Lazin calls on Rizzo to retire
Republican at-large candidate Malcolm Lazin, a rival for Frank Rizzo's Council seat, says the councilman should retire because he is participating in DROP.
Malcolm Lazin, who is running for a Republican at-large seat on City Council, says his rival, Councilman Frank Rizzo, should resign because he is enrolled in the city's Deferred Retirement Option Plan, or DROP.
Rizzo's DROP enrollment already caused him to lose the endorsement of his party and of the FOP, a shocker because his father was the city's legendary police chief.
DROP requires participants to retire in order to collect a large lump-sum pension check. But some on Council have used a loophole to that allows them to collect the money and run again.
Rizzo has resisted calls for him to step down and has said he relied on the opinions of two city solicitors saying elected officials could collect DROP payments and run again.
A few words from Lazin's press release:
"(Rizzo) insults Philadelphia citizens by taking public money - a lump-sum payment of $194,517 and then wants to return to office as if he did not commit to retire. I do not allow him to get away with it and to yet again reach into the public cookie jar."
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