An Election Official's Political Activity in Philadelphia

"You say that [we are] corrupt and I'll jump over this table and punch
you out." Those are the words of Philadelphia city commissioner
Margaret Tartaglione, according to <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20101209_Tartaglione_defends_in…; target="”_blank”">an
article in yesterday's Philadelphia <i>Inquirer</i></a>. She was upset by a
journalist's questions regarding the handling of elections in
Philadelphia.<br>
<br>
What got the commissioner so upset? It might have something to do with the fact that, on December 3, her daughter
signed <a href="http://www.phila.gov/ethicsboard/pdfs/Tartaglione_settlement_1232010.pd…; target="”_blank”">a
settlement agreement</a> with the Philadelphia board of ethics. Who is
her daughter? She was, until resigning immediately after learning about
the ethics board's investigation of her, the deputy city commissioner, second-in-charge of the city's elections,
reporting directly to her mother's three-person board.<br>
<br>

According to <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20101206_Top_election_offici…; target="”_blank”">another
<i>Inquirer</i> article</a>, the daughter "ordered 2,000 ballots that
deliberately misled voters, collected election-day "street money" from
the city's Democratic Party, and served as a substitute ward leader for
her jailed husband." In other words, she was an election official
involved in partisan ways with the election. Appointed officials in
Philadelphia are restricted in terms of political activity.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq_ed_board/Tartaglione_poster_chil…; target="”_blank”">An
<i>Inquirer</i> editorial</a> calls the daughter a poster child for elections
agency reform. One thing the newspaper and good government groups are
demanding is that election officials no longer report to partisan
officials. They most certainly should not be reporting to their
mothers. Hopefully, the ethics board charges will be what the city
needs to take some of the partisanship, not to mention the nepotism,
out of the election system.<br>
<br>
See my blog posts, <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/544&quot; target="”_blank”">Elections
Should be Fought by Parties, Not Refereed by Parties</a> and <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/679&quot; target="”_blank”">The Conflict at the Heart of
the Local Election Process</a>.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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