By the time you are reading this column, Cherelle Parker has been sworn in as the top executive officer in charge of the nation’s sixth-largest city. It’s a new day in Philadelphia, and for the most part, I believe citizens in Philly are ready for a fresh start, innovative ideas, and different ways of getting things done. Translated, that equals out to Cherelle Parker. She ran her campaign for Mayor as the person who will fight to make our town a cleaner, greener, safer Philadelphia, and she’s already hit the ground running. So much at City Hall is new already. While, yes, there are some hold-overs from the Jim Kenney Administration, the Parker Administration has come into power with a bevy of talented, experienced staffers who will help her get the job done of running this major market city.
While the Parker Administration is brand new, many of the city council members are new–as well, and they have new staff members, so it is a time of transition–still unfolding within our local government.
Over the next few weeks in this Civics 101 column, we’ll look at who the new players are at City Hall, from the Parker Administration to City Council. What an exciting time it is for our beloved Philadelphia.
This civics column was created to be much like a classroom–only this “class” is being taught in the newspaper. This civics column is designed to educate and inform SCOOP USA readers about what it is to be a good citizen, the importance of knowing our nation’s history, shedding light on the U.S. Constitution from time to time, looking at old laws and new laws, understanding how laws are passed, etc. Learning civics is more than a notion. It’s an ever-changing story, so if you really want to be in the know about politics and what’s happening in our nation related to legislation, history, and much more, stay on your game and pay attention to what’s happening in our city, state, the nation and around the world.
How does city government work? You have the Mayor, Cherelle Parker. She has her cabinet, and then we also have 17 City Council members, one of them being the president of City Council, and together, all these people, all these elected leaders, are charged with figuring out what’s the best moves to make for Philadelphia.
According to the City of Philadelphia Home Rule Charter, it clearly states the role of the Mayor as CEO of the City of Philadelphia. The Mayor is responsible for the conduct of the executive and administrative work of the city and for law enforcement within its boundaries.” Being the Mayor of a major city like Philadelphia is a huge undertaking, and it is not a job that can be done alone. The Mayor has to have a strong team around her. Together with her team, they will make sure the “day-to-day work” of the city gets taken care of. There are daily kinds of things such as making sure trash and recycling are collected on a regular and timely basis. The Administration has to make sure parks and recreation are working properly, that permitting–for new developments is addressed, that visiting dignitaries are welcomed, attending ribbon-cutting ceremonies are covered, holding town hall meetings to stay connected with constituents occur, and more.
Take a look at the language from Resolution No. 220009 from the City Council of Philadelphia. It gives you a sense of how the Mayor and City Council will work.
Every ordinance shall, before it takes effect, be certified to the Mayor for her approval. The Mayor shall sign the ordinance if she, the Mayor approves it, whereupon it shall become law. If the Mayor disapproves it, the Mayor shall return it to the Council with the reasons for the Mayor’s disapproval at the first meeting thereof, held not less than ten days after the Mayor receives it. If the Council shall pass the bill by a vote of two-thirds of all of its members within seven days after the bill has been returned with the Mayor’s disapproval, it shall become law without the Mayor’s approval. If the Mayor does not return the ordinance within the time required, it shall become law without the Mayor’s approval.
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Thank you for reading an excerpt of Thera Martin’s article on scoopusamedia.com. To read more of the article, “Civics 101: A Changing of the Guard for Philadelphia,” please subscribe to Scoop USA Media. Print subscriptions are $75.00 and online subscriptions (Print, Digital and Vizion) are $90. (52 weeks/1 year)
