- 'An End to the Southern Strategy, But No Post-Racial America' says David Love
- "A Question of Place": An essay on the power of community
- Just Equally Speaking….
- Eagles owe Philadelphia the 8 million it needs to keep libraries open
- who would like to see Verizon offer cable TV in Phila?
- Council Committee Passed the Freeze
- Carol Campbell Passes Away
- My first trip to the public library
- Fight digital exclusion
- What if half of Philadelphia didn't have roads?
How I got thrown out the 40th Ward Democratic Party Meeting
Submitted by Damon K. Roberts on Tue, 04/17/2007 - 11:49am.
Anna Verna must be scared. Or else, why would I be thrown out of the 40th Ward meeting? After all, as someone on YPP said, it would take an act of God for Damon Roberts to beat Anna Verna. Well, maybe God is getting ready to act.
After finding out that the 40th Ward Democrats had a luncheon meeting and candidate's forum at 64th and Paschall, I decided to show up with my nine year old son and one of my supporters. After all, South West Philadelphia, with its stark crime problem, its high school dropout rates, its trash and its overwhelming political and economic neglect from City Hall, is certainly important to me - as a community activist trying to make a difference and as a candidate for the 2nd Councilmanic District.
Many cars were there when we got to the little side entrance on 64th street. A few of the standard red white and blue balloons were blowing in the wind as we entered the dark place. Two African American ladies sat behind a desk, reminding me that the entrance fee was $25. After paying, I introduced myself to them, asked them for their support. They nodded and smiled and I went on my way.
My very social nine year old ran ahead of me with flyers in hand, telling everyone he could see to vote for Damon Roberts. People have a hard time saying no to him, that is, until he met Anna Brown, a ward leader and long time beneficiary of the Council President.
"Oh, no!" she said, grabbing the flyers from his hand. "You're not welcome here!"
I was talking to some African American committee people, and they were acknowledging the major issues that were not being dealt with in the South West part of the District. Hearing a ruckus over the music, I turned and saw Anna Brown holding my son by the elbow and bringing him to me.
"You're not welcome here," she said to me.
"I'm not welcome in the 40th Ward, which is a part of the 2nd District, where I'm running?"
"I said you're not welcome here. Are you going to leave or do I need someone to escort you out?" By this time, an older black gentleman was standing by her side trying to look intimidating.
"Is there no democracy in this democratic party?"
"Just leave," she said, "this is a private party for Anna Verna."
As my compatriot stayed and handed out flyers, my son and I left. I guess I should have prepared him for this possibility. He was stunned that a woman he did not know would forcefully grab him by the arm and confiscate his flyers.
I wasn't exactly stunned by their actions. For me, it's all in a day's work, and actually adds some fun and excitement to the arduous task of trying to make a difference in the Second District.
But what was stunning is that the leadership of the democratic party has become less than democratic, that it has become less about making a difference for people and more about protecting the private interests of a few elites.
Damon K Roberts for City Council, 2nd District. We need change, and we need it NOW!
Bookmark/Search this post with:
aN Act Of God/ Party Crashers!!!
I hate to laugh but its a funny sad story. When I said before that it would take an act of GOD to unseat this woman , i didn't know it would be this serious. For you to not be allowed its cool but for one of her henchmen to grip up your son and take his flyer's is unprofessional. You son shouldn't have been treated that way or seen what he seen because of his father. But you have to learn someway I guess how cruel this city and people really is. This woman is not going to lose her job without a fight, and it won't be pretty. You would think that we have come so far ,just to act like this Ms. Brown should be ashamed.
Your son learned a lot that night.
1) You can't keep a underdog down
2) See people for who they really are
3) Daddy is a survivor no matter who's against him
Hopefully he will learn from that night and keep up the fight. This will turn boys to men, learning from their father. Hopefully he won't quit when he wants to accomplish something no matter the odds, no matter who's against you!
D, you sure know how to crash a party , even though you paid like everyone else!
Junior Williams
juniorwililams007@earthlink.net
http://mycityscapephily.eponym.com/blog
Anne Brown: OFFENDED that an immigrant would run for office...
Damon didn't mention it here, but this is not the first time that Anne Brown has gone after Damon in a completely immature and idiotic way (and yes, I believe that grabbing Damon's unbelievably sweet son by the arm and forcefully removing him from a meeting is both). The last time that Damon crossed paths with Anne Brown she told him, in front a few witnesses, that she was "seriously offended that an immigrant would run for office." Well, Ms. Brown, I'm seriously offended that someone would consider that an appropriate way to express your frustration that Verna is facing an opponent (the first time this has happened in 16 years). Ms. Brown may not feel that every American citizen should have the right to run for elected office (regardless of where they were born and for an office other than President), she may feel that it is Verna's birthright to hold that seat (after all, her main qualification for the job seems to have been that she was her father's daughter and that she was his personal assistant), and she may feel that she has the right to physically intimidate an adorable 9 year old boy, but this just ads to my anger and frustration towards a system that seems setup to protect a few interests over the good of the majority.
Keep an eye out for our canvassers, Ms. Brown. Change is knocking at the door, and the people of the 40th Ward are DESPERATE for new leadership and a new direction. Verna's motto is "experience counts", but as Damon likes to ask: haven't the residents of the 40th Ward experienced enough?
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.
Im SOOOOOOOOO Ashamed of You Ms. Brown
It seems that ignorance just like racism is alive and well in this city. For her to make a remark like that against immigrants was just STUPID! If it wasn't for immigrants , there wouldn't be a USA. You would think that a woman would have better class than that. Like women didn't fight to have a place in this society, she makes a remark like that. Sometimes we should think before we speak!!!!
Junior Williams
juniorwililams007@earthlink.net
http://mycityscapephily.eponym.com/blog
Still...
like people like to say, even if she didn't say it, it was still inside of her.
Disgusting
The ability of immigrants or any citizen to run for office is one of the things that makes America great. People who hold this view are under the assumption that they are fighting for America when they are really destroying part of what made this country great. Good luck to you Damon. I hope your David takes down her Goliath. This is yet another example of the exclusiveness of one party machine politics.
Anne Brown and Immigrants
I just got a report back from someone who attended the entire 40th Ward meeting (and yes, it was an official Ward luncheon) and they said that Anne Brown gave a nice speech at the end of the luncheon where she again spoke out against immigrants running for office.
I understand that Brown has a reputation as a nice person, but is this acceptable behavior from a "nice woman" or anyone who is supposed to represent all of the citizens of the 40th Ward (at least her half of it)? I would love for one of these Brown supporters to ask Brown herself, there are a good deal of immigrants in the 2nd District, and the 40th Ward, and I'm sure they'd love to know what Brown thinks of them.
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.
Anne Brown
I don't know what happened at the 40th Ward event. Damon seems like a relatively honesty guy, but this is a forum where Anne Brown is unlikely to come and defend herself. The stuff about immigrants from your friend who was there, to me, is hearsay (and I know we aren't in a court of law). I also know that perception is reality. I can't criticize or defend her--I wasn't there.
I do know, however, that President Verna is a very gracious woman and would not run a campaign like that. That is my impression of her--some of you may not agree. Each time I have seen her at Council or at a fundraiser, no matter where, President Verna has shown restraint, class, patience and inteligence. It is a subjective decision whether to take the actions of a third party as anything more than that. Based on my dealings with President Verna, I am confident enough to say that she has stayed above the fray.
Related to Anne Brown. I remember the first time I met Anne Brown. I was on the Lawyer for Kerry/Edwards team and I, along with another attorney, supervised the entire 40th ward legal team. Anne Brown, who may have been in her late 60s at the time, hustled all day long to get the widest margin of victory for the "D" ticket she could, and was super accomodating to all the outside lawyers who were sitting in polling places all day and making sure things went smoothly. She was very gracious.
Honestly, I wasn't there. But, these are my impressions of the people.
I hear you...
I understand your skepticism, and I am trying to get someone from the meeting to speak out in public about it. But I do want to say that even nice people do nasty things when they feel threatened. Also, Anna Verna didn't state this, it was only (to the best of my knowledge) Anne Brown. I cannot speak to how she behaves when it is "us vs. them" (i.e. when someone isn't challenging someone she cares deeply about), but she has been nothing but acerbic towards Damon.
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.
Ann Brown
My understanding of Ann Brown's position was not thad Damon Roberts was an immigrant, but the first time he ever voted was one year ago. This criticism has been directed at numerous candidates of all parties and persuasions. There is some legitimacy to criticism that a person who does not vote is not sufficiently invested in the system. Isn't that part of the criticism of Knox, that he has no record of public service.
Entry Fee
So did you get your $25 bucks back?
I hope you got your money back.
I know I would have asked for it.
Press secretary, Knox campaign. Blogger on hiatus, former award-winning journalist.
I definitely got my money back.
But more importantly, I did not lose my dignity.
I don't believe this about Anne Brown
I've read youngphillypolitics for a long time, but until now have not been compelled to join or to blog.
I live in the Northeast, and I'm not a stakeholder in the Verna/Roberts race. However, the more I read on this blog, the angrier I get at the characterizations of a person I know -- and have known for years. I read with utter disbelief Mr. Roberts' account of his particular experience, regarding his son, at the 40th Ward. I happen to know Anne Brown from my community work. I have never met a finer or more community conscious indvidual as this lovely lady. I know her to work tirelessly and with great integrity for ALL the people of her community, regardless of race or ethnicity. I also know that she has numerous grandchildren and is particularly devoted to children's issues. It is unthinkable that she would, in any way, grab a child by the arm in such a way as characterized by Mr. Roberts. It doesn't compute.
Perhaps the stress of a losing campaign is starting to panic him. However, to defame a fine person like Anne Brown is truly a desperate tactic.
I doubt Damon would lie
I don't know Anne Brown; but I do know Damon Roberts. I believe Damon to be a person of integrity and have never known him to be a liar.
Unless we were there, none of us can speak on what Ms. Brown did or didn't do; because, frankly, we weren't there.
Call her up and ask
I think that YPP is generally open to hearing both sides of the story. But "I know this person, and she would never do that!" isn't a very convincing argument.
It's possible that Damon was misinformed as to the nature of the event (a paid-entry luncheon that is also the Ward endorsement event sounds a little odd), but I can't imagine that he would fabricate this from whole cloth.
We see here every day that good-hearted people disagree passionately over the best way to govern and improve our city. It seems to me much more likely that Ms. Brown passionately believes that Verna is the right choice for her district and is feeling a bit of stress from the first remotely credible challenge to her in years, and acted out of character in that particular moment.
Anne Brown is really
Anne Brown is really considered one of the nicest ladies in Philadelphia politics. I believe Verna is a very good personal friend and she has supported her for long time. And you do not pay to get into Ward Meetings -- that sounds like a luncheon/dinner to me.
Having said that, Philadelphia Ward Leader politics are filled with descriptions of events just like this. Ward Leaders who don't tell committeepeople where the election for ward leader will be. (I think the date is a fixed date.) Elections on moving buses. Baseball bats, fighting, armed guards, etc. It can be scary stuff. Assuming that Damon's account is accurate, which it sounds like it could be to me, that's better than I have seen from some ward leaders.
But the larger issue is just the issue Damon raises, which is that the Ward system is a publicly elected system. Committeepeople, though party officials, are elected ones nonetheless. They, in turn, elect ward leaders. So to hide its doings, when it is publicly elected, is concerning -- but commonplace.
The reason that most ward leaders jealously guard their committeepeople, is that most of the ~2,800 committeepeople do not have government jobs and can be swayed by a compelling candidate. So most ward leaders throughout the City only allow candidates they support to come in front of the ward -- if they hold meetings at all.
(I'd be willing to bet that Damon has not asked, nor will he be invited to the 36th Ward Meeting.) I think that's the stronger point.
_______________________________________________
I do not work for/support any candidate for any office in Philadelphia.
More Catty Drama
I was at an event a few weeks ago where a group of mature women tore down Anastasio signs that their advance had clearly spent much time hanging. When I politely reminded them that they should be left up until the end of the event, they made a rather catty comment that they were just "cleaning things up" and continued. A verbal conflict ensued between the Anastasio team and these women and the group they were with. The venue security ruled that ALL signs needed to come down, meaning more work for me! Being a novice in city politics, I try to be friendly to everyone, but I do get frustrated when I see what I consider to be a lack of respect by someone so "mature."
(technically, there were two events at this venue and Vern was scheduled to appear at the one held by the other group, not the one these ladies attended)
Supporting Dwight Evans - A Safer Philadelphia - Block by Block
Pictures of the Party
I was thumbing through the Philadelphia Public Record during my coffee break today and I beleive there were pictures of the Brown-Verna event in there on page 18. Enjoy!!
Supporting Dwight Evans - A Safer Philadelphia - Block by Block
I Took The Challenge - Spoke With Anne Brown
Let me qualify the following post by saying that this is all hearsay!
I took the challenge. I tracked Anne Brown down: 1) She asked Mr. Roberts to leave. 2) She NEVER touched his son in any way and told me that Damon's son is indeed "adorable" (her own words). She said, "Oh no honey, you can't put those (brochures) around in here" and asked him where his daddy was. He pointed him out and she walked over with him to Mr. Roberts and asked him to leave.
Anne's parents were immigrants, so she isn't upset that Mr. Roberts is an immigrant; however, re: Agrelou's comment, Mr. Roberts has NEVER voted in an election because he wasn't a citizen until December. There is a legitimate question that the candidate should answer: why did it take, by his own admission, 22 years to become a citizen and take part in our electoral process.
It could be that Brown meant it that way...
...and it could be that Damon is overly sensitive to claims that he does not have the right to run for office due to the fact that he only recently became an American citizen, I can't really say, since I wasn't present on either occasion. I can say that immigrants, like other minority groups that are often criticized, put down, and scapegoated, for who they are, have a right to be "overly" sensative to claims that they should not enjoy the rights that every other American is guaranteed under the law. Do you disagree? I'm not surprised that Brown went down this road in criticizing Damon, we have heard rumors of this vein of attack for months now, and I wouldn't be surprised if she took it too far given her personal connections to Verna.
Let me ask you a question though, since you bring up the question of when one has the qualifications and experience to run for office. If Damon was the child of a 25 year incumbent and the secretary of another powerful politician would you feel that he had "paid his dues" and deserved a chance to lead the 2nd District? (I cannot find a anything online, but from what I understand Verna was appointed to Council after her father, the councilperson for 25 years, died in office).
But to be clear about your argument above- it's not that Damon is an immigrant, but that he only recently became a citizen, that you are critical of? Since I know it is the latter (which is only slightly less offensive, imo), I am curious: when would you (and Lou) say it is ok for a naturalized citizen to run for office? Should they wait 2 years? 10 years? 20?
As far as your question about why it took him "22 years" to naturalize, I can only answer from my recollections of conversations I have had with Damon. First, I'm not sure if it is legal for someone to naturalize themselves before they are 18, so there go 4 of your years (actually, I'm pretty sure you cannot become a citizen for your first 5 years as a resident). Then, I doubt that Damon had really decided what he wanted to do in life, let alone whether he wanted to become a citizen, while he was in college, so there are another 4 years. I'm also pretty sure that a full course load at Harvard (where he was a Rhodes finalist) while being very active in extra curricular activities such as being the head of the Caribbean student association, doesn't leave a lot of time to think about one's future as a citizen. I can't say for certain why Damon didn't become a citizen while he attended Columbia University's school of education while teaching in Harlem and coaching a track team, or while he was attending Howard Law (where he again was extremely active in student government and other extracurricular activities). So maybe your question is why would it take him 6 years to finally become a citizen, and maybe he was still struggling with the notion of giving up his citizenship from Guyana, I don't really know.
What I do know is that Damon is extremely intelligent, highly qualified, and the hardest working person I've ever person I've ever had the pleasure of working with. If the voters feel that his status as a recently naturalized citizen takes away from his many other assets and accomplishments, then they will surely speak their minds.
But I hope Verna, Brown, and their supporters are aware that a huge portion of the population in the 2nd is less afraid of something new than they are of 4 more years of the same old thing.
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.
Do you not understand state law
I am replying to the specific portion of the inaccurate statement about 1) Council President Verna's being appointed to Council after her father, the councilperson for 25 years, died in office.
First, her father was in City Council for, I believe, seven years. He was elected to City Council in 1968 as far as I know. Perhaps you can look at the Committee of Seventy website; at one time I think they had a "spreadsheet" of City Council members dating back to the Charter Change.
Second, she was not appointed as there is no "appointment" to City Council. Before you snark back about a special election, I know all about them. However, she did not run in a special election. She ran in the primary and beat four male opponents, all of whom were as "politically connected", if not more, than she was. In fact, one of her opponents was, I think, a sitting state representative.
It's really pretty lame that since her detractors can't come up with enough challenges to her record, that they are resorting to attacking her father who has been dead for thirty years. May I suggest that you make these comments to her face? Somehow, I don't think you will.
Do you really think that the only way to be educated, and yes, most of what I've heard coming from the opposition is elitist crap, (I, too, have an Ivy League degree - what the heck, mine is an MPA from Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs - so what, that doesn't make me any better)is to go college? That's bs and you know it. And maybe some young, progressive Italian American friends might want to remind us how unlikely it was for a young Italian American woman/girl in the 1950s to attend college. Some did, but not many.
By the way, what is your claim to fame? Oh, that's right, your father is running for City Council.
DISCLAIMER: I AM AN EMPLOYEE OF THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF CITY COUNCIL.
My apologies...
for my inaccuracies about Verna's history- I tried to find info on her and her father, but as I mentioned I could not find much online. Actually, I looked a bit more this morning, and I still couldn't find much on how Verna was elected or about her father (other than what you put on Wikipedia). The only info I can find on her father online is from a speech from Bob Brady on the floor of Congress, as they debated whether to name a Post Office after the former Councilman:
So he was Councilman for only 9 years, but was an elected official for 22. (I'm not even sure what City Magistrates do in Philly- anyone?) So, if he died in 1975, that should have been one year into his third term, no? That means that either she ran in a special election, or that the charter was changed at some point during her father's term as Councilman.
Either way, if you are saying that she was not placed in his seat, then I'll have to believe you, but you still didn't answer my question (with anything other than a bit of whining about "elitists", which I suppose means, in your mind, anyone who dare question the Councilwoman's right to her seat): what had Verna done before she became Councilwoman that qualified her for the position? I said nothing about education, though I certainly think that education matters. Are you saying it doesn't? Sure, there are plenty of other ways to learn- growing up in a tough neighborhood, traveling, working, etc.- but in my opinion a solid education is key. But, since this it is "elitist" to value education, maybe you can tell me more about Verna's other accomplishments (or learning experiences) prior to becoming Councilwoman. Please don't be elitist when you do so though.
In regards to whether I would say any of this to Verna's face- I absolutely would. I always have posted under my full name, and I stand by what I say (even if that means having to admit when I am wrong). If you like I can stop by the Council Presidents office this week- just let me know a good time and I'm more than happy to.
As for my accomplishments, I think it's flattering that you think that being my father's son is a claim to fame- my dad is an amazing man, with a heart of gold, who has worked his life to improve the world in any way that he could. I hope that it becomes much more of a "claim to fame" in the near future, when he becomes Councilman.
It's also a bit funny that you would ask that question on a site that I helped create (welcome!). Do you want to see my resume? My curriculum vitae? Should we get into a "my CV is better than yours" contest? To be clear- I did not attend nor graduate from an Ivy. I spent 3 years at Temple, after graduating from Parkway Center City (I started at E&S), moved to Eugene Lang College, where I got my undergrad, and then The New School for Social Research (previously known as the New School Graduate Faculty) where I got a free masters as I worked as a Tech at Parsons (aka Project Runway- hey does the fact that I worked with Tim Gunn for 5 years mean anything? Am I almost famous?). Either way, if you want to know more about me and my accomplishments, feel free to google "Alex Urevick", since I only recently started to use Ackelsberg again (because I decided it was the name I wanted to leave to my children, when I have them). It's true, I haven't really done that much in my 29 years, what can I say, I'm just a slacker living in my father's shadow.
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.
(I'm not even sure what City
They were positions that were eliminated in Pennsylvania's last Constitutional Convention.
City magistrates
City magistrates are now Municipal Court judges.
I was in the first class at the Parkway Program
Verna got her start as a
Verna got her start as a secretary for the District Attorney. I can't remember which one, but it wasn't Specter.
To get the best information, go to Public Library and search Inquirer archives online for free, as a suggestion. The Inky is/was slanted, but it provides good biographical, real time facts.
__________________________________________________________________________
I do not work for/support any candidate for any office in Philadelphia.
Citizenship
Cry me a river over Damon's not becoming a citizen. My grandmother came here, did not speak the language, worked 60 hours a week in a garment factory, had a family, yet somehow she became a citizen as soon as she could. She became a citizen because it was important to her. Of course its ok for a naturalized citizen to run for office, but the criticism was he did not vote until a year ago. This is legitimate criticism that has been leveled against many candidates who all of a sudden want to be elected.
Its great that he did all of the things above but he did not deem it important to get one of the greatest gifts in the world, US citizenship. I deal every day with people with a lot less options than Damon Roberts, yet will do almost anything to become a citizen. Apparently Damon Roberts had other priorities rather than becoming a citizen. So be it. People do the things they think are important.
I have no idea if Damon Roberts would be a good Council person. I know that the people in Ann Verna's district seem to like her. We will know on May 15. It is unfair to insinuate that someone is anti-immigrant when they question someone's commitment to the process by not voting or becoming a citizen.
I don't have any comment on
I don't have any comment on Damon's citizenship as a campaign issue.
But I will say that what makes the entire debate bizarre to me is that Anna Verna is pretty proud of her Italian heritage. If asked, she will proudly tell you what part of Italy her family is from. She is out front every Columbus Day and is very proud of having descended from immigrants.
As is a lot of the district and the City for that matter. Philadelphia is home to more Irish-Americans than anywhere other than Boston and New York. Same is true with Italian Americans. Same is probably true with Polish Americans. German Americans, etc. The Northeast is home to a large Russian immigrant population. West Philly has a growing Indian and Jamaican population.
As of the 2nd district, it has large immigrant roots. (Irish in Southwest Philly, Italian in S. Philly).
That's why its bizarre to me that this particular issue would be a debate at all, given that both candidates are hyphenated Americans. I think this is mostly stuff that produces heat on blogs and gets very little traction either way for the average voter.
__________________________________________________________________________
I do not work for/support any candidate for any office in Philadelphia.
Bill? Sean?
Lou-
While I respect someone who has spent their life as a union organizer, your comment sounds like it should be on Hannity and Colmes or the O'Reilly Factor.
Your standard does, no matter how you couch it, set a standard that naturalized citizens should have some additional waiting period.
Philadelphia has 150,000 foreign born residents. In the 1990's, without immigration of these folks into Philly, our population loss would have been increased by an additional 50 percent.
I am not saying you are anti immigrant. But as a leader of the Democratic party and as a labor organizer, I think your statements are pretty off base. We, as a City and as Democrats should be welcoming to every single person who wants to live in Philly, encourage them to become citizens, and when they do, treat them equally. (OK, we should treat them well before they become citizens, but you get my point.)
Misunderstood
Leaving aside immigration for another day, you misunderstand my comments. Damon Roberts has a right to run as soon as he becomes a citizen. My question was why it took him so long. If it was important he would have done it .
If someone born here waited until a year before they ran for office to vote, that would be a legitimate criticism.
Who knows why it took him
Who knows why it took him longer than the minimum? Ask him.
Maybe it was painful to give up citizenship to the place he was born? That doesn't seem like a crazy thing to me.
Disagree
It does to me.
I think that pretty much
I think that pretty much ignores what is a familiar story of many immigrants- be they from Ireland, Mexico, Germany, Guyana or anywhere else.
Lou...
Can you tell me a bit about your experience leaving your "motherland" for America, and your quest to become a citizen? Did you struggle at all with renouncing your citizenship? Did you become a citizen right after the 5-year waiting period was over? What was the hardest mart of immigrating?
And to be clear, if this is Brown's argument, the criticism is that Damon took too long to become a citizen and thus should not be running for office (the nerve!).
Otherwise, your criticism of him not voting seems a bit odd. Are you saying you want to extend voting rights to non-citizen immigrants? Otherwise it might seem a bit, uh, stupid to criticize someone for not voting when they did not enjoy that right
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.
Puhleease
Read my comments. He could have become a citizen at any time. He chose not to. I see people everyday who would love to become a citizen, yet they cannot. He chose not to. I do not know why, maybe he did not plan to stay, maybe he was too busy. The fact is he did not become one until very recently when he could have. He can run for office tha day after he became a citizen. The fact is that it took him so long.
I doubt that Anna Brown said this as Anna Brown has never said a mean word about anyone in her life.Your zeal is coloring the facts.
Anne Brown is partly
Anne Brown is partly responsible for giving Damon his start in Philadelphia.
True story. Damon had just moved to Philadelphia and was looking for a job w/ the Council President. Needless to say, those are not jobs you ask about and get a couple of days later.
Damon stopped by daily asking to meet someone. Anne Brown took pity on him (she worked out front in Verna's office at the time) and referred him to a City Councilmember she knew that was into helping young people -- Blondell Reynolds Brown.
Blondell met with him, and asked the Law Department to consider hiring him -- which they did.
Its a small world and you never know how things will work out.
May not have any impact on this story, but it is interesting anecdote about Philadelphia politics.
__________________________________________________________________________
I do not work for/support any candidate for any office in Philadelphia.
It's A Question of Commitment
Dan,
Unfortunately I can't see your apologist logic at all! You're comparing immigrants who come to this country with a real commitment to become citizens of the United States and partake in all the greatness this country has to offer with a person who only cared enough to become a citizen when he thought it would benefit him politically (and financially). I love it when you say it "...might be painful (for him) to give up citizenship to the place he was born." As the child of an immigrant parent, I am very mindful of the contributions immigrants made, and are still making, to our country. However, we are talking here about a person who has no demonstrated desire to become a US citizen and exercise his right to take part in our political process. And then for you to criticize a person like Council President Verna, who has fought for ALL the people of her district virtually every day of her life, and characterize her as someone who was handed a seat on Council is downright shameful. Council President Verna's character, commitment and ethics have NEVER been challenged in all the years she has spent in public life. The only thing it appears Damon Roberts has ever done since coming to Philadelphia is attempt to get a job with Verna and then get two patronage jobs without even caring enough to cast a vote. Let's get real here! Kudos to phillykatie and to Agrelou for making excellent points in their arguments.
I do like Damon, for a
I do like Damon, for a number of reasons. However, I haven't said a single thing about Anna Verna. (She seems like a good person.)
Second of all, seriously, you don't know Damon, so, how do you know what kind of commitment he has made? I have only met him twice, but, he seems pretty grounded in making the lives of all Philadelphians better with proactive leadership.
And, anecdotally, in his previous job, Damon was generally known to public interest lawyers as a humane person to deal with in an organization that has some serious problems.
Anyway, it is not apologist- it is the reality for many immigrants, and we all know it.
Philadelphia is a City where the only growing demographic are immigrants. The last thing we need to do is create some sort of second class, and I promise you that message is really not one to spread on YPP as a way to garner support for Verna.
Damon
1. You are right I do not know Damon. The fact that people did not know someone did not stop them from attacking Anna Brown.
2. you want to make this an anti-immigrant debate, when it is not. I would feel the same way if Damon moved from Narberth to run for office without voting in Phila. except in the last year. That is why I did not vote for Weinberg.
3. I did not know that there was an ideological test to what can be said "to garner" YPP support.
4. I do not know Ms. Verna except to say hello.
5. I did not know that someone was above criticism because they did not vote.
I do as much as anyone to get people legal. I am going to a friends(carpeneter from the islands) house today to do his paperwork to make him legal. He did not have the opportunity to get citizenship until recently. When he did he applied almost immediately. We need more legal immigrants in this City. My only issue is when Damon Roberts could have applied for citizenship status and become part of the process why he did not until he decided to run. I am sure he is an asset to this country and his district, but this has an air of opportunism.
Opportunistic, as opposed to which other candidate?
What are you saying when you call Damon "opportunistic?"
That he isn't interested in providing good services to the City and his district? That he doesn't really care about representing all of the citizens in that district fairly?
That he isn't qualified? That you have a problem with the policies he advocates?
Do you actually have any valid evidence of any of those things?
Or, does opportunistic mean that he isn't part of an entrenched system, or that he hasn't come to entrenched Party officials to ensure them that he's sufficiently loyal in order to get their support?
Where does Verna live?
1 - I did not attack Brown except to point to this anti-immigrant sentiment. You claimed it had nothing to do with immigration, but as we can now see you are in fact attacking him for being an immigrant (as is Brown, from what I read into the statement of the person who called her) as you think that there should either be a waiting period before a recently naturalized citizen to run for office, or a window of time in which it is acceptable for someone to naturalize if they want to run for office.
2- If you want to make this about where people live, or where they lived, then what do you think about Verna holding the Ward Leader position in a Ward that she doesn't live in (she is the leader of the 36th Ward, which happens to be one of the poorest and most violent wards, and yet she has stated that her residence is in the 26th, which is one of the more wealthy- her home was valued at over $1 million by the city)? Do you feel that you should be a resident of the area you represent?
5. I did not know that immigrants, who aren't citizens, could vote. Oh, they can't? Then you are criticizing him for the way in which he became an immigrant. That might be fair (I really don't think so, but who knows), but don't you think it would be fair then to lay out the rules and standards that you are setting for when immigrants should have the right to run for office?
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.
You wish it were worth a million
First, my kudos to you and my apologies for not paying homage to your creation of this site.
No, I don't think anyone is "entitled" to anything, they've got to earn it and Anna Verna has earned it. I'm not going to engage in a lengthy discourse on the value of education or be elitist about it. Suffice it to say that I believe, and you of course, are entitled to your own opinion, that Anna Verna is extraordinarily smart. She was a legal secretary (one of the tops I'm told by lawyers who worked with her, and I'm sure you know that legal secretaries are the ones who run the law firms) and knows more about law than most lawyers I know. Moreover, her career in public service is what you can debate, not what her job was or was not more than thirty years ago.
As for the alleged value of her home. This is the second time I have heard this comment about her home being valued at a million dollars; the first time I heard it right out of the candidate's mouth.
Check the BRT website a little more closely, since I assume this is where you are getting your value information. If you check several addresses in the same "block" you will find values of a little more than $325K for condominiums. She is renting 3106, she doesn't own it and 3106, if you can extract a little, is most likely the value of the entire 3/4 story building. Moreover, she lived on South Broad Street until January of this year. I'm sorry if some people have a problem that she moved in order to accomodate her husband's physical needs.
She's actually very easy to see; she's in City Council budget hearings, all day every day.
Dan is right
Dan is right on this....he never sad anything negative about President Verna.