Philadelphia Shocker: Councilman Bill Green Sent Down to Minors
In an unprecedented development that has shocked the entire Philadelphia political establishment, freshman City Council at Large member Bill Green has been sent down to the minors.
Green will serve on the Allentown City Council at least for the month of September. If all goes well for him there, Green is expected to return to the “show,” the Philadelphia City Council, no earlier than the beginning of October but probably towards the end of that month.
While this is an unusual move, Philadelphia politicos quickly understood the logic of it. “Like a lot of rookies, Green suffers from a problem with both his confidence and his mechanics,” one long time observer of Philadelphia politics pointed out.
“Green was born on third base, but thought he had hit a triple when he was elected to Council. He walked into Council Chambers like he owned the place, thinking he was smarter than anyone else,” one member of his own team pointed out. “He’s found out, however, that hitting big league pitching is a lot harder than it looks, especially when Frank DiCicco or Jim Kenney are on the mound”.
The unusual move only seems surprising, a city hall veteran points out “because Green has made a lot of noise and some in the public thought he was doing well. But all along, he was alienating people in and outside of Council. His professional reputation is in tatters and he has accomplished very little.”
“It’s not that his colleagues are upset at his seeking publicity,” said a staff member for another Councilman. “That goes with the territory. As a member of Council, Michael Nutter played to the reporters all the time. But he didn’t just shoot from the hip. Nutter focused on a few issues, became the acknowledged expert on them, built alliances, and made progress. Green just opens his mouth whenever he has—or steals—an idea. He doesn’t do his homework, and doesn’t care about building alliances. And he takes credit for all kinds of things he hasn’t done.”
Indeed one alienated former member of his staff says that, “If the casinos are ever moved, don’t be surprised if Bill takes credit for it, even though he has been on all sides of the casino issue since his started running for council.”
“It’s not just that he is obnoxious and conceited,” said another Council staff member. “Wilson Goode can be a pain in the ass, too. But Goode has slowly developed his own niche on council, with his expertise on economic development matters. And while Goode gives witnesses at council hearings and representatives of interest groups a hard time, he is respectful to his fellow council members and he knows how to build a consensus. Green doesn't do his homework.”
Green also has problems with the mechanics of politics. “He needs to learn that ward leaders matter between elections, too. John Sabatina may not be the kingmaker he thinks he is, but he certainly did enough for Bill to deserve to have his phone calls returned,” When he hears those complaints, though, Green has been heard to say “I paid that sleazebag so much money I shouldn’t have to talk to him, too.” And Green’s attitude toward constituent service has his supporters concerned as well. “It’s not good enough for Bill to say to his staff that ‘dealing with shit like that is Greenlee’s role in life, not mine.’” “Like a lot of novices, Bill thinks the same tactic will work every time. Whenever we tell Bill he is alienating citizens he just says, ‘we can buy a few more full page ads in papers and all will be well.’”
Despite his problems, most Council observers think that Green’s foibles wouldn’t have led to his demotion if not for the political troubles of his manager, IBEW Local 98 President John Dougherty. “With his Mayoral ambitions in tatters after his defeat in his race for State Senate—and after Tom Knox’s loss in the Mayoral race—Green became more important to Doc. Doc will only gain real power if Green is elected Mayor in 2015. So Doc couldn’t afford Green flaming out in his first year in Philly politics.”
Indeed, according to people in Dougherty’s camp, the path to this decision started when Dougherty sent an 11 pm email message to his political director, Bobby Henon complaining about Green. Henon was got the message of 4 am—long years of holding it while Dougherty speechifies has damaged Henon’s bladder and he rarely sleeps through the night. Henon immediately came up with the idea of sending Green to the minors to work on both his confidence and mechanical problems and called an early morning meeting with Green’s father, the former Mayor. Mayor Green initially did not want hear of the move. “Billy’s never stayed in a job for more than 18 months. I’m afraid that if we do this to him, he will just quit” the former Mayor said. But Henon and Dougherty convinced Mayor Green that something drastic had to be done.
Telling the Councilman was not easy either. “Billy was really resistant” one of his father’s aides reported. Dougherty, Henon and his father kept on him for hours. “He said kept saying no, no no. It took three beers before he even began to consider the idea and three more before he finally came around.”
“We just kept telling Billy that he would be back soon and that he needed to do this if he was to be a success in politics. Finally, he broke down a little and said, ‘OK Pop, if you say I have to go to Allentown, I will.’”
A legal snag almost held up the decision. “At the last moment we wondered whether you actually have to be a resident of Allentown to serve on their City Council, if only for a month or two.” his father’s aide said. “But after someone pointed out that the residency problem didn’t hurt when Bill was elected in Philadelphia, we all relaxed and figured we could work that out, too.”
Caricature
1. a picture, description, etc., ludicrously exaggerating the peculiarities or defects of persons or things.
2. the art or process of producing such pictures, descriptions, etc.
3. any imitation or copy so distorted or inferior as to be ludicrous.
I have to admit I laughed when I read the post. I am confident my staff will tell me tomorrow that I should have ignored this post but I do admit I can't help myself ;-)
Here are a few assessments from Philly.com by writers identifying themselves.
http://www.savethis.clickability.com/st/saveThisApp?clickMap=stViewThis&...
http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etM...
http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etM...
Perhaps my highschool year book quote will help you understand where it is I am coming from.
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?”
Hillel about 3000 bc
See you in City Hall.
Bill
This thread
reminds me a little bit of maybe a mix of reading the graffiti in the bathroom in City Council, mixed with overhearing someone else's a little too personal drunk dialing on a cell phone outside a bar and regretting it.
Can't members of City Council just taunt and call each other names in person offline while they are at work? The first post took so long to write but in the end amounts to basically "nanny nanny boo boo".
I guess I preferred still being naive enough to expect better from councilmen (or their aides) - even while council is on summer break.
-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.
When Iron Pigs Fly!
This is absolutely @#!$"!! hilarious! Poor Bob Henon's bladder!
Coupla things...
1. Bill...if it's any consolation, all Allentown council seats are at large. So if you were sent down, you could crusade about anything you want - no manic council privilege to deal with!
2. Insofar as the casinos go, I think Maria Quinones Sanchez is going to do the moving. Probably with her bare hands.
3. Sean...I'm sorry, but doesn't anonymous city/PA staffer incendiary bomb-throwing account for approximately half of the writing on Phillyblog? It's your bread and butter!
4. Okay. Let's get our analogies straight. If Bill Green is Brett Myers, then does that make Marian Tasco Cole Hamels?
Hannah
Ha ha
Less now that Tony Payton won the primary (thanks for all the wonderful though somewhat outdated reading material Danny Savage) and the mayoral/city council races are long over. Now its a lot of barely disguised race-baiting against Barack Obama unfortunately.
-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.
Sometimes, it's hard to
Sometimes, it's hard to imagine Ben Franklin sitting in City Council chambers. He, David Cohen and Thatcher Longstrenth probably had some great debates back in the day.
Seriously, though.... Ben Franklin was a Philadelphia City Councilman. It's one of the reasons why I happen to think that Philadelphia City Council can be one of the greatest legislative bodies in the world. But it is difficult to remember this when you read posts like this one against Councilman Green.
The criticism of Bill Green here is not only uninformed, but also petty and embarrassingly transparent. And while I, like so many of us with passion for Philadelphia's future and a keyboard, have traveled down that not-so-pleasant rhetorical road in the past, I think certain things deserve to be defended. In this case Bill Green's work in Council has been beyond what any supporter imagined it would be. In fact, Green's fortitude in making moves that annoy some of his colleagues and enjoy the support of most residents even got notice from our very own YPP'er Ray Murphy.
Maybe some of what Bill does is indeed seen as audacious or too urgent. But so what? This is a new day, as Mayor Nutter declared. And we only have to look at the Democratic Nominee for the Presidency of the United States to understand the importance of audacious hope and the urgent need to change things in government.
One of the most powerful arguments Barak Obama made for his nomination was that he was not interested in perfecting the "game" that is politics as usual. Instead, he wanted to abandon the "game" and start fresh. Begin again. And he asked voters to reject one candidate who took pride in mastering the game and instead vote for someone who wants to end the game all together. Of all of his lofty rhetoric I've heard before or since, this was, in my opinion, his greatest and most powerful argument in support of his nomination.
Locally, the "game" has been played in Council for decades. The game exists. Some are great at playing it. Some very accomplished and gifted members of council play it well. But apparently, there are some who rather not play all the time. Bill Green happens to be one who rather not.
From my perspective, sometimes we often confuse politics with government (I know I've done it myself at times). All too often, some folks forget that it is policy, not politics, that voters expect elected representatives to spend most of their time on. Of course there is a need to practice the art of politics in order to advance policy and build consensus. But the above attack is just the latest example of far too much public display of "inside baseball". Ultimately, it demeans a legislative body that more than a few of us happen to hold in the highest regard.
I have no idea if any of the strange allegations and innuendos in the above post are true. And frankly, I don't think anyone really cares.
But I do know this:
A vast majority of the voters of this city think it is good policy to help victims of abuse serve Protection Orders. A majority thinks it is good policy to deny elected officials the perks of the DROP program. Many directly impacted voters think tax abatements for casinos add insult to injury. Many of us were pleased that Councilman Green helped broker a deal to save Wireless Philadelphia. Many of us think while it is always best to build bridges when necessary, "councilmanic privilege" is a load of crap. We like his idea of a paperless government (someday). And some of us even think it's a good idea to question the logic behind the ban on politically engaged people serving on unpaid boards.
This is good policy. And it does not lessen the importance or the impact that other members of council have had in improving our quality of life. Off the top of my head, I can think of several recent initiates and bills presented by councilmembers Goode, Rizzo, Kenney, DiCicco and Brown that directly improve the lives of all of us.
Isn't it great to add Bill Green to that list?
If you don't think so, then say so. Attack Green's vision or his policy initiatives. That is what makes good public debate. Like I said, I'm guilty of letting this stuff get the better of me too in the past. I'm not saying anyone is above this stuff because hey, we're all human. But it's always better to challenge a public servant based on their positions and policies. Not snarky comments about relationships with ward leaders or political directors.
I'm proud of Bill Green. And I'm pleased with the path he is taking. My guess is so are most Philadelphians.