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Brady Supporters Reinforcing Poor Perceptions of Brady
Submitted by Dan U-A on Thu, 02/15/2007 - 10:37am.
When people, rightly or wrongly, see you behind the campaign finance fiasco and when some of your most visible and vocal supporters are known to flout the law, this doesn't help:
MAYORAL CANDIDATE Bob Brady appears to be exploiting a loophole in the city's new campaign-finance law to take union contributions that exceed the city's $20,000 ceiling on donations.
Brady's campaign report for 2006, filed two weeks ago, showed that his largest donors included three labor unions that wrote the maximum $20,000 checks - the Metropolitan Regional Council of Carpenters, Plumbers Union Local 690 and the Washington office of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.
Besides those donations, the Brady campaign also reported receiving a maximum $20,000 donation from Unity 2001, a political-action committee run by a member of Brady's congressional staff, Anthony Cacciavillano, and headquartered at Brady's 34th Ward office in Overbrook.
Almost all of the money that Unity 2001 collected in 2006 - $52,500 out of $56,000 - came from the same three unions that made maximum direct contributions to Brady's campaign.
Like I said yesterday, I understand Brady is a good guy. But, lets see him use those leadership skills to tell his friends that violating the spirit of the City laws, which this clearly does, needs to end. Or, put simply, he should reject the donations.
If Brady is simply the machine candidate, which this kind of thing makes it appear, he will not win. People all over the City, black and white, rich and poor, are unhappy with the status quo. That is what this looks like.
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Dan, I don't know how anyone
Dan, I don't know how anyone can make the statement"PEOPLE ALLOVER THE CITY,BLACK AND WHITE,RICH AND POOR, ARE UNHAPPY WITH THE STATUS QUO" with out any kind of statistics that are fool proof. I agree that SOME people are not happy especially on YPP but to assume otherwise is only your opinion ( which is respected here most of the time). The day after the elections are the only gauge of how MOST of the people feel. We shall see!!!!!!
Mike, have you talked to anyone
Who is happy with the level of violence in our streets? Who is happy with our schools? Who is happy with the economic conditions in the city? Who is happy with how the city delivers services? Who is happy with the pay-to-play system in government? Who is happy with the percentage of politicians who have been indicted/convicted? Who is happy with the types of city planning initiatives that have come out of City Hall over the past three decades?
I'm sure I've left quite a bit out.
Which aspect of the status quo do you need statistical proof that people are dissatisfied?
All I'm saying is that the
All I'm saying is that the only real gauge is the day after election day.There is not a person in this city who is going to stop the violence on the streets.Whatever plan the canadates come is only blowing smoke,really. The 101st Airborne would prpbably have trouble fighting gun violence. These kids have lost the value of life somewhere, someplace. It startS in the home. Phila has some of the best teachers in the universe. They can only teach to the best of their ability. Again this problem starts in the home. The economic conditions of the city..I personally don't follow to close I would imagine that Phila is in the same boat with most big cities in the US. I have no problem with the city services. There are so many different services you would have to explain a little better. But the avarage Joe probably doesn't follow the last two points to closely either. Pay to Play is wrong But I think the thinking on that is starting to change. It's been around since the Dead Sea got sick. So to blame it on the machine is a little far fetched. Also Now don't get crazy on me but there are instances where Pay to Play got things done, I'm sure. As far as the indicted/convicted percentage it's terrable but we don't read every newspaper in the country but I'll bet almost every major and semi-major city in the US is close to Phila's percentages. IN the Last 15 or so years Phila has become a destination city. It is an exciting place to live, work and play. IT has had one of the best turn arounds around. Our skyline is becoming first class. Many of our neighborhoods are having resurections I"M PROUD TO LIVE HERE AND NEVER PLAN TO LEAVE HERE!!
Undoubtedly, Mike
Many of the problems in this City are not unique to this City, nor are they directly attributable to indaquacies in our City government.
On the other hand, things could be/should be better than they are in all of the areas I mentioned. That doesn't mean that I don't like the City, or that I'm not "proud" of beign a Philadelphian, any more than criticizing Bush means that I "hate America."
And every time I ask a Brady supporter about these issues, I get unsatisfactory answers. I am told that he's a "nice guy," or that there are people that he's helped out. That doesn't work for me. What I don't hear is how the conditions that create a Fumo or a Campbell are going to change. What I don't hear are how the ward/division system is going to be modified to function better as a means to hold politicians accountable.
If I'm going to vote for a machine politician, I want to know how s/he intends to make the machine more accountable, more efficient, less prone to corruption. As someone on the inside, Brady is uniquely situated to make progress in those areas. So why am I not hearing about the changes he intends to make in those regards?
Fumo is not the doing of the
Fumo is not the doing of the "machine". Fumo is the doing of quite the opposite...working independentlly of everybody and doing his homework while everyone was sleeping. If sites like this were around when he was doing his thing I don't think it would have been as bad as it is. Think about it, the power he created could have been used for so much good but he turned out to be LEX LUTHER.I know that it might not happen again in the age of information that we now live in. Not with YPP around. Keep up the good work guys...Keep everyone honest. I don't know Carol Campbell from Adam so I really can't comment. I've heard good and bad.
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Statistical Proof is Coming
It will be noted in the defeat of a few comfortable incumbents. I hope that the comfy machine pols feel the same way you do, cause then they might not see the wave of reform that is about to wash them out to sea...
I work for Damon K. Roberts in his run for City Council. Unless otherwise stated this and every comment by myself is the opinion of myself, and not of Damon or any other candidate, organization, committee, etc.
Okey Dokey
61 Percent of Philly residents think our City is on the wrong track. 31 percent think it is on the right track.
http://edisk.fandm.edu/FLI/keystone/pdf/keyjan07_1.pdf
Thanks in advance for the apology.
And, Mike, in all
And, Mike, in all seriousness. Do you honestly believe that most people in the City are happy? The current Mayor has an approval of 22 percent. 22! And, what do you think the approval rating of City Council is?
People are not happy.
Don't get me wrong boys I'm
Don't get me wrong boys I'm not a machine lover ANYMORE but most times pulling in the same direction is a good thing. The approval numbers will ONLY reflect on the current adminstration. OUt of the five democratic mayoral canadates there are only two of them that I really do not want to win (I'll keep that to myself for now). You guys are a lot more diverse in your evaluation of politics than I am. For me it's only what is best for my members...Jobs,Jobs,Jobs. That's what I get payed for. Except for my deep hatred for a couple of South Philly pols. Doctor FRankinstien and the Monster (Fumo/Kenney). MY opinions are my opinions but I feel like I'm fighting Four or five Mike Tysons on this issue. All I can say is that election day will tell.K ep on doing what you are doing, though!!
"Also Now don't get crazy on
"Also Now don't get crazy on me but there are instances where Pay to Play got things done, I'm sure."
It's absolutely shocking to me that seemingly intelligent people can defend Pay-to-Play politics with a straight face (assumes Mike has a straight face). Fascism can get things done, too, but does that mean we should want it? It's simply insulting to the citizens of Philly that we're expected to accept this.
CHECKMATE!!!!!As far as my
CHECKMATE!!!!!As far as my face goes...My Mother THOUGHT it was straight :) :) :)
Pay to play succcess
Pay to play succcess stories: Penns Landing! Osage Ave! Ron White! Commerce Bank! RCN Cable! Sister Clara Muhammad School!
They were successful.
Not ultimately for the City, but people involved had success. ;)
Pay to Play success
That is Mike's point exactly (I think). 78% percent of the city may think Street is a putz; 61% may think Phila is on the worng track; 100% may say to a pollster tha Pay to Play sucks. But something has kept it going and something has kept its best practitioners in office. That something is apathy on the part of most people, and voting behavior and activism on the part of the THOUSANDS who benefit (in $$$ and power) from the status quo. Carol Campbell is a goddess to the people and neighborhoods who have benefited from her shenanigans. Many of them vote. Most of the city, like Mike "does not know her from Adam." They will stay home.
That is his point. WE agree it is bad. But it is one man one vote. And for every one of us reading each other's posts, there are probably 3 or 4 people who know a buddy who is getting fat on the status quo, and they are voting hoping for their payday.
So what to do? Spread the word. Explain to people why you are wearing that "Evans" button or what the "Irv 07" bumpersticker means. The key is convincing the lazy folks who think it will never get better that their votes translate to better schools, someone to pick up the phone at City Hall, someone to stop the jackoff running the stop sign in their neighborhood, and someone to close down the crackhouse that has been running 24/7 for the last 7 years. Then get them out there to vote and we will all be celebrating in May.
Political Doc
Interesting
Let me get this straight. Brady supporters should be criticized for doing everything possible to get funds into the hands of their candidate? Why is it that so many of you have such a problem with any campaign check that is not written by the candidate himself. Instead of nit-picking every few thousand dollars given to Brady, why not focus on the millions of dollars Tom Knox is using to buy City Hall. If you are against money in politics, fine. But please, how about a little consistency? Thank you.
getting it straight
Brady supporters who contribute that much will demand something in return. That is called "pay to play." Brady will give it to them because he has to. Those who pay will get to play. Say it with me: That... is... not... fair. We do not LIKE this. We passed laws to PREVENT this. The mayor should represent everyone. If there are groups that gave 50K they will get favors, it is the nature of politicians.
Tom Knox will not win. But if he does, he will owe no one anything.
I am not against money in politics. I am against OPM in politics. :)
Political Doc
You don't know what you're talking about
You are making character statements, and you clearly don't know Bob Brady, because you don't know what you're talking about.
Please note that with everything that went down with Ron White and Corey Kemp. Everything going on with the current indictment, etc. Bob Brady has *never* surfaced in any way, shape, or form. Pay to play has never been part of how he runs his organization or conducts his politics.
Will people demand something in return? I don't know. What I know is that Bob will always listen to a good idea, and always say NO to a bad idea no matter whose it is.
What I liked about Brady at the debate...
was the fact that he made sure that Bass got to spout off. That says something to me: that no matter how nutty you might be, Brady will at least let you say your piece and will treat you with the dignity that we all deserve. The message was clear: scream loud enough, make some fuss, and Brady will listen to you. I can't say I'm the best judge of character, but I don't think I'm terrible at it either, and Brady is a lot more complex a character than a lot of people give him credit for. Granted, he does keep some fairly horrendous friends (yes, Carol Campbell is a disgrace to this city, and his association with her hurts him more than he knows), but I think Brady would be the better of the two Congressmen for mayor.
I do want to know how he plans on embracing the changes that are going to happen whether the party insiders want them too or not, but if he can open his mind to the changes we need to excel as a city and focus on the real problems of the day than I think he could be a good mayor of a city that he quite obviously cares very deeply for.
I work for Damon K. Roberts in his run for City Council. Unless otherwise stated this and every comment by myself is the opinion of myself, and not of Damon or any other candidate, organization, committee, etc.
Well said Alex
Alex,
In that odd moment where Brady gets Bass her moment in the camera, I think you managed to capture a critical part of his character. Bob really treats all people with dignity and respect, and there is where he get's his credibility as an honest broker.
I have a feeling a lot of people were impressed at how well Brady handled himself on the issues at a Green/Clean debate. I mean, here he is talking about bio-diesel for school buses, using more alternative fuels, greenways on the waterfront and managing raparian rights. Ironically, outside of Nutter, Brady really showed up as having the best grasp on policy. As someone who is sympathetic to Brady in many ways, even I was impressed about how prepared and well thought out he was on pretty much any issue that came his way.
To your point about embracing changes and doing the right thing, I think there was insight into this when he talked about how after the Comcast Building debacle, he negotiated so that buildings in the future could have flushless urinals, and it would be easier to construct "green" buildings. That's the type of negotiation that no one can do as well as Bob.
Again, I'd say the winners tonight, without questions, were Nutter and Brady.
I saw Brady a little different...
I may be wrong, but...
I felt that Brady gave his time to Queena Bass because he didn't have much to say himself. I think he offered to give Tom Knox 2 minutes of his time later in the debate.
Really, I don't think he was being nice. It was a freakin' debate. Most politicians want to talk as much as possible (unless they really don't have anything to say).
I saw last night why Brady was absent from all of the other forums. He doesn't know the issues and it's not enough to have friends when you want to be the Mayor of Philadelphia.
I agree
He gave up his time in response to the question about what his three priorities from the Next Great City agenda would be. When Flavia went back to him on the question after Queena spoke and Fattah and Evans gave their opening statements, I recall him basically reiterating the priorities that Nutter and Knox had listed.
I'm not sure why people find ineloquence, poor grammar and lack of substance charming. He basically spent the entire evening telling the audience that he has been a political fixer for a long time, which he believes qualifies him to be mayor. I hope Philadelphians don't buy that.
I support Michael Nutter for Mayor
I was going to write
I was going to write something a lot meaner. But, instead, I will just suggest that you should probably at least read what is on the front page of the blog, before you say things that make you look silly. Thank you.
http://youngphillypolitics.com/some_continuing_thoughts_and_questions_undecided_voter
Bob Brady Knows The Issues As Well As Anyone.
Esquisite
Congressman Brady does know and understand the issues. While in Congress, Bob Brady often yields time to other speakers. This practice has been quite beneficial to Philadelphia. Some of the recipients of time have supported measures that were good for the city. Minority Congressmen (until recently, the Democrats were the minority party) have no power to influence anything, but the ever resouceful Bob Brady found ways to get things done. Let me use a sports analogy that I've heard and used before: No one can play all the positions on a team. Bob Brady is a Talent Scout and Coach.
On another point, I feel it's unfair to use guilt by association. Bob Brady is the head of the Democratic City Committee. Philadelphia provided Governor Rendell with a 350,000 vote plurality. Ed Rendell only won with a plurality of 180,000 votes. The City Committee has a lot to be proud of. Some of the folks aren't perfect. Bob Brsdy knows everyone on the City Committee. In most cases Bob Brady has become friends with them. The Congressman is clean as a whistle, but there's an agenda here. No question, Bob Brady's on my agenda. As I've said in the past there are many good candidates running for Mayor. I think that Bob Brady's an excellent choice.