2016 moves suggest Dougherty is controlling city government

Posted 1/22/16

by Jay A. McCalla If Council President Darrell Clarke had been listed on the New York Stock Exchange prior to 1991, he would have been the stock to buy. He was a young man whose mentor, John Street, …

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2016 moves suggest Dougherty is controlling city government

Posted

philadelphia-city-hall

by Jay A. McCalla

If Council President Darrell Clarke had been listed on the New York Stock Exchange prior to 1991, he would have been the stock to buy. He was a young man whose mentor, John Street, had just been elected leader of the legislative branch and needed someone to oversee district politics, development, zoning, etc.

When Street became mayor, Clarke replaced him on council. When Street left government, Clarke ascended to the presidency of City Council.

Clarke has been a uniquely powerful president who withheld school district funds in order to coerce broader consultation with him and his staff. Single-handedly, he refused to even entertain former Mayor Nutter’s plan to sell PGW.

As long as Clarke controls nine votes on the 17 member body, he can legitimately dictate his wishes. That control is derived from his control of office space, jobs and a host of other seriously nifty perks. Clarke also outright donates cash to his colleagues to help with reelection, regardless of party. His only object is securing the nine votes that provide him unchallenged power.

On Jan. 4, the day the new government was sworn in at the Academy of Music, Clarke got a soul-chilling wake-up call – he couldn't round up eight votes to elect the majority leader of his choice. He wanted Councilperson at Large Bill Greenlee, and Labor Leader John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty wanted former staffer Bobby Henon. With a unanimous vote, Doc won.

(When faced with opposition to her choice for majority leader, first-term Council President Anna Verna left the post vacant for months, rather than accept a substitute.)

In this single vote, the wings of the North Philly Wunderkind were clipped by the power behind many thrones. Doc has been funding and fielding Council candidates since 1991. His “wholly owned subsidiaries” have included Rick Mariano, Ed Neilson and now Bobby Henon.

The cleaning of Clarke’s clock by Doc is all the more interesting given that the latter wanted to support the former for mayor in late 2015. This demonstrates the dangerously conditional nature of the Doc/Clarke relationship – dangerous for Clarke, that is.

Henon, as a former political director for IBEW, is Doc’s “guy” on council. His remarkable ascent, after a single term, is completely attributable to Doc’s interventions. This is why Clarke’s days as president are likely numbered. Doc just elected a mayor, a majority of City Council, a Supreme Court Justice and positioned his minion as the next president of City Council. He intends to “run the table”.

With the thwarting of Clarke’s choice to be majority leader (and, the simultaneous tipping of Doc’s hand), the stage has been set for a fascinating political struggle with huge stakes and broad implications.

Council controls the city budget, disposition of land and property, zoning, business subsidies and tax incentives, district boundaries and much, much more. The president personally controls which bills get a hearing and which get buried. He, or she, appoints members to a variety of powerful boards and commissions and rules over an elastic number of patronage jobs and contracts. It is the perfect place from which to insure the continued compliance of the mayor you just elected, should his loyalty or memory fade.

Johnny Doc is controversial. The “rough tactics” of his electrical union and various FBI investigations prompted Mayor Kenney, during his campaign, to assure the press he would play no role in his administration. That’s an odd pledge to make regarding your biggest supporter –  one whom you acknowledge often brings a “dark side.”

So, Kenney and Clarke have good reason to be wary of the man whose money, army of union foot soldiers, connections and expertise make him, arguably, the most powerful politician in Philadelphia.

The effect on citizens will be in what Doc wants. So far, he's expressed a strong desire to extend the Broad Street Subway to the Navy Yard, which may cost about $500,000,000. One need not be Nostradamus to successfully predict that Kenney would support Doc’s desire. He already has. Of course, this mega-project will provide a ton of jobs for Doc’s only true constituency – the “culturally non-inclusive” building trades.

Philadelphians will not always be so lucky as to have Doc’s wants and desires communicated in public. In the main, we can expect him to communicate traditionally. That is, sotto voce and very privately.

opinion