O'Neill files ethics & DA Office complaints about mailer
City Councilman Brian O'Neill, a Republican seeking a ninth term in Northeast Philly's 10th District, has filed ethics complaints and a complaint with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office about a mailer that started arriving last week in support of his opponent in the Nov. 8 general election, Democrat Bill Rubin.
O'Neill files ethics & DA Office complaints about mailer
Chris Brennan
City Councilman Brian O'Neill, a Republican seeking a ninth term in Northeast Philly's 10th District, has filed several complaints since Friday about a mailer that started arriving last week in support of his opponent in the Nov. 8 general election, Democrat Bill Rubin.
The mailer, sent by AFSCME People, a political action committee for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, lists its name and address in Washington, D.C. but fails to include the disclaimer required by law that says who paid for it. O'Neill filed an ethics complaint against Rubin and AFSCME on Friday and complaints against AFSCME and Rubin with the District Attorney's Office and City Commission today.
Rubin, a former City Commission employee, told us he had nothing to do with the mailer, which also got wrong the hours that polling places are open during the election. "It didn't come from my campaign," Rubin said. "Whatever they're doing is separate from my campaign. We're not allowed to have any contact with them."
Rubin accused O'Neill of being "really scared" and "desperate" for filing complaints against him for a mailer put out by a third party.
Christopher Nicholas, a spokesman for O'Neill's campaign, countered that the complaints were necessary to "get to the bottom" of the mystery about who sent the mailer.
Chris Fleming, a spokesman for AFSCME in Washington, D.C., told us "It's pretty clear where the mail piece came from" despite the lack of a disclaimer. He called the incorrect hours for polling places an "unfortunate typo."
How many more years does Brian O'Neill want to serve on Council. 32 more? Time for a change. O'Neill is the poster child for term limits.
P.S. If Chris Brennan covered Mayor Nutter the way he has been covering David Oh someone just might have run against Nutter. Brennan does his job of maintaining the status quo through his reporting.— Serpico
I don't know Chris Fleming of AFSCME, but his cavalier attitude ("It's pretty clear where the mail piece came from") shows a contempt and disregard for following the law. The law says you must put on a disclaimer indicating who paid for the mailer -- not who authorized it, not who designed it, not who approved it.
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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