June 2- 8, 2005

political notebook

My Fellow Democrat's Keeper?

by Mary F. Patel

The offices of city controller and district attorney, up for grabs in November's general elections, have long been controlled by Democrats. The last Republican city controller was Tom Gola, who was elected in 1969. Ron Castille, elected in 1985, was the last Republican district attorney.

Normally, no one would be paying attention to the party affiliation of these officeholders, but since a federal jury convicted several defendants in the City Hall corruption scandal, the question arises: Are Democrats all turning a blind eye to each other's indiscretions?

We will probably never know whether current City Controller Jonathan Saidel was aware of, or should have suspected that, former City Treasurer Corey Kemp was accepting gifts and payoffs from attorney and friend of Mayor John Street, Ron White. The office of controller, designed to be independent of the mayor and City Council according to the Home Rule Charter, is in charge of auditing all city accounts and overseeing how the city spends taxpayers' money.

Saidel has depended on his Democratic friends since he was first elected in 1989. He is not running for re-election and, talk is, he wants to run for mayor in 2007. Hillel Levinson is the Republican candidate for controller. Once a Democrat, the managing director for eight years under former Mayor Frank Rizzo says he thinks that the controller's office should be controlled by a different party than the mayor.

"If you are asked to be a watchdog, being the same party as the mayor is not effective," he said.

"Through a charter change, the controller could be a different party. In fact, I think that there is something in the charter now that says that," he said.

The city's charter does not specifically state that the controller should be from a different party but it does say that the "city controller is retained as an elected officer to make him independent of the officials whose expenditures he will audit."

But how can a controller be really independent if he must audit members of the same party he relies on to get re-elected every four years? There are no term limits on the controller's seat, which may not be such a good thing, either.

Alan Butkovitz, Democratic candidate for controller, said his loyalty would rest with the voters. He agreed that the controller's office will now be watched closely. Pointing out that reform is needed, he said he wants to make changes.

"In 1991, Mayor Ed Rendell focused on management reform," said Butkovitz, a state representative who was endorsed by party Democrats. "Sometimes, things have to get bad before they get good."

Butkovitz said he doesn't think that the controller's office is operating as effectively as it can.

"The office can only do two full audits a year — that are time-consuming — with little staff," he said. "I propose there should be more audits and they should be conducted like a bank audit or like the IRS. No one knows the auditor is coming and therefore will be more likely to keep things in order."

Butkovitz also proposed an online system for the auditor's office to increase transparency.

Levinson thinks the new controller should watch City Hall very closely because of the scandal.

"If and when I am elected controller, I would be the one to sign off on all contracts," said Levinson. "And I would make sure that attention is paid to [City Hall] activity."

Butkovitz pointed that if an officer holder is doing his job, party affiliation shouldn't matter.

Zachary Stalberg, president and CEO of the independent watchdog group Committee of Seventy, said his group is taking a fresh look at whether the controller's office should be a different party than the mayor. Stalberg noted they are conducting a study this summer.

"We hope we can make a difference in this race," he said, "but it would be too late for a charter change in this election. It is something to look at in the future."

Stalberg added that Seventy's study would not include the District Attorney's Office.

The District Attorney's Office is defined by the commonwealth constitution as a county office, but the city incorporated the county's functions in the Home Rule Charter. The district attorney is the chief prosecutor in the county.

Once areas of corruption are identified by the Feds, shouldn't the DA at least take the lead in assisting the investigation?

Louis Schwartz, who is running as a Republican for district attorney against incumbent Democrat Lynne Abraham, says a checks-and-balances system should be in place and that all the power should not lie with one party. He added that he thought that Abraham should have taken a more active role in the federal prosecution.

Schwartz said Abraham had a responsibility in prosecuting the City Hall case.

"That case was uncovered by the feds and Lynne had nothing to do with it," said Eleanor Dezzi, Abraham's campaign manager. "Lynne is not afraid to prosecute her own party and has handled many cases of municipal corruption, such as the investigation of the long-term parking scandal at the airport, the L & I plumbing inspectors scandal, the problems at the Water Department and at the Health Department."