Inquirer Editorial: Grace, Clarke are best choices

Residents of the city's First District should appreciate their new councilman. After all, he will have cost Philadelphians nearly $425,000, which is the size of the deferred-retirement payout that left incumbent Frank DiCicco with little choice but to actually retire.

The district - which stretches from South Philadelphia along the Delaware to Port Richmond, including such thriving neighborhoods as Old City and Northern Liberties - at least got a strong field of potential replacements for the price.

The strongest, JOE GRACE, offers a refreshingly reform-minded platform in the wake of DiCicco's ignominious golden parachute.

As the former executive director of CeaseFirePA, Grace successfully pushed efforts to curb gun trafficking in Philadelphia and other cities. He also served as the city's communications director under John F. Street - a less righteous cause, yes, but one of several posts that give Grace valuable political and government experience. He's also been a lawyer and a Daily News reporter.

Grace has made ethical issues an appropriate focus of his candidacy, including the dubious DROP program that stands to enrich DiCicco and other Council members. He calls for banning outside employment and nepotism on Council, along with stronger city watchdog agencies and campaign-finance laws. He also has intelligent proposals on neighborhood revitalization, business taxes, and school violence.

Among the other First District candidates, union organizer Jeff Hornstein stands out with impressive academic credentials and an astute sense that the city should be "less weird" in terms of its tax and other policies. But his labor ties could diminish his capacity to choose taxpayers over the municipal unions.

Vern Anastasio has a long record of neighborhood activism. Anastasio's electricians' union-backed campaign four years ago was unfortunate, but in this race, that powerful union backs state systems analyst Mark Squilla.

Councilman Darrell L. Clarke, a contender for the Council presidency, has a record of legislative accomplishment and effective advocacy for his district, which runs from Center City through North Philadelphia into Fishtown.

Clarke's Democratic primary opponent, minister Suzanne Carn, brings abundant energy to her bid, but falls well short of making a case for firing the councilman. The Inquirer endorses DARRELL L. CLARKE.

No Republicans are running in the First or Fifth District.