The federal indictment of union boss John Dougherty and City Councilman Bobby Henon shows more than just corruption.
It shows that there are those in positions of power who don’t respect the citizens of Philadelphia. And they’re willing to hurt any of us to show it—even our kids.
That’s what allegedly happened when Philadelphia Parking Authority chairman Joseph Ashdale bribed Councilman Bobby Henon with $3000 in free windows for a friend. In exchange, Henon helped to squash a resolution calling for an audit that could’ve exposed millions the Parking Authority was supposed to give to the Philadelphia School District.
How do we know Ashdale bribed Henon to keep Council members from approving the audit? Because the feds got it all on tape.
“I want [to] see who the f—’s going to” vote for it, Ashdale told Henon, according to the indictment. “Because nobody [who does] is going to get a f—ing job out of here or a f—g penny out of” the agency.
When Ashdale said that, he meant that any Council member who went against him would lose the ability to hook up their friends, relatives and political cronies with jobs at the Parking Authority. Losing that kind of power is not a good thing.
So in the end, Council decided not to vote for the audit.
But not doing it meant not knowing how much money the Parking Authority has. Which means the Parking Authority keeps money they’re supposed to be giving to the schools.
That’s wrong, and it’s sad, but it’s not surprising.
Because when politicians play games, our kids are the ones who get hurt.
When politicians play games, our schools miss out on millions.
When politicians play games, school libraries go without books. School hallways don’t get cleaned. Our teachers don’t get resources. Our children suffer the consequences.
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of politicians playing games.
Because if the federal indictment is true, and Bobby Henon traded our children’s futures so his chief of staff could get $3000 worth of windows, we need new leadership, we need honest representation, and we need it right now.
Our kids can’t wait until the feds get convictions. Our kids can’t wait until the guilty admit their crimes. Our kids can’t wait until the other shoe drops.
Because the thing our kids need most is education. They don’t need politicians playing games.
