The announcement by Sen. Fumo -- on the eve of Gov. Rendell's budget address - that he would be stepping down as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee raised immediate questions about the fate of public transit funding in the state budget.
As budget negotiations get underway, addressing massive transit and highway funding gaps is among the certain sticking points. Fumo has championed an increase in the state's real estate transfer tax as the way to solve the transit crisis.
A Pittsburgh lawmaker, Sen. Gerald Lavalle, takes over as the ranking Democrat on the committee.
But who will fight for SEPTA?
Fumo may have demoted himself to a rank and filer, but his spokesman Gary Tuma says he will continue to work for the interests of Philly and that includes finding a SEPTA solution.
About Me
- Amy Worden
- Amy Worden is a Pennsylvania State House reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
29 comments:
While SEPTA is important, if Fumo is corrupt he should be in jail. Do we give him a break just because he helps Philly? If so then all politicians could be as corrupt as they want as long as they bring money back home. Are you saying we should keep him on Amy?
Politics is full of grey areas isn't it? Should a person who has helped this city as much as he has be villified and called corrupt? He said in his speech that they won't accuse him of taking a bribe.. how corrupt a politician is he then? Loosing him would be a great loss to the city!
Sen. LaValle is from Beaver County - not Pittsburgh. Not everyone from Western PA is "from Pittsburgh".
So only taking a bribe is corruption? If he misused his office or took money from a nonprofit that would be OK? I don't think the FBI would buy your argument.
He is corrupt and should go to jail.
Anonymous at 3:30pm, you have to break the addiction to dirty money. Fumo has helped himself, not the city. He led the fight to stop a downtown baseball park because it was bad for his real estate interests. He runs the DRPA as a personal "pay to play" playground and uses a "charity" to shake down businesses for contributions (that you and I pay for indirectly) and takes benefits from that charity that are outrageous. He used the ridiculously corrupt Maritime Museum to cover use of a yacht and placed employees (beholden to him) at all of these places. Anyone who opposed him was attacked from 3 sides---patronage employees (like yourself?), government officials beholden to him and his cutthroat legal team (not that a state legislator can afford to pay them ). Fumo represents everything wrong about Philadelphia politics...he needs to go.
Wow! Why the hostility?
Please share...
I don't think you're going to see anything in the indictment that even implies he took money from the non-profit.. If it's simply perks and a little influence, well that's politics isn't it? I agree.. if he took money from the non profit or anyone, that would be corruption.. I just don't think he's the type.
"Wow! Why the hostility?
Please share... "
Gee, maybe the fact that he is corrupt and was elected to uphold the constitution, not lie his own pockets and friends. Pretty simple reason for the anger of the electorate. We work hard for our money and he just shakes people down and steals it.
"If it's simply perks and a little influence, well that's politics isn't it?"
Are you nuts? he defines influence in Philly. It's not a little influence or simple perks, if it was he wouldn't have the FBI on his trail. You can't be "just a little pregnant." What you may call a perk is still money he didn't have to spend or use out of his own pocket. It is still corruption and he should go to jail for it.
He has been holding the city hostage for years and must go away to a prison cell. The sooner the better.
I don't understand "Put Him in Jail"...isn't Fumo a hard worker? What "shake down" are you referring to? Will it appear in the indictment? If it doesn't will you acknowledge it didn't take place? In what capacity do you speak for the "electorate"? Do you "work hard for your money" or are you cashing a check from Mom?
Fumidiots are like Mumidiots: they think they are a law unto themselves.
I don't expect my bridge toll and DRPA costs to fund a pol's private charity used to get him relected.
CA's mission was to sister the joists in Fumo's district. Sure you are going to have to benefit the district to do that.
But I don't expect to have my PECO bill have a secret tax in it to go to prop up Vince Fumo. Not kosher.
No one is above the law. I can't siphon off funds from entities that I do business with. Come on.
Ikea was ready to walk to Cherry Hill from Fumo's shake down.
This is just proof that Spin the Sh*t Brady, Get Down or Lay Down Street, and smoke and mirrors Fumo are dying out.
It's morning in Philadelphia!
Call me a "faggot!" Hahhahahhahaa!
Mr. President (emeritus)...
It's not right to gloat!
(Sorry that pay raise thing didn't work out for you).
I don't understand "Put Him in Jail"...isn't Fumo a hard worker?
Not from what I've seen. A special $6 million "bonus" from his private bank for being CEO AT THE SAME TIME he was a representative. If he worked so hard for the people of PA as he did for his own private bank maybe I would have some sympathy for you. All he worked for was himself.
What "shake down" are you referring to?
$17 million from PECO to call off the dogs and release legislation, among others.
Will it appear in the indictment?
I don't have the indictment handy but it should be there in some form.
If it doesn't will you acknowledge it didn't take place? If the FBI says Fumo never shook anyone down I would believe it.
In what capacity do you speak for the "electorate"?
Um, that would be as an elector.
Do you "work hard for your money" or are you cashing a check from Mom?
I work harder than you apparently.
And why do you assume my mom would even have money to give me? She doesn't have a charity to tap for funds like some people I know.
Fumites, go do what Street did and have a "we be indicted party."
Brady will blame it on the Bush administration for you, a deliberate Republican plot against Italians with a life in public service.
Don't worry, the Inquirer will still endorse Fumo for reelection.
Fumites, quit blogging and update your resumes.
SEPTA owns the downtown office building that houses its HQ. It also is not paying its property taxes.
There are 18 properties that owe the city property tax, making SEPTA #5 in top property tax delinquents.
Rank Most Frequent Name Unique Mail Code Total due Total properties
1 REDEV AUTH OF PHILA 19107-3721-1234 $25,485,243.02 877
2 PHILA AUTH FOR IND D EV 19102-2100-1500 $3,540,756.78 49
3 CITY OF PHILA 19102-1604-1401 $2,249,405.61 560
4 CITY OF PHILA 19103-2028-1600 $1,861,695.15 124
5 SEPTA 19107-5233-130 $1,698,681.42 18
Why not sell the building, and all the unused SEPTA properties?
Maybe if someone new comes in, they will start looking at the books and run the place decently.
Maybe if a new rep comes in that is not an insider, he will stop trying to use city/state agencies to landbank properties for some use which too often turns out to be "carrot" in pay to play.
Why is the Inquirer oblivious to SEPTA having assets it doesn't use?
This man has said he knows in his heart he has done nothing wrong...doesn't that mean anything to you bloggin' types?
I always thought bloggers were kinda' cool, you know like skateboarders or X Games partipants or Mountain Dew drinkers.
However, I also always subscibed to the maxim "MEAN PEOPLE SUCK". In fact I have a bumper sticker on my car (OK, it's registered to my Mom) that says so.
So what's the deal? Bloggers are kinda' cool people who suck?
"This man has said he knows in his heart he has done nothing wrong...doesn't that mean anything to you bloggin' types?"
And everyone in prison is not guilty.
In America, we are not guilty until we are proven otherwise..
Wake up, Amy. This guy is a criminal and although it seems as though you can overlook this so long as PA taxpayers continue to bail out SEPTA and the city of Philadelphia as a whole, there are those in this state who value the rule of law. Take the union out of SEPTA and you would have a working public transportation system.
Seriously, though everyone is afraid to say "the emperor has no clothes,"
Fumo nakedly abuses the system, and 139 federal counts later, you can't keep trying to say where there's smoke there's no fire.
Where there is Fumo, there's fumes.
The state needs campaign finance and ethics laws, but also the pols need to follow the laws on 501c3s without needed the FBI to teach it to them.
Come on.
If this was not Fumo, this operation would have been convicted of embezzlement long ago.
Philly really is like a tick that sucks blood until it explodes.
Putting more money into all the pet projects is hurling tens of millions of good money after bad.
When will the Ink look at the city budget and compare that with objective performance metrics?
Philly is not getting the bang for the buck that the state gives us.
That has got to be obvious to the most subjugated, compromised, embedded folks.
If cutting means rethinking how we do things here, then to the Vince -- arrivaderci!
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