Clout: Will UberX remain illegal in Philly?

LATE THURSDAY afternoon, we got our hands on a letter. A rather interesting Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg letter that should concern city residents who prefer UberX over taxicabs - which, to be honest, is most of the people we know.

This letter, obtained through our growing network of well-placed Clout informants whom we compensate with top-shelf booze, raises doubts about whether the state House will follow the Senate's lead and give ride-sharing companies like UberX and Lyft the go-ahead to operate legally in the city.

A quick recap: So-called transportation network companies that use mobile apps to connect drivers and riders currently operate in Philadelphia illegally. In November, the state Senate passed a bill, 48-2, to legalize them statewide. Gov. Wolf supports such legislation. So does City Council.

But it's not clear whether the House is willing to send a statewide bill to Wolf's desk. As we reported in January, the Philadelphia Parking Authority and the taxi industry it regulates have fought vigorously to keep UberX out of Philly - in some cases, coordinating their efforts.

Now, back to this letter. It was written by Clarena Tolson, the city's deputy managing director of transportation and infrastructure, and Rochelle Cameron, CEO of Philadelphia International Airport, and was sent to State Rep. Robert Godshall, chairman of the House Consumer Affairs Committee, which could vote Monday on ride-sharing legislation.

Tolson and Cameron noted that the draft legislation in the House includes language that would limit the airport's ability to enter into agreements with ride-sharing companies to service airport customers. They said the city opposes those limitations and helpfully offered language that Godshall could insert in his bill to make it . . . better.

It's messy stuff. The larger question is whether Godshall's committee is considering moving a bill that partially or completely carves out Philadelphia - essentially preserving the status quo of UberX as an illegal operation within city limits.

We tracked down Godshall on his cellphone late Thursday and he sounded exasperated and a little annoyed. Not at Clout, but at the inability of the PPA, UberX, and the taxi industry to negotiate or cede any ground.

"I'm not sure exactly what's going to happen," Godshall said. "We're looking at probably passing a bill, but whether Philly will be in or out I don't know yet. We haven't solved the Philadelphia situation, and there has been very little cooperation with the people involved."

The Philadelphia Situation. It's always so complicated. Stay tuned. There's a lot of money on the table here.

Mayor Kenney made a funny on April Fools' Day when he (read: his staff, because Jim Kenney and social media are always one headline away from disaster) joked on Twitter that he got a nose job after pre-K tykes made fun of his big schnoz.

The mayor, however, was involved in a better prank that day. On his own employee, no less. And we were in on it.

Clout has been causing City Hall contretemps for years now. But never have we elicited a heavier sigh from a busy staffer than the one we heard over the phone line last Friday when we had to tell Kenney communications czar Lauren Hitt that her boss had returned to his old form on Twitter with a secret account known as @RaceSt.

We told Hitt, Kenney's chief spokeswoman, that it was all the things Kenney used to be on Twitter before he reformed (or was forced to reform) and ran for mayor - bawdy and brawling and offbeat.

For more than two hours, the typically unflappable Hitt felt the heat. It was so wrong, yet so right. Was it a little mean? Sure. Did we enjoy every minute of it? Absolutely.

Kenney; his chief of staff, Jane Slusser; and Hitt's colleague Mike Dunn cooked up the prank and enlisted Clout as a conspirator.

"We were looking for the most ridiculous but maybe plausible story that would make her a little nervous but not be so crazy that she wouldn't believe it," Slusser said.

This being Philadelphia, plausibility has a certain elasticity.

There was a stroke of luck in the mix: Stephanie Waters, Kenney's digital director, accidentally saw a text on the mayor's phone that Slusser had sent referring to @RaceSt. So when Hitt asked Waters if she knew anything about the account, Waters told her about the text, adding to the plausibility of our ruse.

Alas, Hitt eventually figured it out. She was a good sport about it. But we're betting there's a heavy price to pay for our fun . . . somewhere down the line . . . when we least expect it.

Oh, God, what have we done?

Anyone notice that white-haired guy standing in the back of the room at the Warwick Hotel last Tuesday when Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala accepted endorsements in his bid for state attorney general?

That would be John Dougherty, leader of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Doc is backing Zappala in the three-man Democratic primary election, but he was lingering in the back of the room during the news conference, as Zappala was endorsed by minority politicians, ministers, and another union leader. Niko Rodriguez, a young up-and-comer in Local 98, stood at the lectern to say a few nice things about Zappala.

Two things came to mind.

First, Dougherty would have stood out like a very white sore thumb at an endorsement by a group of minority leaders. Second, the state Attorney General's Office is investigating a South Philly punch-up involving Dougherty and a nonunion contractor in January. So maybe Dougherty thought it made sense to play it low-key at the Zappala event?

Not at all, the union leader later told us. Dougherty said he was there to support Rodriguez, an employee of Local 98.

"I was there to see Niko," Dougherty said of Rodriguez, who is also the treasurer of a PAC affiliated with Local 98. "It was one of his first times public speaking. I was proud of him."

The January fight was captured on security cameras. Guess who was seen in that video as one of the men accompanying Dougherty during the encounter? Niko Rodriguez.

Sounds like a guy to watch.

- Staff writers William Bender, Chris Brennan, and Craig R. McCoy contributed to this column.

On Twitter: @wbender99 and @ByChrisBrennan.

Email: benderw@phillynews.com and brennac@phillynews.com

Phone: 215-854-5255 and 215-854-5973