COUNCIL SHOWS ITS CIVIC PRIDE, SENDING SUPPORT TO THE SUPER BOWL-BOUND EAGLES
Every week, City Council tackles the most urgent problems besetting Philadelphia – gun violence, poverty, the need for more affordable housing – among many issues. But every once in a while, something comes along that allows Councilmembers to show their civic pride and become boosters for the City.
Thursday was such a day, as Councilmembers introduced a pair of Resolutions honoring the Philadelphia Eagles, National Football Conference champs and one of the contenders in Sunday’s Super Bowl LVII in Arizona between the Birds and the Kansas City Chiefs.
First, however, Council President Darrell L. Clarke (5th District) led members in a rendition of the Eagles’ fight song. Members donned Eagles NFC Championship hats, waved rally towels, and sat at their desks decked in Eagles logos and signs.
Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson (At Large) introduced a resolution honoring Autumn Lockwood, a seasonal Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and the first Black woman to be part of an NFL coaching staff in the Super Bowl.
“Autumn’s hard work and determination has allowed her to reach the highest levels of professional strength and conditioning coaching,” Gilmore Richardson’s resolution states. “Her accomplishments demonstrate to all young Black women that there is no glass ceiling that cannot be shattered.”
Council Majority Leader Curtis Jones, Jr. (4th District) then introduced a resolution placing a friendly, charitable wager on the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Council’s legislative counterparts in the City Council of Kansas City.
“The success of Philadelphia’s sports teams, and the Eagles in particular, never fail to unify the City,” the resolution states. “Super Bowl LVII features numerous exciting firsts. This will be the first Super Bowl in history where two brothers will face off on opposing teams (the Eagles’ Jason Kelce and the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce). This is also the first time that two Black quarterbacks (Jalen Hurts v. Patrick Mahomes) will compete against each other.”
“The Council of the City of Philadelphia hereby challenges the City Council of Kansas City, Missouri to a bet on the outcome of Super Bowl LVII. The losing City Council will make a donation to a charity of the winner’s choosing. When the Eagles defeat the Chiefs in this year’s game, The City Council of Kansas City will make a donation to the Eagles Autism Foundation.”
The resolution concludes, as most interactions in Philadelphia have this week, with an enthusiastic “GO BIRDS!”
COUNCILMEMBER THOMAS INTRODUCES RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF TEMPLE GRAD STUDENTS
Temple University’s Graduate Students Association (TUGSA) is on strike from the University, seeking fairer pay, health care, leave and better working conditions. The dispute has lingered over a year.
In response, Councilmember Isaiah Thomas (At Large), who chairs Council’s Education Committee, introduced a resolution this week expressing support for the students in their labor dispute.
“To see Temple University fail to reach an equitable resolution with the Temple University Graduate Students’ Association is highly upsetting, and shows a lack of respect for the teaching and research assistants that keep Temple functioning.”
“No one can live off of $19,500 a year in this city,” Thomas’ resolution continues. “It’s upsetting that Temple would suggest otherwise when they know educators put in hours on and off the clock to ensure good outcomes for their students and the university.”
The resolution concludes by urging Temple to work with the graduate students association and negotiate a “livable wage, health and leave benefits, and better working conditions.”
RESOLUTION CALLING FOR “MINIMUM FORCE TRAINING” FOR PHILADELPHIA POLICE SPARKS A FLOOR DEBATE
The resolution, first introduced in 2021 by Councilmember David Oh (At Large) but never voted on until today, sparked a floor debate with sharp remarks from several members. Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd District) said she found language in the resolution “offensive.”
Councilmember Jones, Council’s Majority Leader called language in the resolution suggesting that such reforms may lead to an increase in crime “inflammatory”. Other members offered similar objections.
Councilmember Oh insisted the resolution was never intended to inflame opinions, and that he truly believed “minimum force training” for police should be considered by the Police Department and the Kenney administration, even more so in light of the continuation of police-involved killings of civilians around the country.
His colleagues disagreed, and Oh’s resolution failed by a vote of 14-2.
SEEN ON SOCIAL MEDIA…
“Education is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Pennsylvania constitution to all school-age children residing in the Commonwealth.”
Read the full decision here: https://t.co/1XP1dxzIRZ
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— Public Interest Law Center (@PubIntLawCtr) February 7, 2023
COUNCILMEMBER JONES INTRODUCES RESOLUTIONS TO HOLD HEARINGS ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND SCHOOLS
In the first resolution, Council’s Committees on Public Safety and Education would be authorized to hold joint hearings to examine in-school violence protocols, student-to-student violence, parent-to-parent violence, and teacher safety.
The resolution notes that incidents of violence involving students are on the rise in city schools, and at times now involve parents coming to schools and escalating conflicts that began among students.
“The District is continuing to refer to situations of in-school violence as isolated incidents, but parents are expressing safety concerns,” the resolution states. “A general increase in gun crimes and violence throughout Philadelphia has contributed to a general sentiment of fear among families and residents. Now is the time to recognize this issue and progress toward solutions. City Council hereby authorizes the joint Committees on Public Safety and Education to hold hearings to examine statistics for in-school violence protocols, student-to-student violence, parent-to-parent violence, and teacher safety.”
In the second resolution offered by Jones, a joint committee of Public Safety and Education will hold hearings to examine the School District’s use of in-school and out-of-school suspension as well as other disciplinary tactics to understand what actions merit such a penalty.
“There are numerous tactics that the School District can and does use to discipline students as a way to deter certain behavior in the future,” the resolution states. “Some methods include detention, and well as suspension. The School District differentiates between in-school and out-of-school suspension procedures for students.”
“It’s necessary to understand how the School District and individual schools in the district utilize these and other disciplinary tactics for students. In addition, it is necessary to understand what actions merit such penalties for students. By understanding these actions, and their penalties, this Council body can further understand the issues that our students and faculty face on a daily basis.”
IN OTHER NEWS
Councilmember Gauthier Offers Remarks Supporting Historic PA Court Ruling that PA’s Education Funding System is Unconstitutional. Councilmember Jamie Gauthier offered strong remarks supporting the landmark decision handed down this week by a Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court judge, following a year-long trial, that the state’s property tax-based system of funding public education has “manifest deficiencies” and is unconstitutional.
“This ruling is a monumental victory for our young people!” Gauthier said in floor remarks. “As a member of City Council’s Education Committee – and a mother – I’ve seen in painstaking detail the harm state lawmakers have caused by shortchanging our children out of their fair share of school resources. And as the City Council representative for many working class, Black and brown neighborhoods – I know how this systemic underfunding has forced public schools in already-disadvantaged communities to endure conditions unimaginable in affluent areas.”
The 786-page ruling by Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Jubilerer stopped short of ordering a specific remedy, and instead directed the state’s Executive and Legislative branches to begin working together to fashion a remedy that presumedly would involve spending significantly more public funds on education, and particularly in low-wealth school districts around Pennsylvania, where relying on the property tax is what leaves these schools short-changed.
OTHER SIGHTS AND SOUNDS FROM THE COUNCIL WEEK
Committee on Commerce and Economic Development 2-3-2023
Committee on Law and Government 2-6-2023
Stated Meeting of Philadelphia City Council 2-9-2023
The next Stated Meeting of City Council is scheduled to take place on Thursday, February 16, 2023 at 10 a.m. in Philadelphia City Hall, Room 400 and will air on Xfinity Ch. 64, Fios Channel 40 and stream at www.PHLCouncil.com/watch.
Featured Photo: Jared Piper/PHLCouncil
