Ward leader leaving fellow 'political junkies'

Everything has a price.

For Terry Gillen, it was her title as leader of the 30th Ward. Covering parts of Center City and South Philadelphia, it is one of the most high-profile wards in the city.

But after a decade at the helm, Gillen has resigned the job because of a new one she picked up as Mayor Nutter's senior adviser for economic development.

The city charter prohibits her from doing both - that is, from being a ward leader while working full time on the city payroll.

"It was a lot to give up. I had to really weigh the trade-offs. . . . It's kind of a little world unto itself that I was a part of for 10 years," Gillen said.

Besides, yukking it up with other ward leaders - even if she was among the most politically progressive among them - was fun, she added. "It's a convention of political junkies swapping stories that nobody else cares about."

A special election to fill the vacancy will likely be scheduled for next month.

At least one politico won't be running. "I'm not interested, not at all," said Stan White, chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, chairman of the city Democratic committee. White was the 30th Ward leader until Gillen unseated him.

"There's nothing more comforting than being an ex-ward leader," White said.

- Marcia Gelbart

Council rookies Bill Green, Curtis Jones Jr., and Maria Quiñones Sanchez profess to have grown close over their many months together on the campaign trail.

It didn't take long for that alliance to show itself.

Last week Jones chose Green as his appointment to the Zoning Code Commission, the 31-member body tasked with recommending reforms to the city's outdated zoning laws. Word is that Jones knew he would take some criticism for appointing Green because each of the 10 District Council members is to pick one representative "from among recognized community leaders."

Green doesn't live in Jones' Fourth Council District, which includes Roxborough, Manayunk, East Falls and parts of West Philadelphia, but has taken an active interest in zoning reform.

"He has a strong interest in it and I think he's value added to the board," Jones said. In reality, Jones is moving a little closer to the Fourth District with his choice. Green replaces former Fourth District Councilwoman Carol Ann Campbell's pick for the commission, Melinda DeNofa, who lives in Montgomery County.

At the same time, Green hired Tomas Sanchez, Maria Quiñones Sanchez's husband, as a senior adviser. Not that Tomas Sanchez doesn't come with his own resume. A lawyer who went to Harvard and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Tomas Sanchez was head of procurement and business relations for Temple University's Office of Multicultural Affairs. He is also a former chief of staff for Councilman Juan Ramos.

Green says he hired Sanchez despite his marriage to Quiñones Sanchez, not because of it: "I thought I might get a little flak over it."

But, Green said: "Tomas was the most-qualified person who applied to my office for any position."

- Jeff Shields

Former City Councilman Rick Mariano - a reluctant resident of the Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institute - isn't just a convicted felon.

It seems he's an author as well.

As reported Friday in the Daily News, Mariano (or someone purporting to be him) recently posted the first chapter of a memoir on a MySpace page. It's a meditation on the city, his career, and the "little packrats" in the media.

Mariano singled out one reporter for special attention: former Inquirer City Hall reporter Michael Currie Schaffer.

"The biggest slob of them all is the Philadelphia Inquirer's crack city reporter Michael Currie Schaeffer (sic). Any boy with three names is destined to be just a little hypersensitive, a little feisty to blanket his own shames. He gnawed at me for days and weeks, asking me what he thought were 'the tough questions,' following me down every pathway, hovering that damn tape recorder at my neck. I usually cast a blind eye, but blindness only masks disgust."

Mariano got at least one thing wrong. Schaffer was indisputably not the least hygienic member of the press corps.

Still, "Heard in the Hall" wondered what Schaffer made of Mariano's remarks.

"Assuming Rick Mariano is the author of the memoir written in his name, I'm kind of baffled. Doesn't he know that in our line of work it is considered high praise to be called a 'crack city reporter' who relentlessly hounds elected officials? Against that backdrop, the only thing I ought to be upset about is that he spelled my last name wrong: I'll be back on the job market at some point and want editors from coast to coast to know what a cold-blooded journalistic bad-ass I apparently am," Schaffer said in an e-mail.

Schaffer, who is writing a book about America's obsession with pets titled One Nation Under Dog, also said he was always fair to Mariano. For more, visit www.HeardInTheHall.com.

- Patrick Kerkstra