by Van Stone vspfoundation@yahoo.com (610) 931-8810
Recently, at a The Thoughts Of Black Men (TBM) meet, a member mentioned that she’s never heard so many Philadelphians complain about how a guy named Zack Stalberg is talking down about the Philadelphia City Council experience and its impact on the Philly Budget Crisis. Somehow Stalberg has analyzed the politics and financial salary of each city councilperson, internalizing the importance of each council’s business, government and economic cash concepts, and says he knows all the answers as to why city council should be smaller in member size now! In fact, Stalberg, former editor at the Philadelphia Daily News for 20 years, named President and Chief Executive Officer of the Committee of Seventy, Philadelphia, in February, 2005, most recently went a step further giving his opinion as he attacked Philly’s city council questioning it’s budget. Stalberg called on Council to set an “honest budget.”
Council’s cash is from the city.
Meanwhile my many Van Stone Productions (VSP) residents feel as I do about the 17-member City Council. It’s a beloved entity that is understaffed and overworked serving a multitude of races. Philly's population is a whopping 705,107 Males (46.5%) and 812,443 Females (53.5%). Stalberg opines that “City Council is a handy whipping boy,” hurting the city’s $4 billion budget.
Now at first, I didn’t look into Stalberg’s own view of Council and just where he was going with it. Because I’ve been busy with new projects and programs. My readers would be happy to know that I have become the newly appointed TBM Philadelphia City Chapter President because of closely assisting Teee Coston, founder of the TBM dealing with the worlds of media, business and city government in the Philadelphia County. Being known as the friendly neighborhood reporter and now the blog reporter, I started to get flooded with phone calls from Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell’s constituents seeking for me to get involved in support of the councilwoman’s district.
But for Stalberg to go after Council as if it was one individual instead of fault-finding about a councilperson here and there has made my investigation into his slanderous comments an education about Phila. City Council and the history of Philly story. I mean, SCOOP readers, the Phila. Front Page News at www.frontpagenews readers and future TBM City Chapter Presidents who work closely with their city council need to know about this Stalberg guy and his relationship with Council. Now it seems that Stalberg grew up in Philly and is supposed to have the reputation as a reporter who has tangled with every mayor of Philadelphia, incumbent and otherwise, since Mayor Dilworth. And he gets credit for one of Philadelphia Daily News most memorable political headlines about Mayor Rizzo lying. Yes, this can fit as Philly history. But it’s negative. All of this negative history makes a defender of city council, any city council, wonder what is he doing trying to start new Philly history by making ruckus with my beloved city council?
I strongly disagree with Stalberg because his recent views about Council seems to be highly suspect. For example: Stalberg has this view that Council members make six-figure salary and have too many staff. But Philadelphia, considered by much experienced government integrity leaders as a state, is coextensive with Philadelphia County. Whew!
It has been reported that Philadelphia City Council, regardless of having new members or long-term members, for the last 5 years has had leftover money dealing with Council fiscal-year budgets. And all of that money has been accounted for and returned to the city‘s general fund. But Stalberg says about this city money, “I think they’ve got a great opportunity here to try to turn that image around.” I think that my beloved 17 leaders, their small army came to 119 altogether, have an outstanding image of serving a population estimated at 1,463,281. Therefore, the TBM Chapter statewide members will soon discuss ways to support Philadelphia City planners and Philly Council despite a terrible economy
