Although I was not really involved in the strategery of my dad’s City Council campaign, I obviously was sort of living it. Our whole family was. It was a strange year, and a lot of running for office in Philly is a bewildering experience. The weirdest part of it all was the outrage from the entrenched political powers that someone would dare run against an incumbent, and the outrage that someone would support them. Some of it was perceived, some of it real. But there is no question that there were people who thought their businesses would be harmed (with, say, pop inspections by L&I), or, that community groups would find their funding magically killed or missing.

My dad stayed, at least for now, in the private sector, so he himself has been somewhat immune to this kind of thing. Others, not so much.

What am I talking about? The Saga of Haile Johnston and the now trashed lots of Strawberry Mansion. As most people know, Haile ran for City Council against Darrell Clarke. Before he did that, Haile and his wife has basically devoted the last 6 years of their lives to cleaning up Strawberry Mansion.

Bruce Schimmel sums it up:

In the offices of their East Park Revitalization Alliance hangs a PHS poster featuring the young couple. Both Wharton grads, they moved to Strawberry Mansion six years ago. In addition to keeping hundreds of lots clean, they've started after-school and summer programs for neighborhood kids. They've also attracted private and public capital to this blighted area. Backed by The Reinvestment Fund, they purchased an abandoned factory to create jobs through a family-farmer food distribution center. Mayor Street personally presented them with an NTI Ambassador Award. They were praised as "the heart and soul of neighborhood transformation."

When Haile announced he was running for office, the first person who talked to me about him was actually my mom. She saw Haile and Tatiana’s work up close, and swore up and down that they were both really good people, who were clearly devoted to their neighborhood and city. From everything I then saw in the campaign, she was right.

However, because Haile had the audacity to run for office against Darrell Clarke, there have been repercussions:

Just after Haile Johnston lost his May primary contest with Clarke, Clarke allegedly arranged to have Johnston's community greening contracts with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) canceled. Since June, trash has piled up on hundreds of vacant lots, as the drug dealers return.

Clarke's ire could not be more foolishly directed. Haile Johnston and wife Tatiana Garcia-Granados are literally the poster couple of community organizers.

Maybe Haile and his group just weren’t good at what they did? Ah, nope:

PHS' Lisa Stephano confirms that Johnston and Garcia-Granados did great work for three years, garnering two commendations. With a crew of eight, they cleaned 275 lots, 75 more than required.

However, because of that audacity, here is what happened:

But during the primary, according to press reports, Clarke went to PHS to complain about Johnston. When PHS refused to dump the couple, sources say the councilman next went to NTI, who then sent him to Joyce Wilkerson, Mayor Street's chief of staff.

In June, Wilkerson's office presented PHS with a list of acceptable candidates, and Johnston didn't make the cut.

This whole thing makes me sick to my stomach, for two reasons. First, just from a general democratic perspective this is ridiculous. Clarke is doing what he can to stiff his voters out of having real competition for his Council seat. It is remarkably undemocratic. There should not be a penalty for running for office, especially when that person is an effin community servant.

However, when thinking about our city specifically, its even worse. Philadelphia is a struggling city, that needs all the devoted community organizers it can find. And, here we have a couple who was clearly doing great things in their neighborhood, and the in response, a City Councilman decides it is better to screw them, his district and his constituents, all because someone dared to… run for office. Way to go Councilman! In case you happen to read this... WE. CANNOT. AFFORD. TO. DO. THIS.

The only solace I take is that if the rumors I periodically hear are true, karma is a bitch...

Anyway, the media needs to keep hammering away at Clarke and the Mayor, and getting some answers. This is totally shameful.