Past time for these 6 to go

As the sun sets on Election Day less than two weeks from now, look to the skyline for smoke around City Hall, for we are about to witness the greatest burning of dead wood in City Council's long and undistinguished history.

On Nov. 8, voters will select replacements for six Council incumbents who will have collectively held office for 128 years by January. Few will notice their absence. With one or two exceptions, they have done little except further cement the public perception that Council is, as former Mayor Bill Green succinctly put it, "the worst legislative body in the free world."

Still, given their long terms in office - and by long, I mean interminable - it seems fitting to look back on their public careers.

First, we have at-large Councilman Jack Kelly and Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller, a pair whose combined intellectual firepower barely rivals that of the puppies, geese, and other animals whose welfare seemed to be Kelly's highest priority during his 12 years in office.

A product of Philadelphia's weak-kneed GOP and a City Charter that gives two at-large Council seats to the minority party, Kelly is best known for taking on critical urban problems like unlicensed dogs and the consumption of foie gras.

Miller, who represents the Eighth Council District, which includes Germantown and Chestnut Hill, is best known for the perpetual look of confusion on her face when Council debates budgets and taxes.

Which is not to suggest that Miller and Kelly haven't made their share of headlines. Indeed, both were in the news plenty when they enrolled in the DROP program, not to mention when their respective chiefs of staff were sent to federal prison on corruption charges.

Council members Joan Krajewski, who is retiring after 31 years in office, and Frank Rizzo (16 years) are somewhat more complicated cases. Rizzo actually appeared invested in the job, and his office has drafted bills outlawing nepotism, banning gifts, and restricting outside employment. Yet Rizzo, a Republican at-large councilman who has irritated many of his colleagues, rarely gets his legislation passed (including those ambitious ethics reforms), making him one of its less-effective members.

In earlier years, Krajewski was a firebrand, pushing right-to-know legislation and crusading to ease prison overcrowding. But that was a long time ago. Now, she seems more interested in Law and Order than actual law and order. Her office still has a sterling reputation for providing constituent services to her district in the Lower Northeast, but is it enough for a Council person to serve as a glorified 311 operator?

Likewise, Anna Verna probably did her best work tending to the needs of her South Philadelphia district, a strategy that kept her in office a staggering 36 years, including the last 12 as Council president. Verna has done some heavy lifting on citywide problems over her career, playing a key role in getting the Philadelphia Gas Works on track and supporting big tax-cut initiatives.

But as Council president, she has been weak, seemingly by design. Verna sees her job as that of a convener or facilitator. Maybe that's fine. But something is odd about a Council president consistently taking a junior role in high-stakes negotiations over important bills, and there is little doubt her style has made Mayor Nutter's job harder. Instead of selling Verna on his agenda and trusting her to enforce it, the mayor has had to wrangle Council members individually.

Finally, there is Councilman Frank DiCicco, a man who owes his 16 years in office to the political machine built by former state senator and current federal prisoner Vince Fumo. The years-long fight over the Foxwoods and SugarHouse casinos seemed to sap the River Wards councilman of both his energy and his interest in the job. A DROP enrollee, DiCicco was looking at a tough reelection fight and decided he didn't have the stomach for the campaign.

Which is too bad. Love him or hate him, DiCicco was a great example of how a district councilperson can contribute more than constituent services, turning his experience in managing massive developments into a bid to rewrite the city's entire zoning code, to cite just one example.

Still, losing just one real contributor in a group of six whose best days are long past is a good trade for Philadelphia. Newer members like Bill Green and Maria Quiñones-Sánchez - who just got administration agreement on a huge business-tax reform bill - have shown that Council actually can do the city good.

Indeed, there is so much promise in the pending absence of the gang of six that it is almost enough to ease the psychic sting of paying them $1.98 million in DROP money.

Right?