So Dwight Evans came to my church today. It is the second time I have heard him speak. The first was at a candidate's forum and I was less than impressed, as I felt he was pandering to the pols in the room and not answering questions. Until today, I was leaning heavily Nutter. (True to form, dithering between the two guys last in the polls).
Today, Evans really blew me away. The guy had good solid answers for all the questions. Not firm policy promises, but a sense of vision; and a sense of knowing how to lead; that I have not heard from the other candidates. What especially rang true was his assertion that his experience at the state level would make H'burg-Philly relations much easier with him in charge.
He had tales to tell of process in the W. Oak Lane and Ogontz rebuilding; I was impressed by his retelling of how things had gotten done. He was gracious and modest in pointing out that he by no means was taking full credit for any good that has gone on there; but he did take credit for setting the tone and setting the standards and goals, and I suppose one has to give him that.
So here is my question for you all: What is wrong with the dude? What am I missing? Why is he not the front runner? He is as wonky as Nutter; he has firmer local roots in the kind of action we are looking for than Fattah or Brady; so I must be missing something. I need someone to tell me why I should not throw all my weight and energy behind trying to get this good man elected.
I should say that I do not work for any campaign, nor have I contributed to any campaign yet. I live in Mt. Airy and work in W. Philly. My kids go to private schools. I think that covers it. :)
Politicaldoc
I found him
I found him condescending.
And I want him to stay in Harrisburg.
Same Boat
I was in the same situation: trying to decide between Evans and Nutter, both of whom I'd be thrilled to have as Mayor. Ultimately and after listening to both in person at different events, I decided on Evans. To me, he has the best fundamental understanding of the social climate as it relates to crime, he has the best track record with demanding financial and academic accountability for schools, and if anyone goes into the Ogontz region of NW Philly, it's obvious that his coalition building and economic revitalization projects have completely turned that neighborhood around. Nutter did hit me as the best candidate in terms of job growth and economic development, so this isn't a knock on him at all. But everyone has their own issue priorities this year, and Evans seemed to be best in line with what I'd like to see as a voter and tax payer.
I can see why you might find him condescending. I think he has so much experience and success to point to, that he may have difficulty conveying that without coming off slightly arrogant.
Reservations about Dwight Evans
I admire much of what Dwight Evans has done-–especially, the revitalization of the Ogontz neighborhood. It demonstrates what can be done when significant resources are poured into a relatively small area. I do have concerns about the extent to which this can be replicated city wide.
My main reservation with Evans is his cooperation with Republicans in the state takeover of city agencies—the parking authority, the school district. (I realize for some folks this is a plus.)
Supporting Michael Nutter for Mayor
So you write off a candidate
So you write off a candidate because he worked with republicans, who happened to be the majority party?
Sounds a little short sighted.
opposed to working with Republicans to take over city institutio
I am not opposed to our state legislators working with Republicans—I am opposed to working with Republicans to take over city institutions.
Supporting Michael Nutter for Mayor
So would it be better if he
So would it be better if he worked with democrats to have the state take over city institutions? Are you saying if the dems were in control of the state at that time, you would have no problem if exactly the same result happened?
Dwight Evans
Working with the opposition is many times a reality of governance. I personally like Dwight, but my problem is he does not put up a big enough fight before he cuts the deal. I he put a bigger fight he could get a better deal.
Further the Dems would never have given up the Parking Authority without ensuring that the City schools really got their money
How can you be sure of
How can you be sure of that?
Now that the dems are in power, is the PPA going to pay up?
PPA
The problem became that the Republicans loaded up the PPA apyroll to helb build their party. That is where all the $ went, instead of the schools.
What ever the problem is,
What ever the problem is, are the Dems going to fix it?
Remember, it is state controlled, not republican controlled.
Evans
I think Evans would make a decent Mayor. He definitely has a record of accomplishments that he can point to.
My concerns are similar to Karen. That in Harrisburg, he continually lessened the power of the City to govern itself, with some pretty harmful consequences. So, he led the fight to override the City's predatory lending law, for example. His partnership with John Perzel was not something I see as particularly helpful, but instead very problematic.
That said- he does have real accomplishments to point to, especially with the economic development and job creation in Ogontz. The Campaign for Working Families is another Evans thing; as is much of the State's supermarket initiative, that is both getting people decent food and creating jobs. And, for me, there is something to be said that his "political camp" is filled with people I think are doing really important things for the City.
Your point I can agree with,
Your point I can agree with, that he had a hand in STATE take over of city services.
Karen's point of letting REPUBLICANS take over city services shows more concern about the political aspect over the actual result. It deflects the actual issue.
Really?
I don't want control over the city from the Republican side of the aisle... this is a progressive blog!
It has nothing to do with
It has nothing to do with progressive.
It has to do with the state running portions of our city. I don't want Dems or Repubs from Harrisburg running our City.
Heck, look what 50 years of Dems running Philly has done. What makes you think Dems in Harrisburg would do better? ;)
And political control changes. It was republican Harrisburg, now it is Democrat. If it would have been Democrat when Evans initially worked the deal and then the government switched republican, what ultimate difference would it make?
People really need to worry less about the party and more about the people and the results. Like I said, it isn't like the Dem party is winning any awards in our neck of the woods.
The point again, is having people we didn't vote for directly controlling aspects of our City. I don't care if it is a Dem state senator from Pittsburgh or a Repub state rep from Montgomery County. We shouldn't have any state control of our services, no matter the party.
It just gets tiring seeing the party blinders, from both sides of the aisle.
State control of services
"We shouldn't have any state control of our services, no matter the party."
Well that's crazy. There are services that are best provided locally, and there are services best provided federally, and some best provided at the state level. To make a blanket statement that there should be no services at all in Philly provided by the state: Then why should they help us with anything at all?
We need the state, let's face it. We have not had a great track record of success with many services. If there are smarter people at the state level (and sometimes there are) then they should be allowed to contribute, even at the expense of local control.
Political Doc
We were discussing the PPA
We were discussing the PPA and the school district - "our" services.
The Problem Is
The problem with these assertions is that it ignores one fundamental precept, these agencies or organizations do not exist as a matter of right. Their mere existence is due to state legislation that creates them. For instance, the school district and parking authority, in addition to the housing authority and redevelopment authority of creatures of state legislation. Perhaps it isn't that they were taken over, but that control was asserted over them because they were not performing.
Now, we all know there are political motivations behind this, i.e. John Perzel wanting a patronage machine. But, we cannot ignore the simple fact that these authorities and organizations exist because of the state. Further, to the extent they are not an explicit creation of state law, they are likely the result of the Commonwealth's grant of home rule status.
That being said, again, we cannot forget the politics that are involved here. Is the school district better in the state's hands? I do not think we will ever know. I don't believe it is. Does the parking authority make its promised contribution to the school district of $25,000,000.00 a year? It does not.
Essentially, I do not want the Commonwealth coming in here and taking control, but it has the right to do so. Perhaps this is an even better reason to clean things up and make them work--so we do not lose anything else.
Sure, the City government is
Sure, the City government is itself a creation of State law. So, no one is saying what they did was illegal, just that from the perspective of someone who wants to Govern from City Hall, he has weakened that office, and generally Philly's power to self-govern.
Evans is a state legislator
Evans is a state legislator who likely believes he did the right thing in these instances. At least, and most unlike the rest of our crappy state delegation, he took steps to fix problems that he believed were incurable on the local level. I mean, seriously, when the State took over the schools, it was AFTER Rendell neglected them for 8 years. Further, the finances of the Parking Authority were a mess. And, though it does not fulfill its promises very well, it is making money (and cabs are cleaner too).
We can all disagree about what he did, but if anyone remembers 1999, after years of neglect from Rendell what the schools looked like and the bitterness of local politics after Steet-Katz I, I do not think we can blame him entirely.
Good and true political leadership is something we have been lacking in this town for a long while. Hopefully, this year's mayoral election will change that. Soon--the state will come in and run our city if we do not get the budget together.
He is from Philly, and is
He is from Philly, and is taking away Philly's right to govern.
First, lets not pretend the PPA takeover had anything to do with anything except the GOP wanting patronage. They admitted it as they were doing it. (And ask Cab drivers what they think about Perzel's friends and the GPS.)
Second, it is not just about the Parking Authority... For example, in 2001, the City passed a very good predatory lending law. Evans killed it with a State law that preempted it, and did virtually nothing to protect homeowners in PA that didn't already exist. We had a good bill, that passes Council without a single no, and he killed it, at the same time he was getting contributions from the financial services industry. That is a big deal to me.
As to the predatory lending,
As to the predatory lending, I understand why that is a big deal.
But, as to the others, you ignore the lack of leadership we have had. The state picked off vulnerable areas to take over. Why were they vulnerable? In my estimation, years of neglect is a big factor.
And, he is from Philly. As far as I have seen, that does not get you much in the state capital.
As for patronage, I clearly said that was a motivation. But again, why are these institutions so vulnerable to take over. Most Philadelphians don't care who controls what or when. They just want services. Services they aren't getting.
I am not going to argue that
I am not going to argue that the PPA had good leadership, cause 1)I don't know, and 2) I doubt it did. But does it now? No, same crap. The reason they are vulnerable to takeover, I think, is because of one reason: there was a GOP majority in the house. It could have been well run, it could have been terribly run; I don't think it really mattered.
But, it still is a big deal. Because when we think about changing the structure of the parking system, for example, to make it more expensive for commuters and less expensive for shoppers, how likely is the PPA to listen?
As far as Evans, he had and has quite a bit of power. But, again, if you are from Philly, what are you doing taking away the City's rights?
Just in the last few years, the City has lost power to regulate:
Schools
Parking
Zoning (think the billboard law)
Lending
(And maybe, if the Fattah suit goes through, campaign finance)
Evans did not lead all of these; but, he had a hand in most.
Let’s not also forget that
Let’s not also forget that his biggest contributors are two of the biggest Chart School companies in the country, and Evans is known for being the guy to push Charter Schools. Now I’m not against Charter Schools on GP, like most people, but it doesn’t look like they are doing any better than public schools.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young. ~ Mary Schmich
Killing the predatory lending law
So this is helpful. I appreciate the history lesson, sincerely. What is his response when this case is brought up now? What is his defense of having killed this measure?
Political Doc
Recent History Post
Maybe this would be a good recent history thing to write about.
Basically, in 2001, the City passed a great law, led by Marian Tasco. (I am 100 percent biased, since I have done a lot of work on predatory lending and foreclosures, and my dad basically wrote the law, so, take that for what you will. Its like the family business or something.)
Very soon after the City bill passed, Fumo in the Senate, and Evans in the House led the fight to kill the bill with what is known as Act 55. Evans still gives a justification that in killing the law, he was adding in protections for PA consumers that did not exist before. This is a 100 percent bogus justification. Why? Because the law only really formalized protections that already existed in federal law (a law known as HOEPA).
The way it works is that the feds set a floor, and then States can add protections to that. All Evans did was kill the Philly bill, and formalize almost identical protections from the federal bill. So, Philly homeowners, who had a great set of protections about to go into effect, all of a sudden were sent back to square one.
That isn't all the bill did either. It also said that Philly could not even take its own money out of banks that were doing predatory lending.
It was 100 percent terrible. So, when I look at the parts of his record that concern me, it is probably #1 for him.
For the SDP
... it was a lose/lose for Harrisburg. Either they took control of the District to try to make immediate and massive reform at the cost of weakening the City Government's integrity or they allowed the situation to persist without action and took blame down the road for not doing enough to help. Either way, they would have been wrong. Evans made the best decision for the students of this City at the time. (this is not to say that the takeover has worked well or should remain when it comes up for re-authorization)
That being said, if we hope to retain control of the District once the SRC's charter is up, the next Mayor needs to be able to convince the legislature that he is poised to effectively manage that transfer and financial/academic reconstruction. Whether you like him or not, Evans would give that effort a great deal of legitimacy.
What has commercial corridor improvement meant?
While I second Dan's comments. I'd also ask that we investigate what the apparent improvement in West Oaklane means to the city. As much as Ogontz Ave, looks better, I guess there are two questions that remain:
1.) How many net jobs were created and at what cost
and
2.) What has the commercial corridor improvement meant to the city budget.
If commercial corridor improvement means an extra small insurance firm or retail store, that won't really improve the city's or individual neighborhood resources. I not against improving our commercial corridors, I'm just that I think really critical questions need to be ask about whether sprucing things up will lead to substantial new city revenue in the absence of changing the product and service mix that will reside in those commercial corridors. One of the critical reasons why we need more transparency in our city government is so we can figure out what the impact of policies are and better evaluate them.
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Supporting Michael Nutter for Mayor.
Yeah, I’ve lived in
Yeah, I’ve lived in Northwest Philly all my life. If someone can explain to me what the heck they are talking about when they talk about the “Revitalization of Ogontz Ave”, I’d be all ears. I mean, I haven’t personally met anybody who lives in or near Oak Lane who says that there has been significant improvement because of Evans.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young. ~ Mary Schmich
Well, I won't go that far.
Well, I won't go that far. The difference between driving down Ogontz when I was going to Central HS and now is pretty substantial. There are a handful of more businesses, there are banners, the street is cleaner, etc. The difference between Ogontz and let's say Broad right above the Blvd are night and day. Ogontz also has way fewer vacant buildings. On the otherhand, the neighborhood in West Oaklane has a working middle class that Logan doesn't have.
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Supporting Michael Nutter for Mayor.
One more thing
There is no other candidate I'd rather sit around b.s.'ing with than Dwight. I've been lucky enough to do a little of that in my life already, and he's a great, great guy to talk to.
I believe everything you wrote in your post and it all adds up to the reasons why I struggled with choosing Fattah over Evans. He really is great, smart, strategic, all that.
Of the problems in his record listed above, I only see one missing: he also helped to kill the Winter Moratorium, whereby poor folks could not have their heat shut off in the Winter. The law is especially severe here in Philadelphia. You can say that people should pay their gas bills, and they should. They also should turn the thermostats down. That's all true. But we shouldn't kill them if they can't and we shouldn't make children and the elderly suffer. No exagerration, but we are doing all of the above with our draconian utility laws.
So, anyway, Rep. Evans has been a part of several deals whose justifications I've heard and haven't bought. Reasonable people can disagree and I still admire the hell out of the guy, but I just can't quite bring myself to get behind him this time.
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BradyDale OnLine
The R.I.I.C. Blog
I agree
Having also lived in The Northwest ( Germantown, Summerville) all my life i have to agree with both. Ogontz ave. is alot better than logan but he brags like its a block in Montgomery County. Evans is cool but he is better fit as a State Legislator maybe even Governor after Rendell, but Mayor...No
Dwight Evans Is A Good Man!
I believe that Dwight Evans is a very good candidate and I would've supported him except that I had already committed to Bob Brady for Mayor. Like Bob Brady, Dwight Evans understands the political "facts of life". I believe he would be a good mayor.
I also believe that Michael Nutter is a good man.
I do have problems with Tom Knox and his preying on the people who could least afford 400% pay day loans. This was when he headed up the Crusader Bank.
I also have problems with Chaka Davenport. His initial false claims as to his education where he claimed to have graduated from High School and Junior College (he did not). His literature has now been adjusted to just having attended those fine institutions. I'm not upset that he didn't graduate, it's just his lying about it. Chaka has missed twice as many votes as all the other Philadelphia area congressmen. He also missed a Mass Transit vote. His support of a law taxing folks who want to come into Center City, just leaves me flat. I think the last thing we need is to drive good folks out of Center Ciy