So recently I had the opportunity to sit down with Joe Vignola and a couple of other progressives over a cup of coffee. I had never met the guy before and I am a recent enough resident of Philadelphia to mostly know him in his former capacity as the head of PICA.

Of course I know that Joe was swept onto City Council with Rendell on Rendell's first win as mayor - back in the days of symbolically cleaning the toilet in City Hall. Back when they inherited a city many didn't believe had a viable economic future, a city with an operating budget $250 million dollars in the hole, with a bond rating in the toilet and host of infrastructure problems. Somewhere in the back of my head there was some vague stuff about City Controller and an unsuccesful long shot race for Senate against the vast Heinz personal fortune.