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07/16/2002 Community Meeting, South Philadelphia (Ed Goppelt)
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"Come meet the elected officials"
2002/07/16 For some reason, announcements of community meetings
in South Philadelphia do not list who is sponsoring the meeting.
It is as if these meetings sponsor themselves.
Although this announcement at Tenth and Ellsworth was the only
one I could find, attendance was good.
The meeting was billed as an opportunity to meet elected officials, but
only Councilman Frank DiCicco bothered to attend. Councilman Jim Kenney and Representative Harold James were supposed
to attend, but did not.
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Councilman DiCicco & Baby
2002/07/16 The Councilman joked that politicians always get themselves photographed with babies before picking up this cutie. In the foreground is Officer "Ace" Delgado.
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The Crowd at St. Maron's Church
2002/07/16 The meeting was held at St. Maron's Church
at 10th and Ellsworth. The crowd fit comfortably into the large hall, but it was hard to hear
what the politicians were saying.
In the foreground is former Councilman Jimmy Tayoun
who now runs a political paper called the Public Record.
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Tony Palmieri
2002/07/16 Mr. Palmieri is 2nd Ward Democratic Chairman.
Together with Frank DiCicco, Mr. Palmieri founded the Italian Market Civic Assocation. Buddy Cianfrani, the 2nd Ward's longtime leader recently died
leaving Mr. Palmieri nominally in charge. Mr. Palmieri, Councilman DiCicco and PICA head Joe Vignola all would
like to succeed Mr. Cianfrani as ward leader.
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Pete Fiorentino
2002/07/16 Mr. Fiorentino works as an attorney for Council President Anna Verna.
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Suzanne L. Haney
2002/07/16 Ms. Haney is the Republican Ward Leader in the 2nd Ward.
She challenged Councilman DiCicco to
support a moratorium on property tax increases for residents. The Councilman declined saying it
was impossible to run the City without tax money.
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Committeeman & Daughter
2002/07/16 If anybody knows who this person is, please let me know.
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Jimmy Thomas
2002/07/16 Mr. Thomas is a Republican Committeeman in the 8th Division.
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Nick Schmanek
2002/07/16 Mr. Schmanek works in Councilman DiCicco's office. He is a committeeman in the 7th Division.
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Ed Kirlin
2002/07/16 Mr. Kirlin of Pennsport Civic needled Councilman DiCicco about his low
property taxes.
DiCicco only pays $331 while his neighbors
in the same complex pay $2182 in taxes. The Councilman
had an explanation for the difference, though:
anybody who builds a new home in Philadelphia is entitled to a 10 year abatement on the value of their home.
Apparently the Councilman's abatement is still running while that of his neighbors recently expired.
Click here to see what the Councilman and his neighbors pay.
Mr. Kirlin was accompanied by two beefy looking men who the Councilman
referred to as "my friends, the Electricians," an apparent reference
to the Electricians Union, IBEW Local 98.
The Councilman and the Electricians are anything but friends at this point.
John Dougherty or Johnny "Doc", the head of the Electricians Union,
is the rising young star of the Democratic party. Dougherty has been feeling his oats of late, taunting
Senator Fumo about a sign which mysteriously appeared on the Walt Whitman Bridge proclaiming "Johnny Doc 2; Fumo 0" .
Mr. Dougherty is threatening to run his own candidate against Councilman DiCicco next year, though I have heard tell of a deal
to allow the Councilman to keep his seat for one more term on the understanding that he then retire.
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Eric Lincoln Calls for Order
2002/07/16 Mr. Lincoln, a Democratic Committeeman, served as master of ceremonies at the meeting. Ed Kirlin succeeded not only
in getting a rise out of Councilman DiCicco but throwing the meeting briefly into uproar. Here
Mr. Lincoln attempts to quite the crowd.
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More Crowd Control
2002/07/16
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Lincoln & DiCicco Face Off
2002/07/16 Messrs. Lincoln & DiCicco argued about whether the
Councilman should respond to Ed Kirlin's question.
The Councilman maintained it was unfair to deny him the chance
to explain to meeting attendees why his property taxes were so low
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Ace Delgado
2002/07/16 Officer Ace Delgado works as the Police Community Relations Officer for the 3rd Police District.
I have seen him at controversial meetings before. My sense is he is invited
whenever there is a possibility of violence.
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Delgado & Voter
2002/07/16
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Rep. Harold James' Represenative
2002/07/16 Some audience members complained bitterly about James' absence.
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Sen. Fumo's Representative
2002/07/16 Hallwatch reader DD informs me Sen. Fumo's representative is
none other than Phil Press aka Philly Press.
Mr. Press has apparently been promoted. For six
months, he worked for the Casey
campaign
videotaping all of Ed Rendell's campaign appearances
in the hopes of
collecting footage which could be used to embarass Rendell.
A recent City Paper article suggests that Mr. Press
may have capitalized on
confusion surrounding his name (Philly Press) to get
access to Rendell that he would otherwise not enjoyed as an aide working for Rendell's opponent.
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Carlton Fox of the South Philadelphia Seminoles
2002/07/16 Mr. Fox let Councilman DiCicco and
assembled pols have it with both barrels
as the meeting degenerated into angry uproar.
He is furious that local pols are not doing enough
to line up funding for Kids' Football at Capitolo Park.
Mr. Fox argues that money is available for white sports
such as baseball, but not for black kids when it comes to football.
He and his neighbors were especially incensed by
the flashy new Daniel Faulkner scoreboard paid for by Geno's Steaks.
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Senator Fumo Gets Things Done!
2002/07/16 At the close of the meeting, Sen. Fumo's aide
found himself one popular guy. During the meeting, Committeeman
Lincoln urged the crowd to take advantage of the opportunity to
talk with Sen. Fumo's aide, saying that even, he, a Committeeman, usually couldn't get this kind
of service from the Senator's office.
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Jul 25, 2008 10:23 am
