philosophy and history. I would ask that progressives keep an open mind - and open the lines of communication between us. I would ask that progressives join Mayor Nutter and ACORN and support me in the Democratic primary on May 19th.

Thanks to the Controller and Brett Mandel both for their answers to our questions. Again, Brett's interview can be found here.

And, for the curious, here is the last question we sent to Butkovitz that he has not yet had a chance to answer:

You have talked about your role in uncovering financial irregularities at the School District. Now that Paula Vallas is gone, what are your plans for holding the District accountable now? What are your most recent findings about the School District’s finances? What are your top concerns there?

Disclosure: I am the co-chair of the Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club whose members voted to endorse Alan Butkovitz. Liberty City is running a GOTV campaign for its endorsed candidates which is funded by member and candidate contributions (including one from Butkovitz). Dan, Jennifer and other folks who helped with this interview are either "undeclared" or Mandel supporters.