What is SEPTA's and what is Phila.'s?

Wilson Goode Jr. is flexing some muscle.

A supporter of Darrell Clarke's in his successful bid to become Council president, Goode got two prime committee chairs - Commerce and Appropriations.

Well, Appropriations hasn't always been viewed as a plum assignment. In previous configurations, the committee took a mostly procedural role, while the real budgetary action happened over in the Finance Committee.

But Goode seems to have grander designs for his stewardship. Last week, he introduced a resolution calling on the committee to hold hearings on the long-unsettled issue of whether the city owns significant parts of SEPTA's infrastructure.

The backstory is that the city and SEPTA had a lease agreement that may or may not have expired in 2005, depending on the point of view. If the lease has expired, then the city is the rightful owner of the Broad Street line, half the Market-Frankford El, and other assets. The city and SEPTA seem content to live with the status quo, but Goode sees a chance for the city to make some money. He noted that SEPTA sold the naming rights to the old Pattison Avenue station in 2010, netting $3 million.

"That may be some of our money," Goode said at Thursday's Council meeting. "SEPTA may have a lot of our money." - Troy Graham

Josephs gets a familiar challenger

Despite advances in LGBT rights across the nation, no openly gay man or woman has ever been elected to the Pennsylvania legislature. One person hoping to change that is Brian Sims, 33, a lawyer and motivational speaker running in the Democratic primary against veteran State Rep. Babette Josephs.

Both candidates are used to winning - Josephs beating a long series of challengers over her 28-year legislative career, and Sims as a football star, captain of his team at Downingtown High School when it won a state championship in 1996, and at Bloomsburg University, when it reached the Division 2 national finals in 2000.

Josephs is 71 and diminutive, a contrast to Sims, who is 6 feet, 205 pounds - 70 pounds under his playing weight as a defensive tackle. But Josephs is no pushover, and she's clearly piqued that her latest challenger worked as treasurer for her last campaign.

"I tried to mentor him, teach him stuff, introduce him to people, donors, activists, put him in a position where he could run for office," she says. "I'm 71. I'm not going to last another 20 years. My thought was, he'd be one of the people in a position to succeed me."

Sims credits Josephs as a steady advocate for progressive causes. "Her successes have opened up doors that made it possible for me to do this," he says. "But I believe she is no longer as effective as the district deserves."

"The things that are important to me are very difficult to accomplish in this state," responds Josephs. "If I were interested in legislation that would create more crimes, or deprive accused people of their rights, that's the kind of legislation that just glides through." - Bob Warner