By Sam Durso on YPPon Sun, 05/13/2007 – 8:21pm.
I generally don’t post other people’s writings here. But this was such a nice thing Sam Durso wrote about me that I’d like to put it up.
Should politicians be nice guys? My stock answer for a long time has been that it doesn’t matter. Some very driven, aggressive, nasty people actually make effective and useful public servants, and some nice guys end up being very corrupt or inept.
But having thought about city politics more intently this year than any before, I’d like to amend that.
Given the job he or she must perform, an At Large Councilperson should be a really good person.
That’s one reason why the first At Large vote I’ll cast will be for Marc Stier.
An At-Larger has this funny job of representing the entire city, as though he were mayor, but as a legislator he’s granted only a fraction of the power to do or change things the way a mayor can. He needs to be nice first of all because the position itself can be humbling and because in a sense he has to empathize with everyone in this vast and varied city, but also because the job requires that he be a professional legislator and that means being a coalition-builder. When you lack the even the parochial powers of a District Councilperson, coalition-building takes people skills, and so it pays to be nice.
To be effective, an At-Larger also has to be smart and focus on the limited issues or groups that he can advocate for and win.
So an At Large Councilperson needs a really big heart and a really big head (in a sense). And that’s exactly what Marc Stier has.
Marc’s big heart is known to many in progressive Philadelphia. A kind, thoughtful friend, teacher, activist, husband, son-in-law, and parent, over the years he’s opened his heart and home (and rolodex and wallet) to what seems like every progressive who’s ever tossed a hat in the metropolitan area. Many a penniless activist has filled up on good food at his bountiful table in his beautiful Mt. Airy home. Marc’s a nurturer, uniquely dedicated to building a long=term progressive movement in the city. He reminds me of the Franklin in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. All good things that happen to Marc—endorsements, connections, financial support—are shared with as many good people as he can find. And he travels in remarkably diverse circles as president of West Mt. Airy Neighbors, a founder of Neighborhood Networks, and coordinator of NeighborhoodDefense.org. On Council, he’d be a positive magnet of good ideas and good people.
No surprise then that he’s attracted the ardent support of Josh Richard, the heart of Philly For Change, our first homegrown candidate and one of the best activists in town.
And if you don’t believe he has a big head check out some of the photos on his site when he’s got the Don King hair going. Oh yeah, and check out his many insightful posts on this site. Marc’s detailed knowledge of city government is perhaps the best of anyone who writes here, period, but he never loses sight of the big picture.
What to do you get if you elect Marc? You get a tireless, eloquent, and detail-oriented advocate for government that serves public interest instead of self-interest. Without even being elected, Marc’s already fought for you, organizing successfully to stop fare increases and service cuts at SEPTA and to raise the minimum wage, fighting to preserve your right to petition the zoning board, and playing a vital role in getting Ethics Reform in the City Charter. Imagine what this guy could accomplish with just a little bit of power! That’s what we need from an At-Larger! Along with Vern Anastasio, Marc’s been among the earliest, most vociferous, but most pragmatic opponents to casinos. He’s also an expert on tax reform who brings together people on all sides. But let’s face it…elect Marc and you’ll get the best friend and best solution SEPTA ever had.
This is one nice guy who will never be called corrupt or inept.
The amazing rise of Michael Nutter means Tuesday could bring something really special and unanticipated: a paradigm shift in city government. We can bury forever corruption that dates from before the days of Lincoln Steffens and, more importantly, a portion of the racial divisiveness that’s plagued our many attempts to move forward as a city. In neighborhood organizing and a State house campaign, Marc has proved he’s someone who brings people together across racial lines. It’s kind of a Mt. Airy thing. He and I don’t always agree, and I don’t know who he’s voting for, for mayor, but that quality of bringing peace to racial dialogue so that people can move forward together is something I associate with both Michael and Marc. What a harmonious, productive place would City Hall be with both there.
I don’t know Matt Ruben and Derek Green as well as I do Marc, but I associate many of the qualities Marc has with them. I’ll be voting for them Tuesday, and I think you should too.
But my first At Large choice will for a great friend of this site and the larger idealistic community it represents. I believe everyone sympathetic to the common goals of the people who post here should save an At Large vote for the colossal head and heart of Marc Stier.
(This was my response at the time)
Thanks, Sam.
You are going to give me a bigger head!
I just one to say one thing about what Sam wrote: all those organizing efforts that Sam mentioned (and many others as well) involved my working with some of the best community and issue activists in Philadelphia.
All my work at West Mt. Airy Neighbors wouldn’t have been possible without our Executive Director Laurie Beck Peterson and our great board.
The transit coalition was headed by Pat Eiding and Tom Cronin and Lance Haver and Howard Cain taught me so much while we were doing the staff work for the Transit Coalition.
Neighborhood Networks was founded by eight or nine people in addition to me and Stan Shapiro, Gloria Gilman, Vivenne Crawford, John Hogan and Kathy Quinn deserve much of the credit for our successes.
The minimum wage coalition was lead by my friends John Dodds, John Myerson and Lance.
The Coalition for Housing Justice is composed of so many great activists I can’t begin to mention them here although maybe this is a good place to mention Jeff Hornstein since he has been involved in so many of these efforts.
Bonita Cummings, Al Alston, Vivenne Crawford, and Bobby Williams have lead the way as I got involved in dealing with issues of gentrification, stop and gos, and inappropriate development in North Philadelphia.
Karen Black and Christine Knapp have been great leaders of the sustainability work I’ve been involved in.
And of course one of the most beautiful things about the anti-casino movement is that there have been some many great leaders, most of who have become my friends: Jethro Heiko, Daniel Hunter, Anne Dicker, Matt Pappajohn, A. J. Thompson, Rene Goodwin, Matt Ruben, and so many, many others.
I get a lot of credit for the work I’ve done, partly because I like to write, like to speak, and like to talk to the press. And, in the middle of a campaign, I don’t have time to footnote my stump speech with thanks to everyone I’ve worked with.
But issue activism in Philadelphia is a wonderfully collaborative process.
Things have gone so well in my campaign that last week I really began to think that we are going to win. And I let myself look ahead for just a moment and started to get nervous about the responsibilities that will come with election to the office of City Council member. Partly this was because this city has so many problems and partly it is because I have really tried to raise expectations about what our city could be (that’s the point of my notion of a politics of hope.)
What reassures me is that if I win on Tuesday, there are so many people great people in this city ready to help in fixing our broken politics. If I can keep drawing on all those folks in my rolodex—and all of you who are reading this—I won’t have to worry about having the help I will so very much need.