April 29-May 5, 2004

city beat

Standing by His Mayor

Last man standing: Many of John Street's supporters are no longer with him. George Burrell, the mayor's right-hand man, isn't one of them. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

George Burrell discusses life, art and the ever-present City Hall probe.

by Amy L. Webb

By most estimations, George Burrell is a Renaissance man. He is a Wharton-trained businessman who has run an investment company. He studied law at one of the country’s premier schools and eventually opened his own firm. A former professional football player, he sees the sport almost as a behavioral science, equating personal chemistry with the success or failure of a team. And, he loves art.

Not in the way a dilettante would flit around the Philadelphia Museum of Art on a Saturday afternoon, commenting on how nicely Picasso’s cubes all fit together. No, Burrell has a very specific affinity for emerging African-American artists. The walls of his office are lined with heavy, framed oils and an interesting acrylic flat sculpture. He knows exactly who crafted each one, and what makes each piece special.

"African-American artists are the hottest sector of the art community right now," he says, gazing up at a two-dimensional cube in bright primary colors. "They’re breaking new ground. When I can’t do anything else right, I can just sit here and look at this magnificent art."

Lately, the people around Burrell have given him ample reason to stare at the paintings on his walls. As Mayor John Street’s secretary for external affairs, Burrell is the mayor’s de facto political ambassador to the business community, a difficult job of late as former business and political allies are lambasting the administration at every turn. Since the city’s contracts for professional services, which do not require a public bid, are handed out of his office, Burrell was concerned enough after the discovery of the FBI listening device to hire one of the city’s ace criminal-defense lawyers.

But at 57, with more than three decades of public service on his resume, Burrell is not content to just sit back and contemplate his walls. "In spite of what’s going on today, in terms of the FBI investigation and all the other stuff," he says, "I wake up in the morning excited to go to work, fighting the battles we’re fighting."

Burrell would say that his entree into politics was a happy accident. He comes from Mickleton, a New Jersey town 25 miles south of Philadelphia that’s so small its 300 residents had to walk to the post office to pick up their mail. There was no grocery store, no gas station. Few went to college. Ambitions never rose higher than housewife, mechanic or farmer.

He secured a seat in the University of Pennsylvania’s 1965 freshman class with the goal to become a teacher and to coach high school football, a sport he played at Swedesboro High School and at Penn. "Being surrounded by people who wanted to be lawyers and doctors, my horizons naturally began to expand," explains Burrell, who entered the Wharton School and decided to be a lawyer.

After graduation, Burrell spent a year as a free safety on the Denver Broncos’ "Orange Crush" defense, then returned to Penn for law school.

His first two clients were auspicious: Wilson Goode, who was then the executive director of the Philadelphia Council for Community Advancement, and William Gray, who was a Baptist church pastor. Burrell eventually got to know would-be mayor Bill Green and was appointed his deputy mayor. "It was around then that I decided I wanted to be mayor," Burrell says. "I started to make political and career decisions that I thought would be positioning me."

Part of that political road map included winning a seat on City Council. In 1987, Burrell defeat incumbent Ed Schwartz to win an at-large seat. Part of the Bill Gray family, he was an adversary of then-councilman John Street, who was allied with Lucien Blackwell. They were at bitter odds, even through Burrell and Blackwell’s unsuccessful 1991 campaigns for mayor.

After his defeat, Burrell returned to his law practice. "Then I got a call from Carl Singley asking if I could structure a relationship to avoid a big fight over the council presidency." Street won. In 1995, when Singley called again to ask if he would help plan Street’s mayoral campaign, Burrell said yes.

Ironically, Street’s one-time antagonist is the last man standing. Singley broke ties with Street in 1999 and became an adviser for Republican Sam Katz’s 2003 mayoral campaign. Blackwell died last year. Attorney Ron White, a Street ally and fundraiser, is under federal investigation for his business dealings with City Hall. A. Bruce Crawley, who chairs the African American Chamber of Commerce, was once a staunch supporter. Now, he publicly smears Street at every opportunity.

"Those individuals, I think, really did have relationships with Street that were as much grounded in their personal interest as it was in their personal relationships," Burrell says. "Bruce has been very harsh on the mayor. There are appropriate criticisms of this administration with respect to African-American groups. Bruce may not think we’re moving fast enough or that we should be doing more. But I didn’t see him, as the chairman of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, standing up and berating hotel owners or other people who acquire services."

The federal probe, which became public last Oct. 9 after a listening device was discovered in the mayor’s office, hasn’t helped Street win any new friends. Instead, it’s a wicked distraction, drawing away attention from the real work being done by the administration. "You can’t go back and wipe out the past six months," Burrell says. "This has been everywhere--newspapers, TV, radio, national sports programs. No matter what happens, there are always going to be people who are unsure about me, the mayor, [Neighborhood Transformation Initiative director] Pat Smith, [Chief of Staff] Joyce Wilkerson. Nobody can do anything about it."

FBI investigators have said that Street is not the target of the probe. While Burrell says that the mayor’s first-term Cabinet, senior-level employees and Street have nothing to fear, he concedes that some within City Hall may be implicated if indictments are handed down. "I believe the outcome will likely name people inside of city government," Burrell says, but he wouldn’t discuss who. Burrell is also quick to dispel rumors about whether he’s turned FBI informant and is under federal witness protection.

RENAISSANCE MAN: Burrell, a lawyer and one-time Denver Bronco, has held mayoral aspirations of his own. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Still, it is Burrell’s office that handles contracts -- a key component of the investigation. With regards to the contracts that did not go through a bidding process, Burrell, who says that there was nothing illegal about how some companies got contracts with the city, insists that he won’t be named in any indictments.

"Lawyers come into the government and advocate with me on behalf of their clients," he says. "This doesn’t rise to the level of corruption for me," Burrell says. "Here’s an example: Somebody representing Liberty Property Trust comes in and says, "We’d like you to pick us for this project and here’s why.’ It’s fair to say that [Comcast CEO] Brian Roberts is a supporter of the mayor. But at some point, people are going to say, "Well Comcast is a pretty big employer in the city, we ought to help Comcast expand in the city.’ Somebody ought to be saying, "Liberty Property Trust is a national developer. We ought to try and get Liberty to build that building and we ought to try to get Comcast to move there.’ People have lost perspective of the good this administration is trying to do."

Though he’s been criticized for saying on the record that the investigation has to do with race, Burrell now says that the probe has little to do with Street’s skin color. At the same time, much of the fanfare surrounding his office is about African-American businesses.

"The African-American business community says we’re not doing enough for them. There’s a bunch of angry people saying that this administration is handing out too many contracts to unqualified African-American businesses. And there’s a federal corruption investigation into contracts given out primarily to African-American businesses," he says. "Something is wrong with that picture. This was the byproduct of some other federal investigation. They didn’t start with an investigation on pay-to-play issues. They got led here."

How the feds arrived at City Hall, Burrell wouldn’t say. He also wouldn’t comment on rumors that indictments may be handed down this week. But he stands behind Street. "There is no reason to worry or to fear for John Street," he says. "I have the greatest respect for John for his honesty and his candor and his willingness not to duck the hard things. And I have nothing but complete confidence and trust in him and the people who were members of the Cabinet in the first term of this administration. And if anybody in this government has received an economic benefit or tried to give an economic benefit in exchange for something, then the full force of the law should come down upon them."

At some point, the investigation will end. After 35 years of political and public service work, Burrell is coming full circle. He hasn’t ruled out running for mayor. He wants to find a small, minority-owned company, become its CEO and build it into a national institution. He wants to teach politics. And, he’ll keep on collecting art, studying and promoting the next generation of young black artists.

The probe "will affect the government that I was a part of and helped lead," Burrell says. "We will always be tainted in that way. In the end, you’ve got to have a sense of satisfaction with what you’ve done in your life. For me, coming back to work with John Street is putting a period on the end of my political career."