First things first. This week I’d really like to thank the SCOOP USA newspaper for publishing all of my articles about covering the fictitious reports that Zack Stalberg is making against Philadelphia City Council. As you may know, I am not on a SCOOP assignment. I have assigned myself to figure out just why Stalberg, President of the Committee of Seventy, has cleverly put out several negative reports about Phila. Council members. I must applaud the editor and publisher of SCOOP for making sure that space is made available somewhere for my Stalberg probe. My probe must go on until Stalberg is forced to withdraw that bogus report about the 17 Council members. This IS a big deal.
Several Philadelphia newspapers that publish 100,000 issues or more, including local radio stations that do all news all the time, have featured the Stalberg’s report as headline news. Still, many Philadelphians and Delcoians have not heard about the Committee of Seventy and former Philadelphia Daily News editor recklessly and irresponsibly going after the Council members. What’s also dangerous for City Council facing the Stalberg attack is that countless Philadelphia County and Delaware County news reporters, city leaders, community activist and people who have their jobs in the city with the help of individual Council members are silent about recent false accusations against Philadelphia Council.
Breahana Walker, TBM National Student
Council Member
Stalberg has great power. He can call any mega press and will most likely get published. Many who received help from Council won’t dare say that all 17 Council positions is the undisputed champion of Philly beautification and greatness. I mean really, Stalberg has managed to shamelessly mislead many as far as capital hill to believe that Philadelphia Council and the AIG corruption matter go all together when the facts are that one has absolutely nothing to do with the other. He has taken the lead in criticizing Council about a city budget ‘DROP’ (the Deferred Retirement Option Program) plan, retirement incentive that will pay out $2.1 million in lump-sum retirement payments to six City Council members in 2 years. Stalberg want parents and students to believe that the Council has abused their authority by giving their friends and themselves special money favors. However, in the end my probe will prove what’s really going on.
The outcome of my Stalberg probe might be presented to the public in the form of a question. Is it Stalberg and not City Council who is perpetrating abuse of bad government? Was there really ever wasteful spending? Are the people elected to the Council position paid too much money for the job? And do Council-member positions really need to be cut down from 17 to at least 10 because someone calculated that a whole lot of folks left Philly? Right now though I believe that many students who are interested in student council positions are discouraged by the adverse criticism of city council.
As student council they are told that school leaders are more likely to occupy managerial occupations as adults, and leadership skills command a higher wage premium within managerial occupations than elsewhere. Data also suggest that student government participation during high school enhance the odds of students graduating college by 19% for females and 11% for males. There are other benefits of being involved in council.
The National Association of Student Council points out that each student that gains the position ought to be paid a council stipend for particular roles or jobs where their expertise is needed. Students understand that no council member’s school stipend is exactly alike. Each community school’s ambition determines the lump sum dollar amount of the council’s pay and not the number of people who attend or leave the school.
If the school administrator was facing a budget crisis why would the council students be viewed as dishonest just because they needed and wanted to keep their stipends the same? Since I support both student council and city council I’m hoping that Philadelphia City Council feels the need and wants to begin clipping the SCOOP articles supporting them and invite my Thoughts Of Black Men (TBM) City Chapter community leaders and I to discuss whether Stalberg is hurting Philadelphia Student Council with his ingratitude. Please allow us in the fight today.
