The Committee of Seventy, hot off of the success of its co-sponsorship of The Next Mayor project, has turned its attention to updating the city charter, arguing (as Sylvester Johnson also recently said) that the police commissioner should have more power to appoint his subordinates and to recruit police officers who don't currently live in the city. My reaction to this was similar to Dan's:

This is a little strange. I understand they are a good government group, so getting their opinion on taking away civil service jobs and moving them to appointments makes sense. But, doesn't it seem strange that instead of being asked about whether they would support a move, they are actually proposing policing policy changes?... (I)t seems more like the Committee of Seventy is either greatly expanding its mission, or that someone asked them to issue this call for change, so as to use their goodwill in the media, etc.

On Sunday, Zack Stalberg appeared on Live at Issue. He said that with the change in office, the Committee of Seventy was likely to shift its attention away from ethics violations (the main issue during the Street Administration) and towards "good government," i.e., efficiency, the quality of city services, etc. The proposed changes to the city charter, then, would fall under how the Committee is now interpreting its mandate.

But even if it's a broadening of focus rather than a wholesale change, I find this troubling -- especially insofar as it seems part of a narrative that with Street out and Nutter in, the city's ethical problems are over and we can move on to other issues. The presumption that a change of the top office holder somehow changes both the prevailing dynamics and universal potential for corruption is woefully short-sighted. [Read on after the jump.]

I don't like the low conviction rate of the DA's office, nor do I like that Philadelphia's DA is also known as "America's deadliest DA" for the frequency with which she seeks the death penalty, and I really wish the DA's office would get more aggressive about going after illegal arms dealers, but...

...you have to agree that a standing rib roast is a great holiday treat.

Get Abraham's recipe in this Inky article. Here's how she describes it:

Abraham's standing order varies from four ribs, or about 10½ pounds, to two 5-rib roasts. Her dinner party, which is held between Christmas and New Year's Day, customarily has 10 diners, but some years she has a few more guests at the table.

Abraham doesn't believe in appetizers because they take the edge off appetites. Instead, she starts her meal with a first course of a very French sole mousse with tomato-cream sauce. She serves it with crisp white wine.

She says the dish is somewhat of "a pain to make, but I fell in love with it." She credits the recipe to Craig Claiborne, the late food critic, chef and writer, with Pierre Franey, published in a 1989 New York Times article headlined "How to Cook the Perfect Meal."

Happy hoildays!

I was, and still am pissed off that in one week, Mike Nutter decided to get rid of Seth Williams and then to write a (factually wrong, oddly written) op-ed that came out swinging for Bob Brady, without actually telling us what these so-called party reforms are.

That said...

My disappointment aside, I do think the appointments that Nutter made- of three US Attorneys to work within the City Government, are a good thing and represent that we have started to make some progress as to what we expect as a City. To take three US Attorneys who specifically prosecuted corruption, and to bring them inside City Hall is a big deal. The office, which Seth turned into something real, as well as feared and respected, is going to have even more prominence under Nutter. John Street, in a great move, appointed Seth to that office. It was a contrast to a Mayor, who, while not personally corrupt, did nothing to stop a culture around him that led to indictments and convictions within his administration. I am confident that type of thing wont happen in our new administration.

It is a good sign that people from the US Attorneys office- corruption prosecution is not an easy gig to get- are willing to dive into City Hall. Additionally, as they continue to work, they will hopefully identify for us just how much corruption actually exists in the City, and give the average citizen the idea that City government is working for all of us.

Despite a bad decision by Nutter, Seth has done like Ron Burgundy advises, and stays classy:

As Mayor-Elect, it is Michael Nutter’s prerogative to make mayoral appointments of his own choosing, and I applaud his selection of Amy Kurland to serve as Philadelphia’s next Inspector General.

I want to first thank Mayor John F. Street for allowing me the opportunity to serve the city I love as Inspector General for the past two years. It has been a position of great challenge and great rewards, and I will always cherish the time I spent here in the service of my fellow Philadelphians.

I also gratefully thank the hard working men and women of the Office of the Inspector General, whose tireless dedication and commitment to the citizens of Philadelphia too often goes ignored. I am honored to have worked with public servants of such outstanding caliber.

When I received this appointment in November 2005, I decided that my tenure would be short. I also knew that few Philadelphians had ever heard of the Inspector General’s Office. With the full support of the Mayor’s Office, we embarked on a citywide campaign to get residents involved in the administration’s anti-corruption endeavors. I deputized private citizens in every corner of our beloved City. Now, the public is a full partner in our efforts to investigate and prevent corruption, fraud and waste. Together, we have begun to reverse Philadelphia’s “corrupt and contented” image, restoring the public’s confidence in city government. The public now knows this office exists. Due to our visible, vocal and aggressive work many cases of misconduct have been prosecuted and hopefully countless more prevented.

I pledge my full support to Mayor-Elect Nutter and will do all that I can to ensure a smooth transition with Inspector General Kurland. I am confident the new Inspector General will continue the progress that our office has made in the past two years, and will expand our vision for a corruption-free city government, and achieve even greater success.

I have more challenges and opportunities to explore, and I look forward to serving my fellow Philadelphians again in the near future.

Raise your hand if two years ago you knew that Philadelphia had an Inspector General. Yeah, me neither. The reality is that it was a toothless office, that only made the news when it turned out the IG himself was violating City law. Now, raise your hands if you know we have an Inspector General today? I mean, it was a centerpiece in mayoral TV commercials last year, we see that Seth Williams dude in the news going after corruption, something must have changed, right?

As has been reported over at Heard in Hall, Mike Nutter is going to name an IG today, not named Seth Williams. I am sure it will be someone qualified and all that. Now Seth can run for DA, and probably wouldn’t have served a full term, and Nutter needs a fresh start and 'his team' and blah blah blah.

Anyway, the thing that I appreciate about Seth is that while he is clearly a smart, successful guy (and had detailed plans for how he wanted to reform the IG office), he is unpretentious and strange enough to dress up like a Rastafarian on Halloween and bring his kids trick or treating in the Burbs to catch someone violating the law. He was a dynamic voice for rooting our corruption, which was an unquestionably good thing for the City. Just like his campaign for DA will be about envisioning real change in the City's criminal-justice system.

We will have more soon. But, to my buddy Seth Williams: You took an office that did absolutely nothing, and turned it into something very real and good for the City. Get to work on those plans for the DA’s office, start raising money, and get ready to wear out the tread on your shoes. We will be there with you.