How to stop the next Fumo | Philly

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Monday, March 16, 2009

How to stop the next Fumo

Fumo's conviction-- he was found guilty on all 137 counts-- should mark more than the end of one man's political career. It also servers as a reminder that transparency and accountability are critically important to honest government. More than ever, ordinary people need to be engaged in government to keep these kinds of abuses from happening. Fumo's conviction also strengthens our own conviction for why sites like "It's Our Money" are so important.

Fumo spent taxpayer dollars to conduct political polling, spy on his ex-girlfriend, and even clean his own house. He used false invoices and shady accounting to keep the true nature of these expenses hidden. This reinforces the need for watchdogs to keep an eye on how our money is being spent. If politicians think no one is watching, they will continue to abuse the system for their own gain.

It's important to remember that Fumo's reach extended far beyond his own Senate staff. He was a master of the state budget process and used his expertise to steer money towards political allies. Fumo's control of state finances was predicated on keeping the public in the dark. If more people understood how the system worked, it would have been impossible for Fumo to wield such tight control.

Ultimately, the solution is to stop someone like Fumo before any laws are broken. The only way for this to happen is more transparency and more public engagement. Elected officials will not be able to abuse our trust if we are watching closely. Fumo's abuses of power remind us that we all have a responsibility to be watchdogs.

Posted by Ben Waxman @ 5:40 PM Permalink | 8 comments

Comments

Posted 06:18 PM, 03/16/2009

CleanupPhilly

Bravo, Ben Waxman. I'd be interested to hear Fumo's candid reply to that question, how do you stop that next guy, make sure no one can do what you did, what legislation would you write and pass?

Posted 06:52 PM, 03/16/2009

CleanupPhilly

PA has to make things explicitly illegal. Things that will help curb Fumo would have been term limits, requirements to report contributions and "gifts" (there are no "gifts" to pols) openly that is made available like the websites opensecrets.org and the like. We can mimic federal campaign finance laws and not go wrong for a start. There has to be a state agency that is independent and performs audits of the charities and businesses of state politicians. There should be a law that any charity that receives money from a pol must file a report that is available fully on Guidestar.org for example. Common Cause PA has a lot more really good ideas as do other clean state government groups.

Posted 06:55 PM, 03/16/2009

CleanupPhilly

A simple law is to make it a felony to have staffers doing non-public service work. Any work for a private business, for a charity, or unpaid work for the personal benefit of the pol should be a felony punishable by fines and regulated by an organization that doesn't have to be the FBI, like the AG, or a Board of Ethics.

Comment removed.

Posted 09:22 AM, 03/17/2009

nala

It will not be easy, we as a people need to spend more time to demonstrate our higher expectations by questioning candidates with the tough questions and then follow-up. But how many of us (who are working two jobs just to get by) have the time to devote to this? Society has to find the leaders to show us the way to inspire more commitment and devotion to the process of our own governance rather than the following celebrities leading us to admire the hedonistic way of life and attempting to emulate it.

Posted 10:51 AM, 03/17/2009

MB6

Today's Metro listed a Fumo timeline which reveals important details--corruption has shaped the history of his career from the very beginning. Even his own father had corruption problems while running a bank (in view of current events, that detail is either ironic or telling). And he had a good long run. Although the Inquirer played a role in bringing Fumo down, the paper may have made a more important contribution in helping him go on like that for more than 25 years. Many people had to have turned a blind eye (in government, the press, and law enforcement) in order for Fumo to succeed for so long. In fact, Fumo was allowed to keep all of his powers as a state senator straight up until the last moments when the facts of his trial were too hard to be ignored even by his most loyal supporters. If Fumo had been a teacher fighting allegations of child abuse with even a tiny fraction of the evidence as in his political corruption case, he would have been removed from the classroom immediately. But a powerful man accused of stealing from the cookie jar was allowed to keep his hands inside the cookie jar straight up until the last possible moment. And yesterday's verdict has to bring another sigh of relief to PA's political establishment (that includes those elected and non-elected) because the trial was remarkably clean and self-contained. As a politician Fumo was deemed to big too fail. Many people and institutions created Vince Fumo. But many of them are still in place, unscathed by investigation. We need to worry about them. Who else is too big to fail? How did they get that big? Who helped? And why? And who will ask these questions while major media is melting down? Bloggers? Law enforcement? Fumo can redeem himself by serving his time in prison and choosing to speak the truth about his life, with names and dates. He owes us the truth about our government. And he now has nothing to lose.

Posted 11:10 AM, 03/17/2009

pal

And Stop companies like Verizon and PECO from being able to Bribe politicians. Time to Jail the CEOs giving money to politicians.

Posted 07:12 AM, 03/18/2009

gordo53

We definitely need term limits, but it will be difficult to get these members of the General Assembly to vote for a bill that puts them out of a job. Best bet is to term limit them via the ballot box. Just refuse to vote for an incumbent. Unfortunately, there is a culture of corruption in PA government. Just like drug gangs, prison gangs, and the rest of organized crime, our government has a "no snitching" rule that is followed religiously. Every Senator knew about Fumo's felonies long before his indictment. This I was told some time ago by a sitting member of the GA. When I asked why no one ever spoke up this person replied "It's not allowed". Pretty sorry state of affairs. Just vote them all out.

8 comments

About It's Our Money

Every year, city government spends slightly more than $4 billion. Where does all that money come from? More importantly, where does it go? Are we getting the most bang for our tax buck? “It's Our Money” is a joint project between Philadelphia Daily News and WHYY, funded by the William Penn Foundation, designed to answer these questions.

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Ben Waxman reports and blogs for “It's Our Money.” Before joining “It's Our Money,” he was a regular contributor to the Philadelphia Daily News op-ed page and former contributor to the blog Young Philly Politics. He studied political science at Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA.

Doron Taussig is the Project Manager for “It's Our Money.” He is also a graduate student in communications at Temple University. Previously he worked as a Staff Writer and News Editor for the Philadelphia City Paper.

Dave Merrell is the Web Editor for "It's Our Money." He comes to the project from Philly.com, where he is a web producer. Originally from upstate New York, he moved to Philadelphia after graduating from Haverford College with a degree in math and economics.

Anthony Campisi reports and blogs for "It's Our Money." Originally hailing from Central Jersey, he came to Philadelphia while a student at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied intellectual history. He also writes about transportation for PlanPhilly, an innovative urban planning website started by PennPraxis, the consulting arm of the Penn School of Design.