Questions About Goode & Aide Dominate Nutter News Conference
A call from the Committee of 70 for City Council to investigate one of its own members overtook a press conference today where Mayor Nutter introduced his new task force on ethics and campaign finance reform.
Questions About Goode & Aide Dominate Nutter News Conference
Chris Brennan
A call from the Committee of 70 for City Council to investigate one of its own members overtook a press conference today where Mayor Nutter introduced his new task force on ethics and campaign finance reform. Nutter, with the nine task force members behind him, repeatedly refused to take a position on Councilman W. Wilson Goode Jr.'s relationship with his controversial chief legislative aide, Latrice Bryant. Council President Anna Verna would not say if she would convene the Committee on Ethics to investigate that relationship.
Bryant burst into the news on Sept. 18 when she held up signs in Council calling Fox 29 News racist for investigating whether she was attending to personal issues while logged in as working at her $90,000-a-year job. The station took it a step further last week, broadcasting photographs of Goode and Bryant looking cozy while on a 2005 vacation in Jamaica. Goode has said a problem with hour Bryant's hours were logged has been fixed. He has also said he has only a "social relationship" with Bryant and declined to comment on the photos.
Pressed to take a position, Nutter said: "I don't think there is anything I can do about a staff person in a separate branch of government or about another elected official." Nutter added that while he had seen some of the reporting on Bryant he didn't have all the facts to make judgment.
Verna at first refused to say if she would convene Council's Committee on Ethics but then partly relented, adding, "We will definitely look into it. I will talk to [Council's] leadership and see which direction they would like to go." Verna also acknowledged that Council rarely takes such action. "I can't remember the last time that Council ever investigated one of their own," Verna said.
And there is the problem, said Zack Stalberg, president and CEO of the Committee of 70. "There are 16 other members of City Council who can and should have a point of view on this," he said. "They're choosing a cowardly way out, which is to stay away from it all."
In any typical corporation, if you are dating your supervisor/coworker on party needs to be transferred or let go. This woman should be removed from Goode's office or transferred to another office. Better yet, it would be wonderful to get rid of Goode. Just hearing his last name reminds me of the awful job his father did in office.— jeanmarie- The guy responsible for all of these clowns (including those bozo Judges), Congressman Bob Brady, head of the Democratic Party in Philadelphia, must be in hiding. Unfortunately, in the upcoming election, the "Night of the Living Dead" zombies will continue to obey the commands of their incompetent leadership and pull the big "D" lever.— Smokey
- So, a news conference about an ethics task force is over taken by a call to investigate a breach of ethics? And there is resistence to this investigation? Is this a Monty Python skit? Unfortunately, it's just another day in Philly politics.— Ramon
- To Dan19148 and Arizona: Both of you are the reasons why America can't and probably won't get back to it's original standing as the best country in the world. Dan with your comment about "the entire country looking like this" and Arizona with your comment "save Philadelphia from the hood". Arizona you are just plain racist, ignorant, and uninformed. I hope you are also up in age so that your ignorance goes with you. Hopefully, you've moved to Arizona with so many others who feel the same way - namely the presidential nominee from that state John Mccain. Talk about the blind leading the blind. I don't agree with how the city is being run either, but I also don't agree with how the country has been run under Bush. I'm not making racist remarks. You guys are why the middle class no longer exists. Ignorance and racism are so out of vogue.— ohplease
- To Mr. Goode: You are an absolute disgrace to the City of Philadelpia, and are showing the whole world how far Philadelphia has sunk into the bowels of civilized society. To the Mayor & the President of the City Council: You are also a disgrace to the people of this City. You are helping to reaffirm how you can "talk the talk", but NOT "WALK THE WALK". At face value, everything that Goode and Bryant have done STINKS, yet you remain silent. Did you ever REALLY wonder why more and more people no longer call Philadelphia their home? Shame on you!! And shame on us if we ever re-elect any of you. THROW THE BUMS OUT.— tonyS
- You get what you vote for. Philadelphia Democratic politics at it's finest! People, you will not do anything about this so just shut up and go back to taking it like you have in the past.— junethe4th
- The brother and sisters are in charge yes they are ...YES THEY ARE And I don't think the former mayor was referring to clergy. And then just because you are called on the carpet by someone for shoddy ethics, you get to claim that they are members of an organization that kills people for their race. And keep your job and escape all punishment. But race doesn't factor into this at all. Understood.— Ramon
- This is a disgrace... Nutter/ Goode prob think this will get brushed under the carpet in a few days.... it wont go away until they are fired.— CCbanker579
- Anyone that thinks something will come of this is delusional.There are two standards in this city.Black and white and city council members and the dumb taxpayers that keep voting them back in office.— joseph bonsted
- Good citizens of Philadelphia - do not let this get brushed under the carpet. Is there any formal complaint that can be filed by the people (TAXPAYERS) of Philadelphia to let Nutter/ city council/ etc know this will not be / can not be tolerated and we want results???— CCbanker579
- So he could do something about another elected official's ethics when it was an unpopular elected official that he could build himself up by kicking, but not when it's one he doesn't want opposing his agenda? Profile in courage Mike!— anodyne
- Ohplease I think you are the one making assumptions, racial and otherwise, look in the mirror. This city is a great example of a corrupt dem system much like in other cities, you say you disagree with how the city is being run but one from a likeminded chicago pols is different?!?! You also I hope can admit that McCain and Bush are most definitely different, so which is more change? For you to immediately insult and make claims of racism is more of the same. Ohplease you are the same as Latrice Bryant even if you speak/type better, you disagree with my opinions so you pull out the 'dan19148 = kkk', you do realize this don't you???— dan19148
- I echo the statement made by belisarius! How crazy it is that such a thing can go on without any reprisals, that City Council and the Mayor look the other way is disgraceful. THey look the other way while people abuse their position and responsibility to the citizens of Philadelphia!— mj2012
Comment removed.- Comically Ohplease you don't share your frustration or outrage over the Goode incident, doesn't this bother you?— dan19148
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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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