Corruption

As mayor, I will . . . work to reform city departments and create processes that are fair and predictable. This will help eliminate any incentives for doing things the wrong way and reward people for doing things the right way. Too often, city departments are encouraged to expend their entire budget - wasting valuable tax dollars. . . . I will create a one-stop shop for anyone who wants to start a business in our great city. Expediters should not be required to navigate a bureaucratic maze.

I have endorsed the Committee of Seventy's 27-point agenda for ethics reform in Philadelphia, which includes commonsense reforms such as basing hiring, contracting and appointing decisions on merit, not on political connections. I am confident [these reforms] will usher in a new era of transparency, accountability, and confidence in government. . . .

I have proposed several reforms in the state legislature that would introduce greater accountability and transparency in our government. . . . I was proud to hold our Appropriations Committee hearings in a variety of communities outside of Harrisburg so citizens could have direct access to their government. Philadelphians should expect nothing less from their city. . . .

I will give Philadelphians a bigger say in our government by taking my office to every neighborhood in the city several times a year. If any citizen makes a reasonable request when we come to their neighborhood, we'll come back with a reasonable answer. . . . But I'll go beyond accountability. I will tear down the structure that breeds pay-to-play by eliminating no-bid contracts. I will close the revolving door between government and the private sector by preventing those who work for city government from immediately becoming lobbyists. I will make lobbyists file disclosure forms with the Board of Ethics every six months so we know whom they lobbied, how often . . . and what for.

We must change the political culture in City Hall in order to move Philadelphia forward.

Growing up in Abbotsford Public Housing, I was told again and again that I would never amount to anything. Through hard work . . . I achieved more success than I could ever have dreamed. Today, pay-to-play politics is preventing the city from extending the same kind of opportunity to families in need. I'm running to take the "for sale" sign off City Hall because I haven't forgotten where I came from. I'm running for my mother, and every mother who needs a helping hand. I'm running for my brother, and every family that's suffered the loss of a loved one to drugs. The time has come to turn the page on the politics of the past, and I'm asking every Philadelphian to help me do it.

My Ethics Now Plan . . . consists of the best of existing and proposed reforms. Here are some:

The Board of Ethics should post all enforcement decisions online.

Financial-disclosure forms for all city employees should be filed every year and available for review by citizens online.

Random financial audits should be conducted among all city elected and senior appointed officials, and posted online.

All agreements that benefit community or civic organizations should be written, disclosed, made part of the public record, and available for public review.