There is more divisiveness than ever in media dealing with politicians and elected officials, including stories that lack substance on any topic, including perceived mismanagement.
The Philadelphia Inquirer endorsed a candidate for Sheriff of the City and County of Philadelphia in May 2019. And during my administration, they have hypocritically focused all their attention on calling for the abolishment of the Sheriff’s Office–knowingly, they commenced an endorsement process and decided to endorse a candidate for Sheriff.
As told to readers of the Philadelphia Inquirer, nearly every elected official in the City of Philadelphia is doing something wrong, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Is that true every time there is a news story, or is there another actual story not being told?
There are three recent stories printed by the Philadelphia Inquirer and its affiliates (the Daily News and Philly.com) that fit that description.
First, on Thursday, February 9, 2023, the Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Board published a piece entitled “The Sheriff’s Office is broken. Will Philadelphia’s next mayor help fix it?” (“The will to act,” Inquirer, Printed Edition).
The Editorial Board focused on abolishing the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office and mentioned support from mayoral candidate Allan Domb.
According to Ballotpedia, I received 233,105 votes in the 2019 general election (along with 67,810 in the primary) for a position that has existed for more than 100 years.
Who’s more important, the Editorial Board or the 233,105 citizens of Philadelphia? Rest assured, I will continue serving and operating this office in accordance with the election results.
I am disappointed in Allan Domb’s comments, as well as the Editorial Board, for attempting to disenfranchise 233,105 Philadelphians. This is eerily similar to recent efforts to remove DA Larry Krasner (See “Philly DA Larry Krasner and allies slam impeachment and removal effort,” Inquirer, November 21, 2022).
Beyond that, the facts in the Editorial Board article are incorrect. For example, I have spoken in multiple interviews denying the allegations of former employee Brett Mandel. I will say this one final time, I did not seek to settle the lawsuits, and anyone upset with the settlements should voice their opinion to the city law department.
When you set out to reform, individuals will make allegations, and I will keep doing what I was elected to do.
An allegation of wrongdoing, and proof, are two different things.
The Inquirer is well aware that there was no admission of wrongdoing related to those settlements, which are similar to how government agencies and corporations resolve matters to avoid, among other things, the expense of litigation itself.
The second story, “Philly Sheriff Rochelle Bilal doesn’t want to discuss her $6,662 party at Chickie’s & Pete’s,” on February 3, 2023. Again misses the actual story.
This event was for law enforcement employees and staff. It’s not a holiday party at The Capital Grille (which would’ve cost much more). Chickie’s and Pete’s is a Philadelphia-based restaurant that sells wings and fries.
The supposed outrage is overblown, and it is widely held good management practice to celebrate accomplishments and hard work with employees of any organization.
The third story, “Philly Sheriff’s top legal adviser has been moonlighting as a criminal defense lawyer.” February 2, 2023.
Two quick points, the Philadelphia Inquirer does not make hiring decisions at the Sheriff’s Office. Otherwise, we have no comment.
There is a long-standing pattern of the Inquirer complaining that they do not get a response to a request for comment for negative stories–but they simply refuse to cover anything positive about the Sheriff’s Office.
Here are a few examples.
A year-end report from the Sheriff’s Office was sent via email to former Inquirer reporter Mensah Dean. The Inquirer decided not to run a story about the accomplishments in that report.
The Sheriff’s Office, under my watch, has given free food to more than 25,000 families in need, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Inquirer simply ignores these outreach events that serve Philadelphians, despite the fact that, community outreach was not a focus in previous administrations.
The Sheriff’s Office, through the use of technology, implemented an online Sheriff Sale process without software development costs to the Sheriff’s Office. The new process democratizes the Sheriff’s Sales and provides a much greater opportunity to have excess proceeds, i.e. money back, to Philadelphians losing their homes. Simply put, higher prices for Sheriff Sales properties due to increased competition at Sheriff Sales leads to better outcomes and more money for Philadelphians going through that difficult process. Our office has done its part in serving warrants and taking offenders into custody–and has done extensive work with other law enforcement agencies, including the Philadelphia Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Our office has implemented many new policies and improvements that didn’t exist prior to taking office in early 2020.
We have faced many challenges, as have other agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic. But we have consistently executed our responsibilities and provided assistance where needed to other departments and agencies.
Finally, there are two additional points that stick out from this onslaught of negative coverage from the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Reporters these days are too focused on “gotcha” journalism at the Philadelphia Inquirer. What happened to substantive stories that get to the heart of the issue?
Speculation and reporter’s opinions, are driving too much of the conversation.
And most importantly, the Inquirer has admitted it has a problem with how it covers African Americans, not just now but throughout its history–to learn more, read the Inquirer’s story on this issue, entitled “Black City, White Paper,” February 15, 2022.
We would all be better served if more substance, and less rhetoric, were in the Inquirer’s stories above and in the future.
Maybe they can ask the mayoral candidates if they agree with that statement. I suspect they might.
Rochelle Bilal is the Sheriff of the City and County of Philadelphia.
