[UC] Tax/government reformer is in the race for city controller

[Krfapt]

>From today's Inquirer. I don't agree with everything Mandel advocates ...  
details as the race heats up ... but I think he's the kind of person this city  
needs in elective office.
 
Al Krigman
 

 


Mandel runs for Phila. controller

By  Patrick Kerkstra 

Inquirer Staff Writer

Brett Mandel, the  government-reform advocate who played a critical role in 
persuading city  lawmakers to reduce wage and business taxes, announced 
yesterday that he would  run for city controller against incumbent Alan 
Butkovitz in 
the Democratic  primary in May.

The two will contest for an office that serves as the  chief auditor of city 
government - an important role at any time, and one that  seems all the more 
critical in light of the city's fiscal  crisis.

Butkovitz, a Democratic ward leader and former state  representative, will 
have all the advantages of incumbency, including the bully  pulpit, 
fund-raising 
prowess ($170,000 cash on hand as of December), and the  support of the party 
establishment.

Mandel will counter with a reputation  as one of the city's leading voices 
for governmental change, a figure often  quoted in the media on matters ranging 
from the city budget to ethics and tax  policy. He has never held public 
office.

Since 2004, Mandel has been  executive director of Philadelphia Forward, a 
small but influential tax-reform  group financed by individual, institutional 
and corporate donors.

"My  challenge is to explain that the city controller is the person who minds 
our  money. I think, in this time of fiscal crisis, there might be more 
interest in  that than there would be in other years," Mandel said, noting that 
contests for  the position are typically low-profile. "This is a time when we 
need a true  fiscal watchdog."

Mandel has been sharply critical of Butkovitz in recent  months, as he 
considered entering the race. Yesterday, he said Butkovitz had  "pulled his 
punches," and he suggested that he would take a tougher stand on  issues 
ranging from 
the mayor's five-year budget to the Eagles disputed $8  million debt to the 
city.

Butkovitz said yesterday that he was proud of  what his office had achieved 
in his three years in office. He said he had  shifted resources and attention 
to performance audits, which have sought to  improve efficiency and not merely 
confirm that the books were being kept  correctly.

"We have done 40 performance audits over the last three  years," Butkovitz 
said. "We're dealing with the big picture, and we're dealing  in depth with the 
functioning of critical city services."

Butkovitz cited  a December compilation of earlier audits, which identified 
$68 million in new  annual revenue sources for the city, plus $73.9 million in 
one-time income. He  said the funds could come from a variety of sources, such 
as higher ambulance  reimbursement fees and improved collections of service 
fees in the Fire  Department and the Department of Licenses and Inspections.

Before  Butkovitz was elected, Mandel served as director of financial and 
policy  analysis under former Controller Jonathan  Saidel.
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Re: [UC] Tax/government reformer is in the race for city controller

[Anthony West]

A very interesting fellow, indeed. Hard to pigeonhole.

-- Tony West


From today's Inquirer. I don't agree with everything Mandel advocates 
... details as the race heats up ... but I think he's the kind of 
person this city needs in elective office.
 
Al Krigman





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